"A federal appeals court said a judge erred in ruling that adding fluoride to water poses an “unreasonable risk” to children’s brain development."
"A federal appellate court on Thursday vacated a landmark ruling that ordered EPA to address the health risks of fluoride in drinking water, handing the agency a win in a seven-year legal fight with impacts on federal policy and White House politics.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found a district court judge had “commandeered” the case and abused his discretion by postponing judgment and demanding new evidence and a second bench trial. The unsigned memorandum disposition, issued Thursday, sent the case back to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to rule again — this time based only on the first trial’s record.
Thursday’s ruling follows a contentious 2024 decision by Senior Judge Edward Chen in the district court, where he proffered a lengthy analysis that found fluoride in drinking water at the federally recommended level poses “an unreasonable risk of reduced IQ in children.” That determination triggered a federal rulemaking process under the Toxic Substances Control Act."
