RFK Jr. says he plans to tell CDC to stop recommending fluoride in drinking water

SALT LAKE CITY AP U S Fitness Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr on Monday explained he plans to tell the Centers for Illness Control and Prevention to stop recommending fluoridation in communities nationwide Kennedy also reported he s assembling a task force to focus on the issue Also on Monday the U S Environmental Protection Agency communicated it is reviewing new scientific information on prospective strength risks of fluoride in drinking water The EPA has primary authority to set the maximum level of fluoridation in population water systems Kennedy informed The Associated Press of his plans after a news conference with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin in Salt Lake City Kennedy can t order communities to stop fluoridation but he can tell the CDC to stop recommending it and work with the EPA to change the allowed amount Utah last month became the first state to ban fluoride in general drinking water pushing past opposition from dentists and national wellness organizations who warned the move would lead to therapeutic problems that disproportionately affect low-income communities Republican Gov Spencer Cox signed regulation barring cities and communities from deciding whether to add the cavity-preventing mineral to their water systems Water systems across the state must shut down their fluoridation systems by May Kennedy praised Utah for emerging as the leader in making America healthy again He was flanked by Utah legislative leaders and the sponsor of the state s fluoride law I m very very proud of this state for being the first state to ban it and I hope a great number of more will he commented Kennedy oversees the CDC whose recommendations are widely followed but not mandatory State and local governments decide whether to add fluoride to water and if so how much as long as it doesn t exceed a maximum set by the EPA which is at this moment milligrams per liter Zeldin declared his agency was launching a renewed examination of scientific studies on the prospective wellness risks of fluoride in drinking water to help inform any changes to the national standards When this evaluation is completed we will have an updated foundational scientific evaluation that will inform the agency s future policies Zeldin stated Secretary Kennedy has long been at the forefront of this issue His advocacy was instrumental in our decision to review fluoride exposure risks and we are committed to working alongside him utilizing sound science as we advance our mission of protecting human physical condition and the surroundings Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear according to the CDC In federal representatives endorsed water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay and in set guidelines for how much should be added to water Kennedy a former environmental lawyer has called fluoride a dangerous neurotoxin and noted also it s been associated with arthritis bone breaks and thyroid ailment Various studies have suggested such links might exist usually at higher-than-recommended fluoride levels though a few reviewers have questioned the quality of available evidence and disclosed no definitive conclusions can be drawn In November just days before the presidential referendum Robert F Kennedy Jr declared that Donald Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day as president That didn t happen but Trump later picked Kennedy to run the U S Department of Robustness and Human Services where he has been expected to take specific kind of action Meanwhile selected localities have gone ahead and decisions whether to keep fluoridating water Related to all this A massive round of staffing cuts last week across federal agencies included elimination of the -person Division of Oral Robustness at the Centers for Complaint Control and Prevention That office managed grants to local agencies to improve dental physical condition and in come cases encourage fluoridation Fluoride can come from a number of sources but drinking water is the main one for Americans researchers say Nearly two-thirds of the U S population gets fluoridated drinking water according to CDC information The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water was long considered one of the greatest community soundness achievements of the last century About one-third of neighborhood water systems out of across the U S serving more than of the population fluoridated their water according to a CDC analysis The agency in the present recommends milligrams of fluoride per liter of water But over time studies have documented possible problems Too much fluoride has been associated with streaking or spots on teeth Studies also have traced a link between excess fluoride and brain maturation A overview last year by the federal executive s National Toxicology Venture which summarized studies conducted in Canada China India Iran Pakistan and Mexico concluded that drinking water with more than milligrams of fluoride per liter more than twice the recommended level in the U S was associated with lower IQs in kids Utah Oral Strength Coalition chairperson Lorna Koci disclosed Monday that she hopes other states push back against the removal of fluorideand that Kennedy s visit to celebrate her state s fluoride ban underscores the political motivations of those who aid it She predicted children will have more cavities as a upshot and declared backers of the fluoride rule in Utah spread false information that raised doubts about its effectiveness This seems to be less about fluoride and more about power she explained Stobbe stated from New York Associated Press writer Matthew Brown in Billings Montana contributed reporting The Associated Press Robustness and Science Department receives help from the Howard Hughes Health Institute s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation The AP is solely responsible for all content Source