The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has denied a petition to change the source of fluoride in U.S. drinking water supplies.
The petition, filed May 9, 2013, by students, alumni, and faculty of American University, called on the agency to prohibit the use of hydrofluorosilicic acid (HFSA) as a water fluoridation agent and require pharmaceutical-grade sodium fluoride instead.
In a response published August 12 in the Federal Register, the EPA said it denied the petition "because the evidence presented by the petitioners does not adequately support a conclusion that HFSA, when used as a fluoridation agent, presents or will present an unreasonable risk to health or the environment."
