Fluoride debate grows nationally as EPA agrees to review limits

NORTHEAST WIS. – Peshtigo resident Brenda Staudenmaier, who has sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) saying its criteria for fluoride should be lower, wants government agencies to consider fluoridation’s effects on overall health, not just on teeth.

The federal agency is currently reviewing its maximum contamination level for fluoride of 4.0 mg/liter, after U.S. District Court Judge Edward Chen sided with Staudenmaier and ordered the agency to review its standards in the wake of new research suggesting a link between fluoride consumption in infants and young children and lower IQ.

While the agency had filed a Notice of Appeal, it has since said it will review new scientific research.

The appointment of U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has called fluoride “poison,” could be one factor in the EPA’s reversal. Kennedy plans to encourage the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop recommending fluoridated community water, the Associated Press said earlier this month. Kennedy and U.S. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin traveled on April 7 to Utah, the first state to pass a law prohibiting the adding of fluoride to public water supplies. Kennedy also plans to launch a fluoride task force, the AP said.
Staudenmaier was encouraged by the news, “RFK and Zeldin making an appearance in Utah, the first state to ban water fluoridation, marks such a pivotal moment in the ongoing battle against the harmful effects of fluoride in public water.”

The EPA announced its decision to review fluoride research the same day, “This renewed scientific evaluation is an essential step that will inform agency decisions on the standard for fluoride.”

“This is a full-circle moment for me. April 8th marks the anniversary of when I first began advocating to get fluoride out of our water, at a Green Bay Water Commission meeting in 2013. I had never attended a public meeting like that before, but it led me to meet the army of fluoride defenders,” she said in an email to a reporter.

“Since then, it’s been a journey full of challenges because of endorsements and appeals to authority, but we won our federal lawsuit in 2024, and the court ruled that water fluoridation presents an unreasonable risk to health. Our Toxic Substances Control Act lawsuit was based on the best science that has been conducted… It’s inspiring to see states like Utah taking action.”

On March 27, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed an anti-fluoridation law that will take effect on May 7. Utah residents will be allowed to take fluoride supplements or add fluoride to the water they drink on an individual basis, as the law allows pharmacists to prescribe, but municipalities will be barred from adding fluoride to the public water systems. In 2022, about four in 10 Utah residents consumed fluoridated water, according to CDC data.

Municipal and state leaders from throughout the United States are debating the issue of fluoridation on a local level. The City of Peshtigo is among a growing list of Wisconsin communities to decide not to add fluoride to the public water system, Staudenmaier said.

Now Staudenmaier wants Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services to stop recommending fluoridation and impose a fluoridation moratorium. “I urge the Wisconsin Department of Health Services to follow the lead of federal agencies and halt fluoridation until the EPA review is complete,” Staudenmaier said on April 8 in a letter to the Wisconsin Department of Public Health.

Staudenmaier also criticized the agency for continuing to ask a pro-fluoride lobbyist from Florida to promote fluoride at public meetings around the state. “It has come to my attention that Ms. (Marisa) Voelker has been actively coordinating with fluoride stakeholders… to influence local municipalities,” Staudenmaier said in her letter.

Voelker, an oral health coordinator at the Wisconsin Department of Public Health, did not respond to a reporter’s request for comment by press time.

“When government officials, like Secretary Kennedy, stand behind the commentary of misinformation and distrust peer-reviewed research, it is injurious to public health. Let’s stop the rhetoric and comprehensively study fluoride at the optimal level once and for all,” said dentist Brett Kessler, president of the American Dental Association, which is based in Chicago.
Recent research linking fluoride consumption among pregnant women and infants with cognitive and behavioral issues is getting noticed, but Kessler doesn’t buy it.

“If we want to do what is truly healthy for all Americans, policymakers need to review the relevant research with fluoridation levels similar to our country, like Australia, that demonstrate fluoride does not negatively impact IQ levels,” Kessler said. “The American Dental Association looks forward to meeting with the EPA on the development of a comprehensive evidence-based study on fluoride.”

More states are considering fluoridation statutes, and most don’t resemble Utah’s. While New Jersey, like Wisconsin, leaves fluoridation up to local communities, dentists want to change this and make fluoridation a state law.
Most dentists continue to support community water fluoridation, with only 5% opposing it, according to a study from the ADA’s Health Policy Institute.

Epidemiologists and health researchers who consider fluoride’s effects on the body and brain, not on teeth, are more likely to oppose fluoridation. They point to research associating fluoride consumption with health issues, ranging from brittle bones to neurological issues, such as lower IQ, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and other behavioral issues. Other health researchers have said fluoridation is associated with thyroid issues and some cancers.

The Wisconsin Oral Health Program recommends fluoridation at a level of 0.7 mg/liter, but said on its website, “Fluoride levels that range between 0.7 and 2 mg/l prevent tooth decay and promote good oral health.”

“I hear many people often say, ‘I drank fluoridated water my whole life and I’m fine,’ believing that their personal experience proves fluoride’s safety. The long-term, cumulative impact on public health can’t be dismissed by anecdotal evidence, and many studies suggest potential risks that need to be addressed,” Staudenmaier said.

The EPA is aware of fluoride’s “potential negative impacts” to bones and teeth in young children, according to an EPA statement provided to the Peshtigo Times earlier this year. Yet the EPA’s maximum contaminant level for fluoride is over five times the U.S. Public Health Service’s recommended level for fluoridation of 0.7 mg/l.

The EPA statement didn’t mention the research findings linking fluoride consumption with lower IQ scores and brain damage, as cited in the Sept. 24, 2024 court ruling against the EPA.The court ordered the EPA administrator to initiate rulemaking according to the Toxic Substance Control Act.

“If this case returns to the courtroom, it will delay addressing the permanent harm caused to children by the neurotoxicity of fluoride chemicals for several more years. Kids will continue to have a few IQ points shaved off and ADHD rates will continue to climb,” Staudenmaier said.