Public Access & EPA Witness Caught Lying

The court ruled on Tuesday that the final phase of the fluoridation trial will be live streamed for the public on Zoom, while the attorneys and most of the expert and fact witnesses will still be attending the proceedings in person in San Francisco. The trial will begin on January 31st and could go through February 13th.

NTP Report on Fluoride Neurotoxicity

In October and December of 2022, FAN introduced evidence in the case showing political pressures prevented the National Toxicology Program (NTP) from releasing its long-awaited systemic review of fluoride’s effect on the developing brain. The Court lifted the pause on the trial and permitted additional discovery into the NTP review. After extensive negotiations, the U.S. Department of Justice–who is representing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in this case–agreed to produce a final draft copy of the NTP’s suppressed report on fluoride in December 2022.

At the pre-trial hearing on Tuesday, the court said it no longer mattered that the NTP’s report was still unpublished. The final draft was going to be given “a fair amount of weight” in the trial.

On the question of whether political suppression of the NTP report would factor into the trial, the court reiterated that it is most interested in the scientific merits of the report.

The court also ruled that the NTP’s former Scientific Director will be allowed to testify that the NTP’s May 2022 report on fluoride was a final and complete report that the NTP’s scientific staff, including himself, believed should be published.

FAN Attorneys Introduce Evidence That a Key EPA Witness Lied Under Oath

The EPA is heavily relying on an expert witness, Dr. Jesus Ibarluzea, who conducted a study that found that not only does fluoride NOT lower IQ, but it can transform an average-IQ boy living in non-fluoridated areas into a genius (i.e., it increases the IQ of boys by 28 points).

The study conducted by Dr. Ibarluzea features prominently in this case. After being deposed by FAN attorneys, Dr. Ibarluzea withdrew from any further participation in the case and will not testify in person at the trial.

At Tuesday’s hearing, FAN’s attorneys presented a document recently obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that directly contradicts what Dr. Ibarluzea stated under oath. During his deposition, Dr. Ibarluzea was asked whether he ever asked anyone to delete information about his fluoride study, to which he responded, “Never, never, never, ever.” According to the FOIA document, however, Dr. Ibarluzea sent the CDC’s Division of Oral Health an email about his study, which ended with the words “Please delete this message.” The contents of the message remain unknown because the Centers For Disease Control’s FOIA office redacted the entire email with the exception of the “Please delete this message” instruction.

Over the DOJ’s objection, the Court permitted Plaintiffs to introduce this FOIA document as evidence at trial.

Sincerely,

Jay Sanders

Education and Outreach Director

Fluoride Action Network