EPA appeals landmark fluoride ruling

By Ellie Borst | 01/17/2025 01:45 PM EST

But the Trump administration could opt to drop the appeal and comply with the judge’s order for more regulation of the controversial additive.

Photo collage of drinking water and teeth X-rays

EPA appealed a district court ruling that fluoride in drinking water "poses an unreasonable risk of reduced IQ in children." Claudine Hellmuth/POLITICO's E&E News (illustration); EPA (text); Jenn Durfey/Flickr (faucet); Freepik (hands with glass); umanoide/Unsplash (teeth)

EPA is asking a federal appellate panel to reconsider a lower court’s order for regulations on fluoride in drinking water under the nation’s toxics law.

The appeal comes just days before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. Robert F Kennedy Jr., the incoming president’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, famously said in a post on X in November that “on January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water.”

The notice of appeal, filed Friday morning on EPA’s behalf by Justice Department attorney Brandon Adkins with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, also comes just days before the government’s Tuesday deadline to appeal. At the center is a district judge’s assertion that federally recommended fluoride levels in drinking water pose “an unreasonable risk of reduced IQ in children.”

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That “unreasonable risk” determination under the Toxic Substances Control Act means EPA must address that risk in some form, which could range from a warning label to an outright ban on fluoride, chemicals added to drinking water systems to strengthen teeth and prevent cavities.

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