RFK Jr. says Trump wants to remove fluoride from drinking water
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OAKLAND, Calif. - Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to have a role in President-elect Donald Trump's administration.
One issue that Kennedy supports is removing fluoride from drinking water.
Kennedy told NPR on Wednesday that Trump will propose removing fluoride from the nation's drinking water early in his term.
"On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water. Fluoride is an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease," Kennedy said on social media over the weekend.
Fluoride, a mineral added to water to prevent cavities, is supported by the American Dental Association, which says fluoridation helps people without regular dental care and prevents about 25 percent of tooth decay.
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Fluoride in drinking water is linked with lower IQs in kids, federal report says
A U.S. government report expected to stir debate concluded that fluoride in drinking water at twice the recommended limit is linked with lower IQ in children.
However, recent studies by the federal government's own National Toxicology Program, from the Department of Health and Human Services, and a federal judge in San Francisco have questioned whether these benefits outweigh the risks of too much fluoride exposure, especially in young children.
In September, U.S. District Court Judge Edward Chen ruled that the government must re-evaluate and possibly lower fluoride levels after studies linked high fluoride exposure to lower IQs in children.
This was after an organization called "Food and Water Watch, Inc.", sued the Environmental Protection Agency, in which Chen ruled in favor of the plaintiffs.
"The Court finds Plaintiffs have met their burden in establishing, a preponderance of the evidence, that community water fluoridation at 0.7 mg/L presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health," he said in his ruling., "The EPA is thus obliged to take regulatory action in response. The Court does not in this order prescribe what that response should be."
The ruling could lead to a change in federal guidelines, which, since 2015, have recommended no more than 0.7 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water. Local water districts manage their own levels.
KTVU examined local fluoride levels from water quality data across the Bay Area over the past year:
- East Bay Municipal Utility District: Up to 0.72 mg/L
- Santa Clara Valley Water District: 0.66 mg/L post-treatment
- San Jose Water: 0.2-0.9 mg/L
- San Francisco Water: 0.4-2.6 mg/L
- Marin Water: 0.5-1.0 mg/L
- Alameda County Water: 0.0-0.91 mg/L
Fluoride has been in U.S. drinking water since 1945.