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https://www.thelastamericanvagabond.com/after-two-year-delay-federal-judge-says-fluoride-lawsuit-may-continue/

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After a Two Year Delay, Federal Judge Says Fluoride Lawsuit May Continue

Posted on November 10, 2022 Author Derrick BrozeComment

If successful, the lawsuit could spell the end of water fluoridation in the United States.

U.S. District Court Judge Edward Chen has ended a two year stay on a historic lawsuit seeking to end water fluoridation in the United States. Judge Chen also ruled that a long-delayed study of fluoride by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) could be reviewed in its unpublished form to better inform the judges final decision.

The move is the latest in a nearly decade long legal dispute between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and plaintiffs Food and Water Watch, the Fluoride Action Network (FAN), Moms Against Fluoridation, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology, and the Organic Consumers Association.

Judge Chen wants to review an unpublished, draft version of a May 2022 health assessment from the NTP. In August 2020, Judge Chen ordered the case into abeyance and told the FAN to file a new petition with the EPA while the court awaited the NTP review of the research on fluoride. However, since that time, hearings have been delayed and rescheduled as the judge awaited the NTP’s conclusions.

Judge Chen’s latest ruling means that the NTP’s draft assessment can be brought into discovery if the plaintiffs are able to acquire it. The FAN is currently fighting to obtain a copy of the NTP’s May 2022 draft as part of a Freedom of Information Act request. However, due to concerns from the EPA, Judge Chen ruled that the report could not be made public unless the NTP releases it.

Judge Chen ordered the plaintiffs to submit the report to court if they do obtain it and set a status hearing on Tuesday January 10, 2023.

During the most recent hearing, Fluoride Action Network attorney Michael Connett drew attention to the unusual process the NTP has used to evaluate the data on the safety of water fluoridation.

“This report, which has now been reviewed 4 times, is now going to be reviewed a 5th time by the NTP,” Connett stated. “There will be at least 5 separate peer review processes extending over 4 years. This is, to put it mildly, exceptionally unusual.”