By Dr. Mercola
By now you're probably well aware that environmental mercury
has contaminated so much seafood that the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) maintains an ongoing "do not eat" list for
at-risk populations.
The mercury, which is a potent neurotoxin, among a plenitude
of other adverse bodily effects, doesn’t stop at seafood,
however. Mercury is extremely persistent once in the air, water,
and soil; levels gradually increase over time, as it
accumulates.
In addition to seafood, mercury is now found at alarming
levels in many other species. It's traveling up the food chain
quickly and, even at sub-lethal doses, is threatening the future
of songbirds, shorebirds, bats, and more.
Songbirds at Risk from Mercury Pollution
Biologists have been studying the effects of mercury exposure
on fish-eating birds for decades, but it's become apparent that
even songbirds are at severe risk.
Forest birds may eat insects that come from rivers (such as
mayflies) or insects that eat river insects (such as spiders).
As a result, some songbirds, including Caroline wrens and
red-eyed vireos, have higher levels of mercury than shorebirds
like kingfishers.1
Among songbirds living at the South River in Virginia, which
was contaminated with mercury by DuPont from 1929 to 1950, the
problem is particularly pronounced. Researchers from the College
of William and Mary explained:2
"They had 20 percent fewer babies… Their songs are
sung at the wrong pitch. Their hormone levels are altered.
Their immune systems are suppressed."
In order to determine if it was, indeed, the mercury leading
to these adverse effects (as opposed to another toxicant), the
researchers measured the effects of sub-lethal doses of mercury
on zebra finches… and found similarly devastating results.
The mercury-exposed birds had reduced reproductive success,
with a 16 percent reduction in offspring produced in one year at
the lowest dose of mercury (the equivalent of less than the
amount found in a can of tuna).3
At higher doses, a 50 percent reduction in offspring occurred,
and all the birds had a harder time remembering where food was
located. The researchers concluded:
"Our results indicate that mercury levels in prey
items at contaminated sites pose a significant threat to
populations of songbirds through reduced reproductive
success."
Canadian Bird Eggs Contain Dangerous Levels of Mercury
The mercury threat exists across North America, where Alberta
Health recently issued a health warning regarding the
consumption of gull and tern eggs, which are sometimes eaten as
part of the traditional diet.
The eggs, which were found downstream from oilsands (large
deposits of crude oil), were found to contain dangerous levels
of mercury, prompting health officials to warn pregnant women
and children to limit their consumption.4
According to Environment Canada data, levels of mercury in
eggs from waterbirds downstream from oilsands have increased
nearly 50 percent in the last 30 years, and some species shown
increases of up to 139 percent from 2009 to 2012.
It's unknown what levels of mercury exist in other
traditional foods, such as moose, deer, or duck and goose eggs,
which has officials calling for increased monitoring.
Shorebirds and Bats Are Also Being Poisoned by Mercury
At Onondaga Lake in Syracuse, New York, often referred to as
the "most polluted lake" in the US due to 100 years of
industrial dumping, the environmental toll of mercury pollution
is also alarming. Mercury studies conducted by the Biodiversity
Research Institute in Maine show that species both big and small
– from spiders and beetles to bats and eagles – are teeming with
mercury.5
The birds and bats are exposed via their diet. As they eat
insects, clams, fish, and other invertebrates, they accumulate
increasing amounts of mercury. Some of the birds had mercury
levels so high that 20 percent of their offspring would not
survive, while more than half of bats tested had enough mercury
to experience "adverse effects." Results from the studies, which
included testing of more than 400 birds and close to 300 bats,
showed:6
- More than half of the bats had mercury levels high
enough to cause behavioral changes
- Nearly half of tree-swallow eggs contained high levels
of mercury
- Some spotted sandpipers contained so much mercury that
two out of every 10 chicks would not survive
Mercury Fillings Are Decimating the Environment
Much of the research on mercury in the environment is being
conducted near known toxic dumpsites, but the problem is by no
means confined to these areas. Mercury pollution is widespread,
and did you know that dentist offices are the largest
source of mercury in wastewater entering publicly owned
treatment works?
Once there, dental mercury converts to methylmercury, a
highly toxic form of mercury known to be hazardous to brain and
nervous system function, particularly in fetuses and young
children.
Only about a dozen states—including Massachusetts,
Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Washington, Vermont, New
York, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Oregon, and Michigan—require
dentists to use
amalgam separators to reduce mercury discharges. An amalgam
separator is a wastewater treatment device installed at the
source, in the dental office, that removes 95-99 percent of the
mercury in the wastewater.
In 2010, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
announced it would create a rule requiring all dentists
who use dental amalgam to conduct best management practices and
install amalgam separators. As originally proposed, EPA said the
regulation would be finalized by 2012, but earlier this year
they announced they may be
withdrawing the proposal.
Abandoning the long-promised separator rule would be a horrid
decision, especially when the EPA acknowledges that there are
approximately 160,000 dentists in more than 120,000 dental
offices who use or remove amalgam in the US, and, in their
words, "almost all of [them]… discharge their wastewater
exclusively to [publicly owned treatment works] POTWs."7
Dentist Offices Create 3.7 Tons of Mercury Waste a Year
Dental amalgam, a tooth filling material that is at least 50
percent mercury, is the leading intentional use of mercury in
the US (this despite the fact that 52 percent of American
dentists have stopped using amalgams). Dental offices generate a
variety of amalgam waste that gets flushed down the drain,
unless dentists implement best-management practices and dentists
install and properly maintain amalgam separators. Such practices
will collect:
- Scrap amalgam
- Used, leaking, or unusable amalgam capsules
- Amalgam captured in chairside traps and vacuum pump
screens
- "Contact amalgam," including teeth with amalgam
restorations
There's a growing global consensus that dental amalgam is a
considerable source of environmental mercury pollution. Several
studies show that about 50 percent of the mercury entering
municipal wastewater treatment plants can be traced back to
dental amalgam waste.
This mercury waste amounts to about 3.7 TONS
each year! An estimated 90 percent is captured by the
treatment plants generally via sewage sludge8
-- some of which ends up in landfills, while other portions are
incinerated (thereby polluting the air) or applied as
agricultural fertilizer (polluting your food), or seep into
waterways (polluting fish and wildlife). In the infographic
below, you can see that the mercury used globally for dental
fillings is greater than that used for other major industrial
uses, including lighting, electronic devices, and more.
There Are Far Safer Alternatives to Amalgam
It's high time that the FDA and the dental schools in charge
of educating young dentists start acknowledging the dangers of
mercury fillings for humans and for the environment. In addition
to the widespread environmental pollution, there is overwhelming
evidence showing mercury is easily released in the form of vapor
each time you eat, drink, brush your teeth, or otherwise
stimulate your teeth. These mercury vapors readily pass through
your cell membranes, across your blood-brain barrier, and into
your central nervous system, where they can cause psychological,
neurological, and immunological problems.
The harms become all the more brazen when you learn that
there are many superior alternatives to mercury fillings. One of
the most popular alternatives to amalgam is resin composite,
which is made of a type of plastic reinforced with powdered
glass. It is already common throughout the US and the rest of
the developed world, offering notable improvements over amalgam,
as it:
- Is environmentally safe: Composite, which contains no
mercury, does not pollute the environment. This saves
taxpayers from paying the costs of cleaning up dental
mercury pollution in our water, air, and land – and the
costs of health problems associated with mercury pollution.
- Preserves healthy tooth structure: Unlike amalgam, it
does not require the removal of significant amounts of
healthy tooth matter. Over the long term, composite
preserves healthy tooth structure and actually strengthens
teeth, leading to better oral health and less extensive
dental work over the long-term.
- Is long-lasting: While some claim that amalgam fillings
last longer than composite fillings, the science reveals
this claim to be baseless. The latest studies show that
modern composite not only lasts as long as amalgam, but
actually has a higher overall survival rate.
A lesser-known alternative is increasingly making
mercury-free dentistry possible even in the rural areas of
developing countries. Atraumatic restorative treatment (also
called alternative restorative treatment or ART) is a
mercury-free restorative technique that has been demonstrated a
success in a diverse array of countries around the world,
including Tanzania, India, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Turkey, South
Africa, Thailand, Canada, Panama, Ecuador, Syria, Hong Kong,
Mexico, Sri Lanka, Chile, Nigeria, China, Uruguay, Peru, and the
United States. ART relies on adhesive materials for the filling
(instead of mercury) and uses only hand instruments to place the
filling, making it particularly well suited for rural areas of
developing countries – places where amalgam, which requires
electricity, cannot be used.
The Environment Depends on a Phase-Out of Dental Amalgam
In order to protect human health and the environment, mercury
should be phased out as soon, and as quickly, as possible. The
international treaty, named the 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. It also includes a mandatory
phase down of amalgam use. The treaty takes effect only
after its ratification by 50 nations, which can take three or
four years.
Instead of working for the phase-down and ultimate phase-out
of amalgam use, the FDA and the American Dental Association
(ADA) are 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, as required by the Minamata Convention. 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.
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 groups like BAN
Toxics, which is calling for an
immediate ban on amalgam in the Philippines, and others are
pushing to get mercury phased out around the globe quickly and
for good.
Help Put an End to Mercury Pollution
Does your dentist use mercury fillings? On any patient?
If so, it’s time that he/she and you had a talk. Let’s face it:
the dental amalgam industry -- manufacturers and pro-mercury
dentists -- are the biggest mercury polluters i9n America.
It’s time for every American consumer (1) to insist on
mercury-free dental fillings, and (2) to spend his or her
hard-earned dollars on the non-polluting dentist, the
mercury-free dentistry.
The Campaign for
Mercury-Free Dentistry, the project organized and led by
Charlie Brown of Consumers for Dental Choice, has 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. You can also take a stand with us and tell the
EPA not to let polluting dentists off the hook: It's time to
stop dental
mercury dumping.
Copyright 1997- 2014 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.