President Donald Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), led by Administrator Lee Zeldin, is reconsidering the safety of adding fluoride to drinking water.
The agency announced this decision in a press release on Monday, explaining that it will “expeditiously review new scientific information on potential health risks of fluoride in drinking water.”
“This renewed scientific evaluation is an essential step that will inform agency decisions on the standard for fluoride under the Safe Drinking Water Act,” the press release reads, falling in line with the Make America Health Again (MAHA) agenda.
Zeldin said the evaluation will provide clear steps for the agency regarding statutory obligations under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The press release also cited a National Toxicology Program report from August 2024, which concluded that they had “‘moderate confidence’ that fluoride exposure above 1.5 milligrams per liter is associated with lower IQ in children.” The report advised more research on the matter to see “if there are health risks associated with exposure to lower fluoride concentrations. ”
“Without prejudging any outcomes, when this evaluation is completed, we will have an updated foundational scientific evaluation that will inform the agency’s future steps to meet statutory obligations under the Safe Drinking Water Act,” Zeldin said.
“Secretary Kennedy has long been at the forefront of this issue,” he continued.
“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 health and the environment,” he added.
In Utah with @SecKennedy to announce @EPA will launch an expeditious review of new science on fluoride in drinking water. Secretary Kennedy strongly believes in this issue and today’s action wouldn’t have happened without his leadership. #MAHA pic.twitter.com/uWBP89rsEE
— Lee Zeldin (@epaleezeldin) April 8, 2025
Utah’s environmental challenges require thoughtful solutions that necessitate input from our local communities. That’s why I was grateful to have @EPA Administrator @epaleezeldin here in Utah today. While meeting with state and community leaders, we were able to cover a lot of… pic.twitter.com/SjrAZJR7po
— Senator John Curtis (@SenJohnCurtis) April 7, 2025
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also said he plans to tell the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to stop recommending fluoride in communities’ water supply.
The review comes on the heels of several individual communities voting to remove fluoride from their drinking water.
Utah became the first state to ban fluoride in the drinking water altogether. The measure, signed by Governor Spencer Cox (R), goes into effect May 7.
