UPDATE 5/4/23: Today, the National Toxicology Program’s (NTP) Board of Scientific Counselors (BSC) voted unanimously to accept the recommendations of their working group.
This was an action that FAN supported in our written comments and oral testimony. In doing so, the BSC soundly rejected requests by the American Dental Association and other pro-fluoridation entities for changes intended to contradict the science and protect fluoridation rather than the public.
Stay tuned for additional information and video of the meeting. In the meantime, you can learn more about today’s meeting here: https://fluoridealert.org/articles/ntp-board-of-scientific-counselors-meeting-on-may-4th/
The National Toxicology Program (NTP) will be holding a public meeting this Thursday, May 4th on their 6-year systematic review of all human studies on fluoride’s effect on the developing brain. The review was issued in two parts, a monograph and a meta-analysis, and concluded that prenatal and early life exposures can reduce IQ. The meta-analysis reported that 52 of 55 studies found lower IQ with higher fluoride exposures, demonstrating remarkable consistency. Of the 19 studies rated higher quality, 18 found lowering of IQ. The meta-analysis could not detect a safe level of exposure, including those commonly found from drinking artificially fluoridated water.
The hearing will be livestreamed starting at 12:30PM (EST) on the following YouTube page, as well as on FAN’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
The NTP’s Board of Scientific Counselors (BSC)–an external committee whose members are appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to advise the NTP Executive Committee and Director–will be hearing a presentation from a BSC working group, as well as public testimony from stakeholder organizations, including the Fluoride Action Network (FAN). The working group was asked to evaluate “the adequacy of NTP responses to external peer review and federal agency comments received” on the NTP’s fluoride monograph and meta-analysis, and have submitted their findings to the full council.
The meeting will start with introductions and opening remarks, followed by the presentation from the working group. An hour has been allotted for oral comments from the public, and that is expected to occur roughly between 1:30 and 2:45 (EST). After public comment, there will be a break followed by deliberation by the BSC and closing remarks. The official agenda for the meeting is available here.
The deadline for written public comment submissions and oral comment registrations has passed. You can read FAN’s submission, as well as others from the public–both opponents and proponents of fluoridation–by clicking here.
During the BSC’s deliberations, they will decide whether to make amendments to the NTP report based on the working group’s analysis, followed by making a final recommendation to the NTP Director, Rick Woychik, Ph.D. It’s unclear if a vote will be taken by the BSC at this meeting or at a future meeting in July.
It’s important to point out that the NTP report has already undergone an unprecedented multi-tiered peer review process that no other monograph in history has been subjected to, including being reviewed twice by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), reviewed by a select group of external subject matter experts, and reviewed by various pro-fluoridation agencies within HHS.
For those who cannot watch the hearing live, it will be recorded and FAN will share the video with you in a future bulletin, along with any other important documents made public after the hearing.
Thank you,
Stuart Cooper
Executive Director
Fluoride Action Network
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