“Undone A Historic Opportunity” – Landmark Fluoride Ruling Vacated By Federal Appeals Court

A federal appeals court has vacated a landmark ruling that said water fluoridation at current U.S. levels presents an “unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment, without consideration of costs or other non-risk factors, including an unreasonable risk to a potentially exposed or susceptible subpopulation under the conditions of use.”

Could Water Fluoridation Be Ended After Landmark Court Decision?

The ruling had ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address the health risks of fluoride in drinking water.

However, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the district judge had “commandeered” the case and abused his discretion by refusing to rule on the first trial record.

“In an unsigned opinion, the three-judge panel vacated Senior U.S. District Judge Edward Chen’s ruling and sent the case back to him in San Francisco with instructions to rule on the dispute based on the evidence presented at a first bench trial rather than on additional evidence that the