RFK Jr. discourages fluoride in drinking water
SALT LAKE CITY—US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday said he plans to tell the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop recommending fluoridation in communities nationwide. Kennedy also said he’s assembling a task force to focus on the issue.
Also on Monday, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it is reviewing “new scientific information” on potential health risks of fluoride in drinking water. The EPA has primary authority to set the maximum level of fluoridation in public water systems.
Kennedy can’t order communities to stop fluoridation, but he can tell the CDC to stop recommending it and work with the EPA to change the allowed amount.
Utah last month became the first state to ban fluoride in public drinking water, pushing past opposition from dentists and national health organizations who warned the move would lead to medical problems that disproportionately affect low-income communities.
Studies however have documented fluoride’s link to poor brain development.
Lower IQ
A report last year by the federal government’s National Toxicology Program, which summarized studies conducted in Canada, China, India, Iran, Pakistan and Mexico, concluded that drinking water with more than 1.5 milligrams of fluoride per liter was associated with lower IQs in kids.
Utah’s Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed legislation ordering water systems across the state to shut down their fluoridation systems by May 7.
Kennedy praised Utah for emerging as “the leader in making America healthy again.” He was flanked by Utah legislative leaders and the sponsor of the state’s fluoride law.
