A Plain Language Summary of the Science in FAN’s Landmark Lawsuit

On September 24, 2024 Judge Edward Chen issued a landmark federal court ruling that water fluoridation, as practiced in the US, poses an “unreasonable risk” of lowering children’s IQ and ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop regulations that eliminate this risk. The court’s decision was explained in a detailed 80-page Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law.

A month before the ruling, FAN’s Science Director, Chris Neurath, gave a video presentation on the scientific and legal arguments underlying the case at a scientific conference of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE 2024). The presentation summarizes the science, both sides’ positions, as well as the legal framework that led to the court’s decision. The strong ruling supporting FAN’s position means it is likely to withstand any appeal by the EPA.

The full video presentation describing the science is available in a FAN article authored by Neurath and posted in the “FAN Content” section of our website, along with additional relevant background information. Click the graphic below to access this full article and two relatively short videos:

The FAN article includes a “bonus” video presentation about a study from the Basque region of Spain that the EPA tried to argue cast doubt on all the other studies because it did not find a lowering of IQ. The video describes significant concerns about the study’s validity; concerns that the court agreed with in its ruling and which led the court giving the study little weight.

Thank you, 

Stuart Cooper

Executive Director

Fluoride Action Network