Salt Lake City (AP) – The US Health Minister Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Monday that he had a plan to tell the centers for the control and prevention of diseases in order to no longer recommend fluoride in communities nationwide. Kennedy said he put together a Task Force of Health experts to examine the problem and give fresh recommendations.
Also on Monday, the US environmental protection authority announced that it checked “new scientific information” for potential health risks of fluoride in drinking water. The EPA determines the maximum level that is permitted in public water systems.
Kennedy told the Associated Press after a press conference with EPA administrator Lee Zeldin in Salt Lake City.
Kennedy cannot order the municipalities to stop the fluoridation, but he can instruct the CDC, no longer recommend it and work with the EPA to change the permissible amount.
In the past month, Utah was the first state that banned fluoride in public drinking water and advanced the opposition of dentists and national health organizations that warned that the move would violate low -income residents with low incomes that could not afford regular visits to the dentist.
The Republican governor Spencer Cox signed laws that conclude cities and municipalities to decide whether the mineral should be added to your drinking water with cavity regulations. Water systems in the entire state must stop the fluoridation by May 7th.
Kennedy praised Utah for developing robust as a “leader in the resortation of America again”. It was flanked by the legislative leaders of Utah and the sponsor of the state’s fluoride law.
“I am very, very proud of this state because I am the first state to prohibit it and I hope that many more will be,” he said.
Kennedy monitors the CDC, whose recommendations are widespread, but are not mandatory. State and local governments decide whether water should add fluoride to water, and if so, how much – as long as it does not exceed one of the EPA, which is currently 4 milligrams per liter.
Zeldin said that his agency had initiated a fresh investigation into scientific studies on the potential health risks of fluoride in drinking water in order to influence changes to the national standards.
“When this evaluation has been completed, we will carry out an updated fundamental scientific assessment that influences the future steps of the agency,” said Zeldin. “Secretary Kennedy has long been at the forefront of this problem. His advocacy was largely due to our decision to check fluoride exposure risks, and we are obliged to work with him, and use sound science to drive our mission to protect human health and the environment.”
Fluoride strengthens the teeth and reduces the cavities by replacing minerals according to the CDC during normal wear. In 1950, federal officials supported the fluoridation of water to prevent tooth tax, and in 1962 they set guidelines for how much water should be added.
Kennedy, a former environmental attorney, has referred to Fluoride as a “dangerous neurotoxin” and associated with arthritis, broken bones and thyroid diseases. Some studies have suggested that such links could usually insist on above -average fluoride levels, although some experts have questioned the quality of the available evidence and that no final conclusions can be drawn.
In November, just a few days before the presidential elections, Kennedy, Donald Trump, said to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day as President. That didn’t happen, but Trump later chose Kennedy to lead the US Health Ministry and the Ministry of Health and Human Services, where he was expected to take some kind of measures. In the meantime, some places have carried out the decision that they should continue to add fluoride.
In connection with all this: A huge round of personnel cuts last week to the federal authorities, the elimination of the 20-member department for oral health of the CDC. This office managed grants to local authorities to improve dental health and in some cases promotes fluoridation.
Fluoride can come from a number of sources, but drinking water is the most significant thing for Americans, say researchers. According to CDC data, almost two thirds of the US population receive fluoridated drinking water. The addition of low fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest achievements in public health of the last century.
According to a 2022 CDC analysis, about a third of the community water systems 17,000 of 51,000 in the U.S. according to a 2022 CDC analysis. The agency currently recommends 0.7 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water.
Studies have documented potential problems over time. Too much fluoride was associated with stripes or spots on the teeth. Studies have also recorded a connection between excess fluoride and brain development.
In a report by the federal government’s national toxicology program, which summarized studies in Canada, China, India, Iran, Pakistan and Mexico, the fact that the drinking water with more than 1.5 milligrams fluoride per liter – was associated with lower IQs in children.
The American Dental Association said that fluoride in drinking water was shown for decades that they reduce the decay of the tooth. The group said they were ready to carry out high quality studies to solve the problem.
“When government officials like the secretary Kennedy are behind the comment of the misinformation and distrust that experts examined, this is harmful to public health,” said the president of the association, Brett Kessler.
The chairwoman of oral health in Utah, Lorna Koci, said on Monday that she hopes that other countries will resign against the removal of Fluoride, and that Kennedy’s visit, to celebrate the fluoride ban on her state, underlines the political motivations of those who support them.
“This seems less about fluoride and more about power,” said Koci.
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Stobbe reported from New York. Associated Press Writer Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, contributed to the reporting.
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