BACKGROUND On Nov. 22, 2016, a Citizens’ Petition was presented to the Environmental Protection Abency (EPA) under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The Petition requested EPA “to protect the public and susceptible subpopulations from the neurotoxic risks of fluoride by banning the addition of fluoridation chemicals to water,” excercizing its authority […]
News Archive
Welcome to the Fluoride Action Network News Archive. The FAN News Archive serves as an historical repository for fluoride news stories, positive or negative. Since FAN catalogs all news stories on fluoride, our news section remains a reliable database of all published fluoride news.
Our news database is categorized by country, state/province, and industry. This collection of articles is constantly being updated with the most recent global news on fluoride-related issues and events.
Trial Concludes in Challenge to EPA’s Denial of Fluoride Petition
During the week of June 15, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California heard from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final three witnesses: Dr. Joyce Tsuji, Dr. Ellen Chang, and Dr. Tala Henry. Food & Water Watch, Inc. v. EPA, Case No. 3:17-cv-02162-EMC. Dr. Tsuji did not dispute that fluoride […]
Fluoridation of city’s water still working as designed
Ten months after Meadville Area Water Authority began fluoridating its water, officials say the process is functioning as expected. While the fluoridation system is operating smoothly, the board’s discussion of it raised some of the same divisions that were evident when fluoridation was narrowly approved three years ago. “I’m pleased to report that it’s working […]
Federal trial over TSCA citizens’ petition concludes without ruling
Judge pushes parties in fluoridation case to confer before issuing ruling A federal judge has asked the US EPA and environmental advocates to try to reach an agreement before he makes a ruling in a potentially far-reaching case involving a TSCA citizens’ petition asking the agency to limit [sic, ban] the addition of fluoride to […]
New Health Data Puts EPA’s Fluoride Toxicity Trial on Ice
Plaintiffs, EPA to return for update in August Parties considering new petition, other avenues Health advocates’ concerns about fluoride in drinking water will have to wait a bit longer, as the EPA and a federal judge in California consider new data about the chemical’s health risks. U.S. District Court Judge Edward M. Chen in the […]
Portland fluoridation clash echoes in unprecedented trial
California federal case features familiar debate over whether fluoridation should continue, including in Oregon. In a broadcast that rewound the clock to pre-coronavirus times, a live-streamed federal trial in San Francisco revisited the fluoridation debate that gripped the city of Portland in 2013. Since June 8, Food and Water Watch, the Fluoride Action Network and […]
EPA Should Reexamine Fluoridated Water Risks, Judge Says
Excerpt: A California federal judge overseeing a bench trial challenging fluoridation of drinking water suggested during closing arguments Wednesday that he hold off ruling so that the EPA can reevaluate fluoride’s risks, saying the agency apparently used the wrong standard and hadn’t considered additional information raised at trial. “Doesn’t it make sense to have the […]
Bedford Regional Water Authority to begin adding fluoride to drinking water
After voting last June to resume fluoridation treatment of drinking water throughout all its systems, the Bedford Regional Water Authority announced this week it will begin a two-phase process beginning Monday. Water fluoridation is the controlled addition of fluoride to a water supply. The BRWA’s Central Water Treatment Plant serves the Town of Bedford, and […]
Citing New Evidence, Judge Suggests Plaintiffs File New Fluoride Petition
Excerpts: A federal judge is suggesting he may withhold any ruling in the landmark case on whether fluoride in drinking water poses an “unreasonable risk” and is eligible for regulation under the revised toxics law to allow the plaintiffs to file a new petition that will address new data that has been developed since they […]
EPA Risk Assessment Director Stands By Fluoridated Water
… Dr. Tala Henry, director of the EPA’s Risk Assessment Division … said there was insufficient evidence to support the claim that fluoridation in water posed a safety risk at the current recommended dose level. On cross-examination, plaintiffs’ counsel Michael P. Connett of Waters Kraus & Paul LLP said the EPA used a causation standard for assessing risk […]