133 Molesworth Street
PO Box 5013
Wellington 6140
New Zealand
T+64 4 496 2000
30 September 2025
Spencer Jones
By email: [FYI request #31339 email]
Ref:
H2025072140
Tēnā koe Spencer
Response to your request for official information
Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) to the Ministry of
Health – Manatū Hauora (the Ministry) on 2 September 2025 for information. Each part of your
request is responded to below:
Please provide: Timeline: From 1 August 2024 to present.
A. NTP Monograph 8 – Internal Deliberations
Any internal emails, briefings, minutes, or expert correspondence that:
-Discussed or reviewed the 1984 NTP Monograph 8 (2024/2025) specifically concerning
fluoride neurotoxicity at or below NZ levels (~0.7–1 mg/L).
Were exchanged between MoH, OPMCSA, Royal Society, ESR, or any internal
committees.
If none exist, please confirm that no such internal analysis, however draft or informal, was
created.
In response to your original request (ref: H2025068786), the Ministry provided you with a link to
the documents relevant to this part of your request. You can find the Ministry’s consideration of
recent publications including the US National Toxicology Program Monograph on the State of
Science Concerning Fluoride Exposure and Neurodevelopmental Cognition, published in
August 2024, in Appendix 2 and Appendix 5, here:
www.health.govt.nz/information-
releases/director-general-of-health-consideration-of-community-water-fluoridation-under-the-
new-zealand-bill.
B. Legal Advice – Redacted Summary
A redacted summary of the Crown Law advice withheld under s9(2)(h), including:
Date issued, nature of legal issues addressed (e.g., s92I(5), NZBORA, s116C), and
authority (e.g., Crown Law).
If summarised advice cannot be produced, please explain why it cannot be redacted to a
summary.
This document remains withheld in full under section 9(2)(h) of the Act to maintain legal
professional privilege. These grounds would also apply to a redacted summary. As previously
advised, I have considered the countervailing public interest in release in making this decision
and consider that it does not outweigh the need to withhold at this time.
C. Non-Oral Exposure – Interagency Consultations
Records of any consultations, emails, or assessments (even if no internal result) between
MoH and external agencies (e.g., ESR, WHO, EPA) concerning:
-Transdermal, aerosol, or inhalation fluoride exposure.
-Risk-based consideration of such exposure routes from the water supply.
-Timeline: From 1 January 2020 to present.
If none, please explicitly say no consultation occurred and why.
The Ministry has not conducted any consultations on these topics. Therefore, your request is
refused under section18(g)(i) of the Act and there is no requirement under the Act for agencies
to create new information, provide an opinion or compile information that is not part of the usual
reporting process.
D. Document Search Overview. A brief search log indicating:
-Offices or individuals consulted,
-Search terms used,
-Digital systems or email archives searched,
-Approximate volume of documents reviewed.
Subject matter experts and relevant teams within the Ministry were asked to identify the relevant
information in scope of your request. As there are a small number of people who would hold the
information requested it was not necessary to conduct an information management search.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request with us, including this decision, please feel
free to contact the OIA Services Team on: [email address].
Under section 28(3) of the Act, you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review any
decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be contacted by email at:
[email address] or by calling 0800 802 602.
Please note that this response, with your personal details removed, may be published on the
Ministry website at:
www.health.govt.nz/about-ministry/information-releases/responses-official-
information-act-requests
Nāku noa, nā
Jane Chambers
Group Manager, Public Health Policy and Regulation
Public Health Agency | Te Pou Hauora Tūmatanui
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