What’s new with Mercury.
Well, it’s been a busy time with Mercury. The last few weeks in the legislature, the House Fish and Wildlife Committee has been taking testimony on mercury dental fillings – also known as amalgam fillings. In case you’re not familiar with amalgam dental fillings, they are often referred to as “silver” fillings. The common (and understandable, based on the name) confusion is that the fillings are predominately made of silver, the reality is that those metal dental fillings you probably have in your mouth are 50% mercury. I’ll list more information regarding health effects of mercury below – but for now back to the committee.
So, the short version of hours worth of testimony and committee discussions, is that the dentists testifying on behalf of the Vermont Dental Society all said mercury, excuse me, amalgam, in your mouth is safe, and what little that does vaporize in your mouth/body or that gets into the environment is hardly worth mentioning. Dentists on the other side (Mercury-Free dentists) have testified that they’ve stopped using mercury amalgam over 20 years ago for a variety of reasons: health of patients and staff, aesthetically more appealing alternatives, and environmental concerns. They’ve also said, why use mercury amalgam when there are safe alternatives available that are just as good, and often better for the long term life of a tooth, than mercury amalgam. Good question. So a straw poll of the committee that was held a week ago Thursday, by the Chair of the committee, Rep. Deen, found that in regards to the question “do we want more discussion on amalgam/do we support the amalgam bill” the responses from the 9 member committee were: 5 yes votes: McCullough of Williston, Martin (Cynthia) of Springfield, Randall of Troy, Courcelle of Rutland City, Zenie of Colchester, 1 absent: Adams of Hartland, 2 no votes: Shaw of Derby, Johnson of Canaan and then the Chair, Deen of Westminster, who wanted to send the portion of the bill that deals with mercury-amalgam back to the Advisory Committee on Mercury Pollution where he felt the mercury-free advocates and the pro-mercury-amalgam dentists should work on a compromise. Also to note, at least two committee members wanted to make the mercury-amalgam ban even stronger than the current legislation (which excludes back molars). So, based on the vote the committee will continue to examine this bill, H. 121 (Read the bill text here)
FYI – as I’d mentioned Mercury and its effects. Mercury is a potent neuro-toxin. It is especially dangerous for children and pregnant women (as exposure in pregnant women is passed onto the fetus). It can disrupt brain and body development, cause learning and behavioral disabilities, damage the kidneys, adversely affect memory, fertility, vision and hearing. Its effects are dramatically more severe in children as their bodies are rapidly developing and they absorb it at higher rates. There is also growing research linking mercury toxicity to a large number of diseases, including arthritis, Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, lupus, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, learning disabilities and ADHD.
Also note a new bill has been introduced in the Senate
Stayed tuned for further updates.
So, the short version of hours worth of testimony and committee discussions, is that the dentists testifying on behalf of the Vermont Dental Society all said mercury, excuse me, amalgam, in your mouth is safe, and what little that does vaporize in your mouth/body or that gets into the environment is hardly worth mentioning. Dentists on the other side (Mercury-Free dentists) have testified that they’ve stopped using mercury amalgam over 20 years ago for a variety of reasons: health of patients and staff, aesthetically more appealing alternatives, and environmental concerns. They’ve also said, why use mercury amalgam when there are safe alternatives available that are just as good, and often better for the long term life of a tooth, than mercury amalgam. Good question. So a straw poll of the committee that was held a week ago Thursday, by the Chair of the committee, Rep. Deen, found that in regards to the question “do we want more discussion on amalgam/do we support the amalgam bill” the responses from the 9 member committee were: 5 yes votes: McCullough of Williston, Martin (Cynthia) of Springfield, Randall of Troy, Courcelle of Rutland City, Zenie of Colchester, 1 absent: Adams of Hartland, 2 no votes: Shaw of Derby, Johnson of Canaan and then the Chair, Deen of Westminster, who wanted to send the portion of the bill that deals with mercury-amalgam back to the Advisory Committee on Mercury Pollution where he felt the mercury-free advocates and the pro-mercury-amalgam dentists should work on a compromise. Also to note, at least two committee members wanted to make the mercury-amalgam ban even stronger than the current legislation (which excludes back molars). So, based on the vote the committee will continue to examine this bill, H. 121 (Read the bill text here)
FYI – as I’d mentioned Mercury and its effects. Mercury is a potent neuro-toxin. It is especially dangerous for children and pregnant women (as exposure in pregnant women is passed onto the fetus). It can disrupt brain and body development, cause learning and behavioral disabilities, damage the kidneys, adversely affect memory, fertility, vision and hearing. Its effects are dramatically more severe in children as their bodies are rapidly developing and they absorb it at higher rates. There is also growing research linking mercury toxicity to a large number of diseases, including arthritis, Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, lupus, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, learning disabilities and ADHD.
Also note a new bill has been introduced in the Senate
Stayed tuned for further updates.
Labels: environment, environmental health, legislation
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