Pennsylvania does not currently force water systems to add fluoride, although there are persistent legislative attempts to mandate fluoridation for the whole state.
Although Pennsylvania law describes fluoride as a poison, the government agencies with jurisdiction over public water systems have banned the removal of fluoride from water systems that already have it. The courts have supported these actions, even when recognizing that the agency position is arbitrary. The Lebanon decisions below created the de facto situation of Pennsylvania being the only state where fluoridation is not mandatory, but where it’s illegal to STOP fluoridation.
Jump Down to: Fluoride-Related State Court Cases Throughout the U.S.
Laws Regarding Fluorides in Pennsylvania
No Sodium Fluoride or Related Compounds Allowed in Food:
31 P.S. § 10 (1998),
TITLE 31. FOOD,
CHAPTER 1. ADULTERATION OR MISBRANDING OF FOOD IN GENERAL,
[P.S.] § 10. Sale of food containing formaline, etc., prohibited,
PENNSYLVANIA STATUTES
Fluorides Listed as Schedule ‘A’ Poisons in Pennsylvania (along with arsenic, cyanide, mercury compounds and the like):
63 P.S. § 390-9 (1998),
TITLE 63. PROFESSIONS AND OCCUPATIONS (STATE LICENSED),
CHAPTER 11. PHARMACISTS,
PHARMACY ACT,
[P.S.] § 390-9. Poisons,
PENNSYLVANIA STATUTES
1909 Food Adulteration Law Cites Fluorides as Deleterious to Health (referenced in the following case law):
Commonwealth v. Pflaum,
No. 148,
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania,
236 Pa. 294; 84 A. 842; 1912 Pa. LEXIS 749,
April 8, 1912, Argued,
April 29, 1912