Must-read recap: The New Lede's top stories over the last week
Dangerous chemicals in US water systems; reconsidering water fluoridation.
Thousands of US water systems show dangerous levels of cancer-causing chemicals
Millions of people across the United States could be drinking water contaminated with dangerous levels of substances created when utilities disinfect water tainted with animal manure and other pollutants, according to a report released April 10.
An analysis of testing results from community water systems in 49 states found that nearly 6,000 such systems serving 122 million people recorded an unsafe level of chemicals known as trihalomethanes at least once during testing from 2019 to 2023.
The chemicals are byproducts created when chlorine or other disinfectants used by water systems interact with organic matter, such as decaying leaves, vegetation, human or animal waste and other substances. One or more of these chemicals – chloroform, bromodichloromethane, dibromochloromethane, and bromoform – have been linked to various human health risks, including cancers. As a result, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set a maximum allowable annual average level of 80 parts per billion (ppb) for what the agency calls “total trihalomethanes” or TTHMs. The rule, which applies to public water systems, has been in place for more than two decades. (Read the rest of the story.)
RFK Jr. directs CDC to stop promoting fluoridation; EPA will reassess practice
Citing health concerns, newly appointed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said last week that he will direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to stop recommending that states add fluoride to their water, and will convene a federal taskforce of independent health experts to study the health risks presented by the practice while establishing a new “optimal” level.
The comments came as Kennedy spoke alongside Lee Zeldin, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), at a news conference in Utah April 7. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox finalized a law banning water fluoridation on March 21, a move that Kennedy praised.
“In the era of fluoridated toothpaste and mouthwash, it makes no sense to have fluoride in our water,” Kennedy said at the event. “The evidence against fluoride is overwhelming.” (Read the rest of the story.)