U.S. District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco on Tuesday sided with several advocacy groups, finding the current practice of adding fluoride to drinking water supplies to fight cavities presented unreasonable risks for children’s developing brains.
But the judge stressed he was not concluding with certainty that fluoridated water endangered public health.
The agency had denied their so-called citizen’s petition asking it to consider banning fluoridation chemicals from public drinking water.
More than 200 million Americans, or about 75% of the population, currently have fluoride added to their drinking water at recommended levels of 0.7 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water.
The U.S. practice differs from Europe, where fluoridated drinking water is rare.
Persons:
Edward Chen, Chen, ”, Barack Obama, ” Michael Connett
Organizations:
. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S, District, Toxic, Democratic, Water Watch, EPA
Locations:
California, San Francisco, U.S, Europe