September 26, 2024
Waters Kraus Paul & Siegel attorneys secured a monumental federal court ruling, finding that EPA-recommended fluoride levels in public drinking water supplies pose an “unreasonable risk of injury to health.”
The ruling by District Court Judge Edward M. Chen of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California is based on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which empowers citizens to petition the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to consider whether a chemical presents an unreasonable risk of injury to health. The case reached the federal court after the EPA denied the petition filed by plaintiff, Food and Water Watch Inc.
The ruling sends the matter back to the EPA to “engage in rulemaking,” which can range from requiring a warning label to outright banning of the chemical.
The trial team was led by attorney Michael Connett, a former partner at Waters Kraus Paul & Siegel, and included firm partner Andy Waters.
Judge Chen’s ruling found “little dispute in this suit as to whether fluoride poses a hazard to human health.”
“Indeed, EPA’s own expert agrees that fluoride is hazardous at some level of exposure,” Judge Chen wrote. “And ample evidence establishes that a mother’s exposure to fluoride during pregnancy is associated with IQ decrements in her offspring.”
“The order does not dictate precisely what that response must be… One thing the EPA cannot do, however, in the face of this Court’s finding, is to ignore that risk,” Judge Chen wrote.
The EPA first recommended adding fluoride to water in 1975. Since then, researchers have linked fluoride to severe enamel fluorosis, risk of bone fracture, and potential skeletal fluorosis, as well as reduced IQ in children. Recommended levels were lowered in 2006 to 0.7 mg/L.
The case is Food and Water Watch Inc., et al. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, et al., Case No. 17-cv-02162, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
“We founded this firm to protect individuals from dangerous products and harmful chemicals,” Mr. Waters said. “This hard-fought case is a perfect example of our legal team’s ability to take on complicated cases and doggedly pursue justice against powerful interests.”
About Waters Kraus Paul & Siegel
Waters Kraus Paul & Siegel is a national plaintiffs’ law firm devoted to helping families in personal injury and wrongful death cases involving asbestos and mesothelioma, benzene exposure, dangerous pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and birth defects caused by pesticides, toxic chemicals, opioid use, and semiconductor chip manufacturing. The law firm also represents plaintiffs in qui tam whistleblower matters and cases that uncover false claims submitted to the government. Based in Dallas with offices in Los Angeles and Moline, Illinois, Waters Kraus Paul & Siegel has represented families from all fifty states and many foreign countries, as well as foreign governments.
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