Censored Review on Fluoride’s Toxicity Will Soon Be Made Public
By Derrick Broze
Attorneys with the Fluoride Action Network and the U.S. government have agreed to the release of a censored report on the toxicity of fluoride, the latest development in the ongoing fluoride lawsuit.
After numerous delays, and intervention by Assistant Health Secretary Rachel Levine, the U.S. National Toxicology Program’s review of Fluoride’s toxicity will soon be released to the public. The move is the latest development in the nearly decade-long legal battle between the Fluoride Action Network, Food and Water Watch, Organic Consumers Association, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Attorneys with the Fluoride Action Network and the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), parent agency for the National Toxicology Program, have agreed to the release of the long-delayed NTP review on fluoride’s toxicity. The release of the documents will play a major role in the next phase of the ongoing lawsuit against the EPA.
The decision to release the documents was made at a February 3rd meeting between counsel for the Fluoride Action Network and the NIEHS following a subpoena requesting comments from the agency, the NTP’s responses, and additional documents relevant to the decision not published in the NTP’s completed fluoride monograph in May 2022.
The NIEHS agreed to publicly post the NTP monograph to the NTP website, as well as comments provided by a little known bureaucracy known as the Board of Scientific Counselors, and the NTP’s subsequent responses. In addition to the NTP monograph, they will also publish a related meta-analysis that has been a subject of debate in recent hearings.
In a hearing on January 10th, Michael Connett, representing the Fluoride Action Network and other plaintiffs, expressed interest in obtaining comments from officials within the Department of Health and Human Services. In a declaration to the court, Dr. Richard Woychik, Director of the NIEHS, claimed it is these comments from unknown officials at the HHS which lead to the monograph being put on hold.
The EPA told Judge Edward Chen these comments should be privileged and not allowed as evidence in court or made public. Ultimately, Judge Chen ordered the two parties to meet and come to an agreement about which documents would be made public.
The NIEHS agreed to post the documents on or before March 15th, before the next scheduled court hearing on April 11th.
Judge Chen has previously said he is likely to set a new trial date at the April hearing. The release of the NTP monograph, a related meta-analysis and interagency comments are likely to play a major role in the second trial phase of the nearly decade-long legal battle.