U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday said he plans to tell the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention soon to stop recommending fluoridation in communities nationwide. Kennedy also said he바카라 게임 웹사이트�s assembling a task force to focus on the issue.Also on Monday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it is reviewing 바카라 게임 웹사이트�new scientific information" on potential health risks of fluoride in drinking water. The EPA has primary authority to set the maximum level of fluoridation in public water systems.Kennedy told The Associated Press of his plans after a news conference with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin in Salt Lake City.Related video above: Do we need fluoride in local water systems? A health expert weighs inKennedy cannot order communities to stop fluoridation, but he can tell the CDC to stop recommending it and work with the EPA to change the allowed amount.Utah last month became the first state to ban fluoride in public drinking water, pushing past opposition from dentists and national health organizations who warned the move would lead to medical problems that disproportionately affect low-income communities.Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed legislation barring cities and communities from deciding whether to add the cavity-preventing mineral to their water systems. Water systems across the state must shut down their fluoridation systems by May 7.Kennedy praised Utah for emerging as 바카라 게임 웹사이트�the leader in making America healthy again.바카라 게임 웹사이트� He was flanked by Utah legislative leaders and the sponsor of the state바카라 게임 웹사이트�s fluoride law.바카라 게임 웹사이트�I바카라 게임 웹사이트�m very, very proud of this state for being the first state to ban it, and I hope many more will,바카라 게임 웹사이트� he said.Kennedy oversees the CDC, whose recommendations are widely followed but not mandatory. State and local governments decide whether to add fluoride to water and, if so, how much 바카라 게임 웹사이트� as long as it doesn바카라 게임 웹사이트�t exceed a maximum set by the EPA, which is currently 4 milligrams per liter.Zeldin said his agency was launching a renewed examination of scientific studies on the potential health risks of fluoride in drinking water to help inform any changes to the national standards.바카라 게임 웹사이트�When this evaluation is completed, we will have an updated foundational scientific evaluation that will inform the agency바카라 게임 웹사이트�s future steps,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Zeldin said. 바카라 게임 웹사이트�Secretary Kennedy has long been at the forefront of this issue. His advocacy was instrumental in our decision to review fluoride exposure risks, and we are committed to working alongside him, utilizing sound science as we advance our mission of protecting human health and the environment.바카라 게임 웹사이트�Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the CDC. In 1950, federal officials endorsed water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay, and in 1962 set guidelines for how much should be added to water.Kennedy, a former environmental lawyer, has called fluoride a 바카라 게임 웹사이트�dangerous neurotoxin바카라 게임 웹사이트� and said also it바카라 게임 웹사이트�s been associated with arthritis, bone breaks, and thyroid disease. Some studies have suggested such links might exist, usually at higher-than-recommended fluoride levels, though some reviewers have questioned the quality of available evidence and said no definitive conclusions can be drawn.In November, just days before the presidential election, Kennedy declared that Donald Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day as president. That didn't happen, but Trump later picked Kennedy to run the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he has been expected to take some kind of action. Meanwhile, some localities have gone ahead and decisions whether to keep fluoridating water.Related to all this: A massive round of staffing cuts last week across federal agencies included elimination of the CDC's 20-person Division of Oral Health. That office managed grants to local agencies to improve dental health and, in come cases, encourage fluoridation.Fluoride can come from a number of sources, but drinking water is the main one for Americans, researchers say. Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population gets fluoridated drinking water, according to CDC data. The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water was long considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century.About one-third of community water systems 바카라 게임 웹사이트� 17,000 out of 51,000 across the U.S. 바카라 게임 웹사이트� serving more than 60% of the population fluoridated their water, according to a 2022 CDC analysis. The agency currently recommends 0.7 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water.But over time, studies have documented potential problems. Too much fluoride has been associated with streaking or spots on teeth. Studies also have traced a link between excess fluoride and brain development.A report last year by the federal government바카라 게임 웹사이트�s National Toxicology Program, which summarized studies conducted in Canada, China, India, Iran, Pakistan and Mexico, concluded that drinking water with more than 1.5 milligrams of fluoride per liter 바카라 게임 웹사이트� more than twice the recommended level in the U.S. 바카라 게임 웹사이트� was associated with lower IQs in kids.Utah Oral Health Coalition chairperson Lorna Koci said Monday that she hopes other states push back against the removal of fluoride and that Kennedy바카라 게임 웹사이트�s visit to celebrate her state's fluoride ban underscores the political motivations of those who support it.She predicted children will have more cavities as a result and said backers of the fluoride ban in Utah spread false information that raised doubts about its effectiveness.Opponents of the law warned it would disproportionately affect low-income residents who may rely on public drinking water containing fluoride as their only source of preventative dental care.바카라 게임 웹사이트�This seems to be less about fluoride and more about power,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Koci said.___Stobbe reported from New York. Associated Press writer Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, contributed reporting,