By Carol Goodwin Blick – February 12, 2024
The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)/EPA water fluoridation bench trial is entering its
last week. EPA’s expert witnesses will continue their testimony this
morning, Monday February 12, and Tuesday February 13, 2024.
Final arguments will be heard this Wednesday February 14th. The Court’s
ruling will follow at a later date. If the ruling is in our favor,
almost certainly EPA will appeal it.
Many thanks to Jay Sanders, Education & Outreach Director for Fluoride Action Network (FAN), for
explaining the limitations of a judgement in our favor, and the range of
possible EPA responses to that judgement, should it lose an appeal:
TSCA only applies to industrial chemicals. An “unreasonable risk”
determination from the court will affect only artificial water
fluoridation. It will NOT affect natural levels of fluoride in water.
The Judge can not instruct the EPA to set a Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL).
Again, it’s a binary decision, yes or no, “is fluoridation an
unreasonable risk?”
If the answer is yes, EPA has seven different rule-making options that
it could issue. The options are not mutually exclusive.
The law authorizes EPA to issue regulations requiring one or more of the
following actions to the extent necessary so that the chemical substance
no longer presents an unreasonable risk:
1. Prohibit or otherwise restrict manufacture, processing, or
distribution in commerce;
2. Prohibit or otherwise restrict for a particular use or above a set
concentration;
3. Require minimum warnings and instructions with respect to use,
distribution in commerce, or disposal;
4. Require recordkeeping or testing;
5. Prohibit or regulate any manner or method of commercial use;
6. Prohibit or regulate any manner or method of disposal;
and/or
7. Direct manufacturers or processors to give notice of the
unreasonable risk to distributors and replace or repurchase products if
required.
The trial is open to the public. Visitors are required to show an I.D.
and follow the court’s safety protocols, including wearing masks.
Public seating in the courtroom is limited and will be first-come,
first-served. Courtroom doors will open at 8:00 a.m. each morning.
San Francisco Courthouse
Courtroom 5 – 17th Floor
450 Golden Gate Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102
Live Stream on Zoom:
https://cand-uscourts.zoomgov.com/j/1619911861?pwd=TjVma1lnMlJlNHR3ZE9QMkFjNkFndz09
Webinar ID: 161 991 1861
Password: 912881
Join by Phone
Phone: (669) 254-5252 or (646) 828-7666
International numbers: https://cand-uscourts.zoomgov.com/u/advFLxrTkx
Remember, final arguments are scheduled for 8:30 a.m. this Wednesday the
14th.
Carol Goodwin Blick is with Clean Water Sonoma
