{"id":27152,"date":"2025-07-15T18:26:54","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T22:26:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/?p=27152"},"modified":"2025-07-15T18:26:54","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T22:26:54","slug":"another-huge-maha-betrayal-trumps-doj-says-epa-will-appeal-landmark-fluoride-ruling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.info\/?p=27152","title":{"rendered":"

ANOTHER HUGE MAHA BETRAYAL!<\/span> Trump\u2019s DOJ Says EPA Will Appeal Landmark Fluoride Ruling<\/span><\/b><\/h1>"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The decision to appeal came from the solicitor general at the DOJ, who reports to Pam Bondi and the White House. In February, a federal judge ruled against the EPA, concluding that water fluoridation at current levels poses an unreasonable risk to children\u2019s health and ordering the EPA to address the issue.<\/em><\/h3>\n

by Brenda Baletti, Ph.D.
\nThe Defender<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to appeal a decision last year by a federal court ordering the agency to address the risks of water fluoridation, according to\u00a0Michael Connett<\/a>, lead attorney for plaintiffs in the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

\u201cRather than use the court\u2019s decision as an opportunity to finally end water fluoridation (as most of Europe has already done), the\u00a0EPA<\/a>\u00a0will spend its time legally challenging the court\u2019s order,\u201d Connett wrote in a post on X.<\/p>\n

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After several extensions, the Trump Administration has decided to appeal the federal court decision ordering EPA to address the risk posed by water fluoridation. EPA will be filing its appeal next Friday, July 18.<\/p>\n

Rather than use the court\u2019s decision as an opportunity to\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Michael Connett (@michaelpconnett)\u00a0July 11, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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The American Chemistry Council, a trade organization representing the chemical industry, and the American Fluoridation Society, a fluoridation advocacy organization that\u00a0touts its work<\/a>\u00a0undermining local\u00a0efforts to oppose water fluoridation<\/a>, filed motions seeking to submit amicus briefs supporting the EPA appeal, he said.<\/p>\n

Connett told\u00a0The Defender<\/a>\u00a0that the American Dental Association also plans to file a brief.<\/p>\n

The EPA said it will file the appeal on July 18, after which the case will go to a three-judge panel in the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. The appeals court will receive briefs from both sides, along with any amicus briefs, and hear oral arguments before issuing its decision.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Fluoride Action Network<\/a>\u00a0(FAN), one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the EPA, said on X that the appeal was \u201ca very disappointing move by EPA.\u201d \u201cA few months ago,\u00a0@epaleezeldin<\/a>\u00a0went on a public speaking tour with\u00a0@SecKennedy<\/a>\u00a0to address why fluoride needs to come OUT of the water. Now the EPA will appeal to keep fluoride IN drinking water.\u201d<\/p>\n

Connett noted that the decision to appeal came from the solicitor general at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), who reports to Pam Bondi and the White House, not by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) or by\u00a0Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/a>, who has vocally opposed water fluoridation, but lacks the authority to end it.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly the EPA has this power, and it has decided, for now, to forego its historic opportunity (as provided by the court\u2019s decision) to exercise it,\u201d Connett said.<\/p>\n

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention publishes recommendations from the U.S. Public Health Service on whether\u00a0communities should add fluoride<\/a>\u00a0to their drinking water and at what levels. However, the EPA sets the maximum levels allowed in water under the\u00a0Safe Drinking Water Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The current maximum allowable levels of\u00a0fluoride<\/a>\u00a0in drinking water are 4.0 milligrams per liter (mg\/L), which is many orders of magnitude higher than the currently recommended dosage of 0.7 mg\/L.<\/p>\n

Even the lower recommended dosage has demonstrated a risk to children\u2019s health in numerous studies, and according to the federal ruling that the EPA plans to challenge.<\/p>\n

EPA continues to treat fluoride as a \u2018protected pollutant\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

In September 2024, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen issued the historic decision in the lawsuit against the EPA,\u00a0ruling<\/a>\u00a0that water fluoridation at current U.S. levels poses an \u201cunreasonable risk<\/a>\u201d of reduced IQ in children and that the EPA must take regulatory action to address that risk.<\/p>\n

At the time of the ruling, more than 200 million Americans were\u00a0drinking water treated with fluoride<\/a>\u00a0at the \u201coptimal\u201d level of 0.7 mg\/L.<\/p>\n

Chen ruled that a preponderance of scientific evidence showed this level of fluoride exposure may damage human\u00a0health<\/a>, particularly that of pregnant mothers and young children.<\/p>\n

Environmental and consumer advocacy organizations, including\u00a0FAN<\/a>,\u00a0Moms Against Fluoridation<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Food & Water Watch<\/a>, along with individual parents and children, filed the lawsuit against the EPA in 2017 under the\u00a0Toxic Substances Control Act<\/a>\u00a0(TSCA) after the EPA denied their citizens\u2019 petition to reexamine water fluoridation.<\/p>\n

During the trial that followed, Chen reviewed existing regulations, regulatory frameworks and current science on fluoride\u2019s risks to children and pregnant women presented through peer-reviewed papers and experts on both sides.<\/p>\n

The case dragged on for seven years, after numerous delays by the EPA, and attempts by HHS officials to block the release of the key piece of evidence in the case, a government\u00a0report on fluoride\u2019s toxicity<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Chen\u2019s 80-page ruling, issued seven months after\u00a0closing arguments<\/a>\u00a0in February 2024, offered a careful and detailed articulation of the EPA\u2019s review process for hazardous chemicals and summarized the extensive scientific data on fluoride\u2019s toxicity.<\/p>\n

Chen concluded that the risk to health at current levels of exposure demanded a regulatory response by the agency.<\/p>\n

Evidence against fluoride keeps piling up<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since the end of the trial, the body of scientific evidence showing fluoride\u2019s adverse impacts on children\u2019s health has grown. Scientists at the National Toxicology Program in January published a meta-analysis in\u00a0JAMA Pediatrics<\/a>\u00a0linking fluoridated water and\u00a0IQ loss in children<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The program also\u00a0published a monograph in August<\/a>\u00a02024 that found a link between higher fluoride exposure and lower IQ in children.<\/p>\n

In May 2024, a study in JAMA Open Network found children born to Los Angeles\u00a0mothers exposed during pregnancy<\/a>\u00a0to fluoridated drinking water were more likely to have neurobehavioural problems.<\/p>\n

FAN\u2019s executive director, Stuart Cooper, said the group has long sought to end the \u201cunnecessary life-long and life-altering brain impairment in children specifically due to artificial fluoridation schemes\u201d and the many\u00a0other side effects<\/a>\u00a0to people\u2019s liver, kidneys, thyroid and bones.<\/p>\n

For nine years, he said, the EPA has been working against them. \u201cFrom day one of our interactions with them, they\u2019ve treated fluoridation chemicals as a protected pollutant, likely due to the government\u2019s role in promoting their use and guaranteeing their \u2018safety\u2019 for over 80 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cooper added:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the science is clear and the lower court\u2019s ruling was very strong and comprehensive, it\u2019s not necessarily a surprise that the appeal has occurred. Our case is precedent-setting. We were the first to sue the EPA under TSCA. I suspect that corporate polluters who have learned how to manage and influence the EPA to their benefit don\u2019t want citizens groups to use TSCA to force the EPA to regulate harmful chemicals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another plaintiff in the lawsuit, Moms Against Fluoridation, told The Defender it was\u201cdeeply disappointed\u201d that the EPA plans to appeal the ruling.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe science is clear, and our lawsuit\u2019s findings are undeniable: fluoridation is a toxic legacy that must end, like asbestos, DDT, and lead,\u201d it said. \u201cThe agency\u2019s plan to appeal only underscores their prioritization of industry interests over the well-being of our children and vulnerable populations. Moms Against Fluoridation will not back down \u2014 we will continue to fight tirelessly for the health and safety of all Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n

60+ towns and counties and two states vote to end fluoridation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since the federal ruling last year, more than 60 U.S. towns, counties and two states \u2014\u00a0Utah<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Florida<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 have voted to\u00a0stop fluoridating their water<\/a>, according to FAN.<\/p>\n

During that time, there has been an ongoing campaign by the American Dental Association, the American Fluoridation Society and mainstream media to discredit the court\u2019s ruling.<\/p>\n

Typically, they assert that water fluoridation is an important, safe and effective way to\u00a0prevent tooth decay<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 and that without it,\u00a0rates of cavities will soar<\/a>, costing billions. They cite a study published by researchers\u00a0funded by pro-fluoridation groups<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Yet, overwhelming scientific research shows that\u00a0fluoride\u2019s benefits to teeth<\/a>\u00a0are topical, not the result of ingesting fluoride, and a 2024\u00a0Cochrane Review<\/a>\u00a0found adding fluoride to drinking water provides very limited dental benefits, especially compared with 50 years ago.<\/p>\n

Most media reports also highlight the fact that fluoride is a \u201cnaturally occurring<\/a>\u00a0mineral.\u201d However, they don\u2019t mention that the fluoride added to water supplies is not.<\/p>\n

The fluoride most commonly added to U.S. drinking water supplies is hydrofluorosilicic acid, the\u00a0byproduct of phosphate fertilizer production<\/a>. Chemical companies sell the byproduct to local water departments across the country.<\/p>\n

Communities that have recently ended fluoridation have found themselves saddled with a chemical that they must\u00a0dispose of as hazardous waste<\/a>, per EPA regulations \u2014 an expensive and time-consuming process.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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