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