RFK Jr. calls for end of fluoride in water, after Utah ban
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called Monday for the end of community water fluoridation, praising Utah's move to ban the addition of fluoride to the water supply.
"It makes no sense to have it in our water supply. And I'm very, very proud of this state for being the first state to ban it. And I hope many more will come," Kennedy told reporters in Utah.
It comes as the Environmental Protection Agency says it has now launched a new review of fluoride's health effects, working with Kennedy's department as it weighs whether to tighten federal restrictions on its addition to drinking water.
Kennedy will also be reconvening his department's Community Preventive Services Task Force to make a new recommendation on water fluoridation, an HHS official said. The federal task force previously recommended water fluoridation after a review in 2013, citing "strong evidence" of its public health benefits to reduce cavities outweighing its costs.
"As soon as I was nominated by President Trump as administrator of the EPA, the secretary instantly reached out to start talking about issues that he is so passionate about. And number one on that list was fluoride," EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said.
Fluoride has been incorporated into public water supplies in much of the country for decades to help protect against tooth decay. Dental organizations and public health experts say it's a safe and low-cost intervention with proven benefits.
Kennedy, however, cited a previous review by the federal government's National Toxicology Program, which concluded that "higher levels" of fluoride was linked to lowered IQ in children. Those levels exceeded what's recommended in water systems.
While the program's report concluded more research was needed into whether fluoride was actually affecting IQ at levels found in most U.S. drinking water, a federal court ruled last year that the report's findings were enough to warrant forcing the EPA to do more to address this potential risk.
Speaking with reporters Monday, Kennedy went further than the report, warning of multiple other potential health risks ranging from hyperthyroidism to osteoarthritis. He said adding fluoride to water "clearly is doing harm" and was undermining freedom of choice.
The EPA previously lowered its limits for fluoride in water in 2011, after a report from the National Academy of Sciences found some impacts on thyroid and arthritic symptoms might be possible under maximum limits at the time.
"They have not been completely well studied, but they are alarming enough that we shouldn't be demanding that parents accept something for their children and in their homes, that is essentially a medication," said Kennedy.
The American Dental Association has disputed claims that water fluoridation is unsafe, calling the report flawed. The organization cites continuing evidence that shows the policy substantially reduces cavity rates, especially for children in low-income communities.
Kennedy's remarks come days after he gutted the CDC's Division of Oral Health as part of the department's widespread layoffs.
Before it was eliminated, the division had been responsible for CDC's work promoting the safety and benefits of community water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay.
The health secretary did not directly answer a question about the prospect of reinstating many of the laid-off workers at his department, after he suggested last week that some of the cuts he ordered were mistakes.
"No, the program — what I said was that there are programs that there are — the programs have been consolidated," Kennedy told reporters.
Kennedy has faced criticism for layoffs impacting a wide range of federal health agency services, including forcing Food and Drug Administration officials to cut back on food and drug safety inspections and eliminating the CDC's only labs to investigate STD and viral hepatitis outbreaks.
"We didn't cut any core programs or any critical care programs or any scientific programs. Those programs are being consolidated in a new agency that is going to make America healthy again," he said.
