(WHTM) — A bill proposed in the State Senate would prohibit the addition of fluoride in Pennsylvania water systems.
The bill, circulated by Senator Dawn Keefer (R-31), aims to prohibit any individual, entity, or political subdivision from adding fluoride to public water systems or water intended for public consumption and require the safe disposal of fluoride chemicals.
Sen. Keefer’s memo concedes that fluoride has been credited with reducing dental decay, but she says “recent scientific studies and public sentiment have raised questions about its safety and necessity.”
The memo cites a 2024 JAMA Pediatrics report linking higher fluoride exposure to lower IQ scores in children and a federal court ruling in California that fluoride levels in drinking water may pose an “unreasonable risk” to children’s cognitive development, which prompted the EPA’s review, as reasons to support the bill.
The memo adds that the bill was modeled after Utah’s HB-0081, which “promotes individual choice by supporting access to fluoride through supplements or topical applications, backed by state-led education.” The Utah bill banned fluoride in all of the state’s water systems to allow pharmacists to prescribe fluoride supplements.
It is important to note that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends a fluoride level of 0.7 milligrams per liter (mg/L) of drinking water to prevent tooth decay and promote good oral health, and to consult dental and medical providers for advice if your water’s fluoride level is either below or above 0.7 mg/L.
In the JAMA study Sen. Keefer referenced, there were “limited data and uncertainty in the dose-response association between fluoride exposure and children’s IQ when fluoride exposure was estimated by drinking water alone at concentrations less than 1.5 mg/L.” JAMA says more confidence in the associations at lower fluoride levels could be increased by additional studies, as the study was “not designed to address the broader public health implications of water fluoridation in the United States, [but] these results may inform future public health risk-benefit assessments of fluoride.”
In the court ruling Sen. Keefer referenced, the “confidence in hazard data and overall strength of the evidence and uncertainties were largely neutral.”
According to the NIH, higher levels of fluoride exposure, such as drinking water containing more than 1.5 milligrams of fluoride per liter, are associated with lower IQ in children, but “there were insufficient data to determine if the low fluoride level of 0.7 mg/L currently recommended for U.S. community water supplies has a negative effect on children’s IQ.” The NIH says they have found “no evidence that fluoride exposure had adverse effects on adult cognition.”
The NIH says more research is needed to better understand if there are health risks associated with low fluoride exposures.
Original article online at: https://www.abc27.com/pennsylvania/bill-proposes-eliminating-fluoride-from-pennsylvania-water-systems/