Fluoride’s Cavity-Fighting Can’t Count in EPA Risk Analyses, Court Told

• Nov. 7 hearing to decide whether fluoride ban lawsuit proceeds
• TSCA’s scientific criteria raised in final motions

The Toxic Substances Control Act forbids the EPA from considering fluoride’s health benefits as the agency decides whether that chemical poses an unreasonable risk that must be regulated, an environmental health group told a federal court.

Yet the Environmental Protection Agency maintains fluoride’s ability to prevent cavities justifies the agency ignoring scientific studies that show adding the chemical to drinking water poses an unreasonable risk of injuring children’s developing brains, Food and Water Watch Inc. told the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Any scientific evidence that fluoride may harm the brain doesn’t meet TSCA’s best available...