Judge Orders EPA to Address Potential Risk of Fluoride in Drinking Water

‘The risk to health at exposure levels in United States drinking water is sufficiently high to trigger regulatory response by the EPA,’ Judge Edward Chen said.

Water from a tap fills a glass in San Anselmo, Calif., on July 6, 2023. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A federal judge in California on Sept. 25 ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to strengthen its rules around fluoride in drinking water, writing that the compound could pose a risk to children’s intellectual development.

In an 80-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco noted that while it is not certain that the amount of fluoride that is typically added to drinking water can lower the IQ in children, he concluded that new research suggests that it might pose such a risk.