Excerpts:

… The plaintiffs rested their case on Friday morning, but not before the EPA brought to the judge’s attention that plaintiffs’ counsel, Michael P. Connett of Waters Kraus & Paul LLP, is also the son of Paul Connett, a toxicologist who heads up the Fluoride Action Network.

The EPA called on its expert witness, toxicologist Joyce Tsuji. She testified that, after reviewing the animal studies on fluoride’s neurotoxicity, her findings were that, “the evidence in animals is inadequate to inform our conclusions on neurotoxicity in humans” at the recommended .7 milligram per liter of water dose.

Tsuji, who works for the consulting firm Exponent, said the studies she reviewed on fluoride neurotoxicity were among the poorest quality she’d ever seen, and that doses used in animal studies were higher than that which people are being exposed to in community water systems.

“We have these problems with the animal studies, that I’m not sure we can relate what’s happening in them to humans,” Tsuji said.

Tsuji acknowledged that if fluoride does have an effect on the brain, the most consistent evidence suggests that it is above 20 milligrams per liter, at which point, she said, in animals you start to see loss of body weight or aversion to drinking the water.

On cross-examination, plaintiffs’ counsel asked Tsuji about her salary at Exponent. Tsuji declined to answer, saying it’s confidential business information. But the judge asked her to submit it to the court under seal. Tsuji said her bill for this case is about $200,000 so far.

Responding to plaintiffs’ questioning, Tsuji acknowledged that in her 20 years working at Exponent, she had largely been studying arsenic, and that most of her work has been funded by industry clients, including mining companies and smelting companies…

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