Delegates Pay Tribute to Hundreds Killed by Mercury Dumping
October 22, 2013
Story at-a-glance
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A legally binding international treaty to control the use of
toxic mercury has been signed into action
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The treaty is being hailed as marking the beginning of the end
for dental amalgam around the world, as it mandates that each
nation phase down amalgam use
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Each country must do at least two phase down steps, such as
promoting the use of mercury-free alternatives to amalgam,
changing dental insurance to favor mercury-free fillings, and
re-training dentists
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The treaty was signed in Minamata, Japan, a city where hundreds
of residents have died, and thousands have become ill, due to
excessive mercury poisoning
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The treaty also requires the phasing out of many other
mercury-containing products, including thermometers, by 2020
By Dr. Mercola
October 2013 has been a momentous month in the fight against
dental mercury fillings, or amalgam. On October 10, a legally
binding international treaty to control the use of this toxic metal
was signed into action – and thanks largely to the work of The
Campaign for Mercury-Free
Dentistry, the project organized and led by Charlie Brown of
Consumers for Dental Choice, the treaty gives special attention to
amalgam.
Making the signing even more poignant, it was signed in Minamata,
Japan, a city where hundreds of residents have died, and thousands
have become ill, due to poisoning from excessive mercury exposure
over a more than 50-year period.
It’s Official: The International Mercury Treaty
It took a three-year campaign encompassing five negotiation
sessions with all the nations, 15 regional sessions, dozens of
papers and reports, and hundreds of meetings with individual
governments… but the hard work paid off.
The treaty, named the United Nations Minamata Convention on
Mercury, requires the phasing out of many mercury-containing
products, including thermometers, by 2020, and also calls for an end
to all mercury mining within 15 years.
Importantly, the treaty is being hailed as marking the beginning
of the end for dental amalgam aroun d the world, as it mandates that
each nation phase down amalgam use.
Specifically, each country must do at least two phase down steps
listed in the treaty. The most constructive and efficient of those
phase-down steps are:
- Promote mercury-free alternatives
- Change dental school curriculum and re-train dentists
- Encourage insurance programs to favor mercury-free dental
restorations over amalgam
According to Charlie Brown, the treat means:1
“ …dental amalgam is neither appropriate nor practical in
the 21st century… Mercury fillings – amalgam is 50% mercury –
have no future, on any continent."
The treaty takes effect after its ratification by 50 nations,
which can take three or four years. But the advocates are not
sitting back and waiting; the Zero Mercury Working Group, has
launched a campaign to get it ratified by 50 nations – and hence
take effect – in just two years.
Tribute Paid to Those Killed by Mercury Pollution
The signing of the treaty was marked by a tribute to the
multitude of Japanese people who were killed or suffered
debilitating neurological harm from exposure to mercury pollution.
Mercury is a potent heavy metal toxin that can poison your brain,
central nervous system and kidneys in extremely low concentrations.
Children and fetuses, whose brains are still developing, are most at
risk, but anyone can be adversely impacted, especially since mercury
bioaccumulates in the body over time. The town of Minimata is the
site of Japan’s worst industrial poisoning, where a factory
discharged mercury into local waters, subsequently contaminating the
area’s fish and shellfish.
Many residents who ate the mercury-contaminated seafood suffered
from severe mercury poisoning, including immune dysfunction, brain
and nervous system damage, and death. While the mercury pollution
was first recognized in the 1950s, the pollution and resulting
health damage continued for decades.
What happened in Minimata, Japan was, unfortunately, but one
example of the environmental and human-health poisoning caused
by mercury pollution around the globe.
The treaty brings hope that such tragedies will be prevented in
the future. According to the United Nations Environment Program
(UNEP), the estimated cost of health and environmental damage caused
by exposure to mercury is $22 billion.2
It’s considered such a potent toxic pollutant that just one drop of
mercury in a 20-acre lake over time would poison the lake to the
extent that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would ban
fishing in it.
Dental amalgam contributes an estimated 10 percent of the overall
environmental mercury pollution. Mercury from dental amalgam is
released into the air when people are cremated, for example. It also
enters soils and waterways, where it becomes a major contaminant of
our food supply, similar to what occurred in Minimata. There must be
no more Minamatas – anywhere on our planet!
The Long-Overdue End Is Near for Dental Amalgam
The mercury used by dentists to manufacture dental amalgam is
shipped as a hazardous material to the dental office. Any amalgam
leftover is also treated as hazardous waste and requires special
precautions to dispose of, yet it’s supposed to be “safe” to keep it
in your mouth for years to come. Sadly, many live with toxic
reactions for extended periods of time, never connecting the dots
between their failing health and the mercury in their teeth and
their environment.
The truth is, the international mercury treaty has been long
overdue, as dental amalgam is a Civil War relic, hardly a point
in its favor. It is no better, nor safer, than other discarded
medical practices like bleeding patients, administering calomel, and
performing surgery with unwashed hands. In fact, amalgam poses a
whole swarm of problems at every stage of its lifecycle, including…
Releasing mercury during production:
Mercury is released into the environment when amalgam is
manufactured. |
Endangering dental professionals: Dentists,
dental hygienists, dental assistants, and dental office
staff are exposed to mercury during and after amalgam
preparation. |
Deceiving dental patients: Most dental
patients are not informed that amalgam is 50 percent or more
mercury – many are told that amalgams are "silver fillings."
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Damaging healthy tooth structure: To place
an amalgam, a significant amount of healthy tooth matter
must be removed – permanently damaging the tooth structure.
|
Exposing patients to mercury: Amalgam
continues to release mercury after it is implanted in your
body, and can even cross the placenta to reach unborn
babies. |
Fracturing teeth: Amalgam expands and
contracts over time, leading to cracked teeth and hefty
dental bills. |
Polluting the environment: Sooner or later,
most of the mercury from amalgam ends up in air, soil, and
water via numerous unsound pathways. |
Contaminating fish: Once in the
environment, amalgam can convert to methylmercury,
contaminate fish, and wind up on your dinner plate. |
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It’s Time to Celebrate: 2013’s 5 Amazing Mercury Milestones
The new treaty has a road map for how to phase down amalgam –
switch dental school curriculum to composites as the primary
material, re-train dentists, change insurance to prefer
alternatives, develop a national plan to reduce amalgam use, and
more. This is the culmination of years’ worth of milestones, many of
which were achieved in 2013. Let’s take a look at what we have to
celebrate:
- Amalgam is in the mercury treaty.
Repeatedly, Charlie and his team outworked, outwitted, and
outpointed the World Dental Federation (the American Dental
Association (ADA) at the world level). The World Dental
Federation brought only Caucasian men from North America and
Europe; Charlie countered with a team of women and men from
every race and continent. The ADA ‘white guys’ spoke English,
while Charlie’s team’s fluency extended to more than 20
languages. Charlie’s team organized luncheons to explain
mercury-free dentistry; the nonplussed World Dental Federation
had no choice but to attend, and watch!
- Amalgam is the only mercury-added product
in the treaty with a road map for how to phase down its
use.
Nations have specific guidance on what measures can be taken
to transition to mercury-free alternatives. So we don’t wait on
target phase-out dates for other products that are between 7 and
12 years off. For amalgam, we begin now! Now is the time to
begin the phase-out of amalgam!
- Being defeated at the treaty abroad, the ADA is
suffering a string of defeats at home.
America’s TV educator on medicine, Dr. Oz,
ran a great program that explained the health,
environmental, and technical problems with amalgam. Many of you
sent him compliments, but the ADA was irate. Unable to persuade
Dr. Oz to retract a single word, the ADA was humiliated into
withdrawing their affiliation with Sharecare, a consumer
website co-founded by Dr. Oz.
The ADA tried to get the American Public Health Association
(APHA) to endorse the ongoing use of amalgam. After winning the
first round before the treaty was completed, the ADA was
rebuffed once APHA took a full look at the issue. For organized
dentistry, solidarity in favor of amalgam has disintegrated.
- A worldwide campaign has begun to get amalgam
manufacturers to switch -- and they are getting the message.
Dentsply, an amalgam manufacturer based in York, PA, is being
challenged to switch to alternatives, both via a grassroots
campaign right there in Pennsylvania3
and a call from environmental and social justice organizations
on six continents not to dump amalgam in developing nations.
The Campaign for Mercury-Free Dentistry has launched a
petition drive.4
It’s your decision whether to sign, but the common rule in these
drives is… the more signatures, the more effective. Only a
little over 500 signatures are needed to hit 10,000!
Signaling they may be throwing in the towel, European dental
materials manufacturers devoted an entire day of their two-day
conference to the topic, “The Demise of Amalgam Use and
Development of Enhanced Materials to Advance Novel Dentistry.”5
- The Campaign for Mercury-Free Dentistry is a potent
force on all six continents.
The World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry elected, and
kept, Charlie as its president. In that role he has brought
together a powerhouse of talent – 10 regional vice presidents
plus an array of chapter leaders – people who are scientists,
dentists, environmentalists, journalists, physicians, professors
and attorneys.
Governments are seeking advice from Consumers for Dental
Choice and the World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry on how
to end amalgam. Here’s a good example: MERCOSUR is the South
American regional organization analogous to the European Union.
In 2013, Charlie Brown was the first person from civil society
ever invited to address the MERCOSUR Environmental Ministers –
which he did in Montevideo, Uruguay, in May.
Working closely with Michael Bender of the Mercury Policy
Project and Elena Lymberidi-Settimo of the European
Environmental Bureau, the Campaign for Mercury-Free Dentistry
has laid the groundwork to win in Europe. With the European
Union weighing a phase-out of amalgam on a strict timetable,
they organized a team that went to the European Parliament in
Brussels.
The Plan Moving Forward
Getting the mercury treaty was just the first step. “The treaty
gives us the framework we need to make mercury-free dentistry a
reality for everyone,” says Charlie Brown. “But now it’s up to us to
see that it is implemented effectively.” The treaty will require
nations to take two of the listed phase-down measures… but some of
these measures are more effective at phasing down amalgam use than
others. Here is a summary of the best treaty measures for phasing
down amalgam use, as supported by the World Alliance for
Mercury-Free Dentistry:
- Promoting Mercury-Free Dental Fillings:
This measure includes educating dental consumers about the
mercury in amalgam and the availability of mercury-free
alternatives. As Zogby polls have shown, over 75% of consumers
choose mercury-free fillings as soon as they find out amalgam is
50% mercury. So this step is proven to phase down amalgam use.
- Training in Mercury-Free Alternatives:
Dental schools should phase out amalgam instruction. In the
interim, nations can require training on mercury-free
alternatives for dentists and tell government-funded dental
schools to teach students how to use mercury-free dental
fillings and techniques, while not requiring competency exams on
amalgam and not permitting students to use amalgam in children
in school dental clinics,
- Adjusting Government Programs and Insurance:
Most people end up with amalgam not because it is the least
expensive material or it is the best option for their health (it
never is), but because it is all their insurance or Medicaid
will pay for. Therefore, governments should urge insurance
companies to fully cover mercury-free alternatives and no longer
purchase amalgam for use in government programs (like for our
soldiers and sailors in the military).
- Making a Plan to Minimize Amalgam Use:
Setting goals to minimize amalgam use is a good first step to
start phasing down amalgam.
A Devious Attempt to Derail the Treaty
While the World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry implements
this plan to phase out amalgam in nations around the world, it is
not surprising that the World Dental Federation tries to put up
roadblocks. This pro-mercury group is pushing stalling tactics,
saying that before phasing out amalgam we should go through a litany
of diversions like (1) prevention of tooth decay, (2) research and
mercury inventories, and (3) mercury waste management – none of
which actually phase down amalgam use.
These stalling tactics can appear attractive at first glance. But
don’t be fooled by the World Dental Federation: All three of their
“amalgam phase-down measures” are designed to delay the demise of
mercury fillings.
Tooth decay prevention efforts have not stopped the need for
dental fillings anywhere in the world and they won’t as long as
sugar consumption remains so high – and the World Dental Federation,
who pockets money from candy makers, isn’t highly motivated to
reduce sugar use and find itself with less funding (they’d rather
dump fluoride into your water supply).
No more research is needed before we take action – the many
effective, affordable, and available mercury-free alternatives have
already been researched for over half a century and we certainly
don’t need any more research telling us that mercury is a problem.
And the realistic solution to waste management, of course, is to
stop creating more mercury waste – i.e., stop using amalgam.
Clearly, if the World Dental Federation gets its way, amalgam
will be around for a long time. But the World Dental Federation
didn’t win at the treaty negotiations… and they aren’t going to win
now. We’ve got Charlie Brown, the experienced team at the World
Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry, and their amazing allies like
Mercury Policy Project and the European Environmental Bureau on the
ground to see that the mercury treaty does indeed result in the end
of mercury fillings.
Do You Have Mercury Fillings?
For those of you who have mercury fillings, I recommend that you
have them removed… but avoid making the mistake I did nearly 20
years ago. I had the procedure done by a non-biological dentist.
When you have these fillings removed you can be exposed to
significant amounts of mercury vapors if the dentist doesn't know
what he or she is doing. Replacement of amalgam is a serious medical
procedure. Do not go to a dentist who does not fear the toxicity of
mercury and who does not use a protocol that both builds up your
strength beforehand, and limits in every possible way your exposure
to mercury.
You can find a mercury-free dentist of your own on
Consumers for Dental Choice’s website, or check out dental
listings from their close allies at the
International
Academy of Biological Dentistry and Medicine and the
Holistic Dental Association – two dental associations whose
support for mercury-free dentistry has been unflagging.
It's also for this reason that I strongly suggest you get healthy
BEFORE having your fillings removed as you want your detoxification
mechanisms optimized prior to removal. My struggles with my own
teeth led me to learn about and embrace biological dentistry, also
known as holistic or environmental dentistry. In a nutshell,
biological dentistry views your teeth and gums as an integrated part
of your entire body, and any medical treatments performed takes this
fact into account. The primary aim of holistic dentistry is to
resolve your dental problems while working in harmony with the rest
of your body.
Biological dentists are well aware of the dangers involved with
toxic materials such as mercury fillings (aka amalgams). Some things
that need to be done to keep you (and your dentist) safe during
amalgam removal include:
- Providing you with an alternative air source and instructing
you not to breathe through your mouth
- Using a cold-water spray to minimize mercury vapors, and
putting a rubber dam in your mouth so you don't swallow or
inhale any toxins
- Using a high-volume evacuator near the tooth at all times to
evacuate the mercury vapor
- Washing your mouth out immediately after the fillings have
been removed (the dentist should also change gloves after the
removal)
- Immediately cleaning your protective wear and face once the
fillings are removed, and using room air purifiers
How You Can Support Mercury-Free Dentistry
Consumers for Dental Choice and its team have made amazing
progress toward mercury-free dentistry. But there’s still hard work
ahead as Consumers for Dental Choice is now running education
programs for consumers… holding training sessions for dentists… and
organizing briefings for governments around the world. You can help
stop dental mercury today! Will you please consider a donation to
Consumers for Dental Choice, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
dedicated to advocating mercury-free dentistry?
Donations are tax-exempt and can be made online at
www.toxicteeth.org.
Checks can be mailed to:
Consumers for Dental Choice
316 F St., N.E., Suite 210
Washington DC 20002
For updates on the movement for mercury-free dentistry, join
Consumers for Dental Choice on
Facebook
or sign up to receive their
newsletter. Thank you for supporting mercury-free dentistry!
© Copyright 1997-2013 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.
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