Government Report Finds No Safe Level of Fluoride in Water; Fluoridation Policy Threatened

Sep 11, 2023

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16 Mar, 2023, 18:27 ET

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NORTH SUTTON, N.H., March 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A court order has led to the National Toxicology Program (NTP) releasing a finalized systematic review of fluoride's neurotoxicity that was blocked by government officials and concealed from the public since May 2022, according to the Fluoride Action Network. The NTP reported 52 of 55 studies found decreases in child IQ with increased fluoride.

"Our meta-analysis confirms results of previous meta-analyses and extends them by including newer, more precise studies…The data support a consistent inverse association between fluoride exposure and children's IQ."

NTP's meta-analysis puts the harm into perspective:

"[R]esearch on other neurotoxicants has shown that subtle shifts in IQ at the population level can have a profound impact…a 5-point decrease in a population's IQ would nearly double the number of people classified as intellectually disabled."

The documents include comments from NTP's experts confirming their conclusion applies to fluoridation. When an unnamed government employee commenter claimed:

"The data do not support the assertion of an effect below 1.5 mg/L…all conclusory statements in this document should be explicit that any findings from the included studies only apply to water fluoride concentrations above 1.5 mg/L."

The NTP responded:

"We do not agree with this comment…our assessment considers fluoride exposures from all sources, not just water…because fluoride is also found in certain foods, dental products, some pharmaceuticals, and other sources… Even in the optimally fluoridated cities…individual exposure levels…suggest widely varying total exposures from water combined with fluoride from other sources."

NTP also said:

"We have no basis on which to state that our findings are not relevant to some children or pregnant people in the United States."

"Several of the highest quality studies showing lower IQs in children were done in optimally fluoridated (0.7 mg/L) areas…many urinary fluoride measurements exceed those that would be expected from consuming water that contains fluoride at 1.5 mg/L."

Asked whether its meta-analysis had identified any safe dose of fluoride, NTP responded that they found "no obvious threshold" for total fluoride exposure or water fluoride exposure. NTP cited their report's graph showing a steep drop in IQ of about 7 points over a fluoride range from 0.2 to 1.5 mg/L. A peer-reviewer commented on the size of the effect: "…that's substantial…That's a big deal."

SOURCE Fluoride Action Network