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Resident urges Durham to suspend water fluoridation after federal court ruling cited
Summary
A resident asked council to suspend Durham’s voluntary water fluoridation program, pointing to a September 2024 federal district‑court ruling in California that the recommended fluoride level poses risks to children. Council did not take action; the speaker urged staff review.
A Durham resident urged City Council to suspend the city’s voluntary fluoridation of drinking water while staff reviews a recent federal court opinion that the resident said found the current recommended level poses risk to children.
Jared Rist, who identified himself as a Durham resident and graduate of Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment, told council that Durham adds fluoride at 0.7 milligrams per liter and that a September 24, 2024, opinion by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California “ruled that the current 0.7 milligrams per liter recommended level poses an unreasonable risk to human health, citing reduced IQ in children.” Rist recommended suspending the city’s fluoridation program until the safety implications are better understood.
Rist said the ruling followed a multi‑year proceeding and urged the council to work with water management staff to suspend the program immediately. He provided printed copies of the court opinion to council and characterized the original justification for Durham’s program as science‑based, saying the new ruling “documents” a risk that should prompt reconsideration.
Council did not take action on the comment during the meeting. City water staff were not present to respond in the session transcript. Council members and staff did not adopt any motion referencing the program during the work session. The speaker’s remarks were recorded during the public comment portion of the meeting.
