There is only one place on the planet that mixed dental amalgam is NOT considered to be a Toxic Waste product. That’s in the mouth of a living human being!
In 2021, dental schools in Australia and the USA, are still teaching dental students to use mercury amalgam, after having signed into the Minamata Agreement in 2013, to ban the use of mercury worldwide.
A short Description of Minamata Disease and the Iraq poisoning HERE
Australian Dental Association Submission to the Australian Government regarding the request to absent mercury amalgam from the signing of the Minamata Agreement Here
The total amount of mercury in dental amalgam, sold in the U.S. during the calendar year 2001, as reported to the IMERC member states, was 61,409 pounds or 30.7 tons.[1]
A report from the United Nations Environment Program revealed that mercury in dental use accounted globally for 270–341 metric tons in 2013, of which 70–100 tonnes (i.e. 20–30%) likely enters the solid waste stream. [2]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) considers mixed dental amalgam to be a toxic-waste disposal hazard. Under existing environmental laws, anyone who arranges for the disposal of hazardous materials can be assessed the cost of any clean-up required.[3]
Every Amalgam Filling Placed in a human mouth will end up polluting the environment.
How toxic is mercury in the environment?
Only half a gram in a ten acre lake, will cause health authorities to issue warnings about not eating the fish as the mercury levels will be too high.[4],[5] One gram of mercury is what is contained in one single spill, very small amalgam filling. Mercury is considered a hormone disrupting chemical and will affect all animals by changing their ability to control hormone levels. In Florida the panthers have died from eating the fish in the lakes. The male panthers have higher levels of oestrogen than the females. Consequently reproduction is affected and this can be seen in many other animals as well, at the top of the food chain. [6],[7]
Old mercury thermometers also contained about a 0.5 to 0.6 gram of mercury. Drop one of these in a hospital and the ward had to be decontaminated.
Compact Fluorescent light globes only contain 5 milligrams of mercury and should also be disposed of as hazardous waste.
From the Wisconson Mercury Sourcebook:
‘New’ amalgam filling is just as it says. This is the bit that stays in the tooth. So as to have enough to fill the tooth before it sets, the dentist will always mix more than is needed. This is called Excess or Waste Mixed Amalgam. It is supposed to be stored under photographic fixer in a sealed glass jar. (the sad reality is that it is often just tossed into a drawer). Carved Excess is what the dentist literally scrapes or carves off the filling to make it have a tooth shape and a good bite. This almost always goes down the suction motor and separates into the liquid waste or from the mouth, into the spittoon and then the liquid waste. The same applies for removing an old amalgam filling. The solids can be separated, and the mercury goes into the liquid waste. The liquid waste is what goes into the drains and sewers. [8]
While in your head, the amalgam is supposedly safe. If on the other hand the tooth with the amalgam is extracted, than this very same filling inside the extracted tooth, has suddenly become toxic waste due to the release of mercury into the environment. The amalgam in dead people will eventually find its way up in smoke or draining into our water ways. It too is regarded as toxic waste. The reality is that all amalgam is toxic waste, and it is just a matter of whether it goes straight out into the rivers and air or whether it passes through our bodies first. This makes our bodies the first stage of being a toxic waste dump!
The only place amalgam is safe,
is in the mouth of a living human.
In Every other situation, it is Toxic Waste!
As soon as it is in your mouth the miracle happens and it is no longer a toxic waste.
Is that not miraculous?
Ring the bells indeed and say hallelujah.
Miracles do happen.
The Australian Dental Association have published on their website, a paper called “Don’t Toss Out Your Dental Scrap, Recycle It Instead.” [37] Although mention is given that recycling is better for the environment and deals with regulatory compliance issues, the main thrust of this paper/advice is that it is far more financially profitable than throwing it away.
“…dental scrap can be valuable and should always be recycled. … Crowns, bridges, caps, inlays, porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns (PFMs), and other dental scrap generally contain a mix of gold, platinum, palladium, or silver.” “Gold is not the only metal worth recycling in dental scrap. For example, palladium, a gray metal commonly used in dental applications, is also very valuable. Palladium nearly doubled in value from August 2018 to April 2019, skyrocketing from around $1,222 AUD/oz. to over $2,157 AUD/oz.” “collecting and recycling extracted dental implants will generate revenue that can be used to fund staff bonuses, buy new equipment, or support a local charity.”
It would be so simple to just stop using amalgam and then there would be a whole lot less mercury in the environment. No matter what the waste/scrap metal is worth!
All this toxic waste ends up in our oceans and drinking water. Our rivers are dying from mercury.
So how much of a problem is that little bit of mercury in a filling?
The wastewater from dental clinics has been measured. Almost all surgeries tested had levels of mercury in the waste water, that were much higher than the local permissible limits. The wastewater from dental surgeries is toxic hazardous waste and it should be treated before being allowed into the sewerage. [9]
Dental offices contribute between 12,000 and 50,000 pounds of mercury to wastewater each year in the USA.[10] (1 pound is = to 0.45kg)
Considering the number of amalgams placed each year in the USA, we could expect that about 560 tons of mercury is stored safely and effectively in the mouths of living Americans. [11] The environment minister in the UK Larry Whitty said:
“By 2020, crematoria will be by far the biggest single contributor to mercury emissions in this country.” [12] In fact in July 2007 Reuters News agency reported: “Amalgam waste is the biggest source of mercury in EU waste water and dental use also leads to the widespread dispersal of mercury into the atmosphere from cremation.” [13]
In the UK, dental amalgam and mercury from laboratory and medical devices, account for about 53 percent of total mercury emissions and annually 7.41 tons of mercury from amalgam are discharged to the sewer, atmosphere or land.
Crematoria chimneys spew out mercury at a rate of about 11 kg per chimney per year. [14],[15],[16],[17] Do not live downwind from a crematorium. Dead people are dangerous. Mercury from dental amalgam in dead people’s mouths is vaporized during cremation and currently produces 16% of all mercury pollution in the UK.
Some more about Cremation and Mercury Here
The amount of mercury in the mouth of a person with fillings was on average 2.5 grams, enough to contaminate 5, ten acre lakes to the extent there would be dangerous levels in fish. [18] 2.5g of mercury may constitute one large filling or 5 small one surface fillings. This is enough to poison 50 acres of lake water. What is it doing in your body???
Putting this in Reality Perspective
It’s common to find mouths that are very heavily filled with amalgam. The images above are representative of the majority of patients that I used to treat. Many dentists would look at mouths like this and think that’s not a lot of amalgam. Its normal. The dentists who place amalgams, would look at these mouths and just see a normal looking mouth with the only filling that might need to be replaced being #4, where the margins are clearly worn. They would also see another 9 teeth that will eventually need crowns at $2,500 each = $22,500. Most younger dentists would look at mouths like this and have respect for the fine workmanship that is presented.
Teeth #1,2,3,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,16 also had SS or Titanium Pins supporting the amalgam. I’ve no idea what the metal in the crown (#2 & 16) was made from – usually an alloy that contains 4-5 different metals
13 teeth had mixed metals which produces at least a 4 fold increase in the amount of mercury coming off the amalgams. This is compounded in the mouth, with the fillings that are only amalgam, due to the increased electrical charges in the galvanic cell that is created in this situation, with a further dramatic increase in the mercury coming from these fillings. I wouldn’t hazard a guess at the amount of mercury released 24/7 in a mouth like this.
Some of the larger fillings would weigh on average about 6 grams, the medium about 3 grams and the smaller ones about 2 grams. (conservative estimate) Note that the lower left molars are missing or they might be filled as well.
Large Amalgams #1,3,7,8, 9,10,11,12,13 = 9 teeth X 6g = 54g Medium # 4,14,15 = 3 teeth = 3 X 3 g = 9g Small #5,6 = 2 teeth = 2 X 2 = 4g. Metal Porcelain Crowns over amalgam fillings # 2,16 2 teeth = about 8 g
Total Amalgam = 75g
Total Mercury = 37.5g
Total Mercury = 37.5g ONE MOUTH
“… 2.5 g, enough to contaminate 5, ten acre lakes to the extent there would be dangerous levels in fish. This is enough to poison 50 acres of lake water.“
Electric Power Research Institute, EPRI Technical Brief:”Mercury in the Environment”, 1993; & EPRI Journal, April 1990.
37.5 g of mercury (37.5 / 2.5 = 15) 15 X 5 = 75, 5 acre lakes or
375 acres of lake,
affecting all fish in these lakes
making them contaminated enough to be unsafe to eat.
JUST ONE MOUTH
A Japanese study estimated mercury emissions from a small crematorium as 26 grams per day. [19] A study in Sweden found significant occupational and environmental exposures at crematoria, and since the requirement to install selenium filters mercury emission levels in crematoria have been reduced 85% . [20], [21]
One study from 2002 showed that our excretions are toxic
“….humans, especially in populated areas, can be a significant source of mercury pollutants. As a consequence of mercury release, bacteria may acquire mercury resistance, as well as resistance to other antimicrobial agents, thus resulting in failure of antibiotic treatment.” [22]
This is a very important point. Some bacteria when exposed to mercury either at the end of a sewerage pipe or inside our bodies, will adapt to become resistant to the mercury. They will happily live and reproduce in a mercury environment. As they become mercury resistant they also develop resistance to several antibiotics.[23] This is a profound bit of research which could have far reaching effects on all medical treatments that rely on antibiotics! Antibiotic resistance is a major problem in medicine.
Mercury in our bodies or in the outer environment will create mercury resistant and antibiotic resistant bacteria!
The best way to stop polluting the earth is simply to stop polluting the earth. If PTOs continue to ignore this issue, then it must surely be time for governments to legislate. We must stop polluting the environment that we live in as well as the environment inside of us.
The best way to do this is to stop putting the stuff into the environment. Stop making amalgam, stop using amalgam and stop dental schools from teaching this antiquated concept.
The PTOs talk about ‘minimizing the impact’ of mercury. I say stop the use of mercury. This will eventually Stop the Impact! It is really that simple. [24],[25]
The PTO spin-doctors continually try to reassure the public that there is really no problem, and that the relevant authorities have everything in hand and under control. They are always calling on ‘things to be done’ while at the same time trying to hamper every move to limit the use of their sacred filling material.
The American Dental Association has boasted that more than 1,100 million amalgam fillings are placed in the United States each year. This is their way of saying that amalgam is safe. I guess they think that numbers are scientific.
Let’s look at those figures for a moment. Each one of those fillings weighs about a gram. This is a conservative estimate for the sake of the math. (Many larger fillings can weigh in at 4 to 5 grams.) Half of that is mercury. Considering that people are part of the environment, that means;
55 metric tons of mercury is being placed in the environment, (in living people’s mouths) in the USA each year and in this way is NOT subject to any hazardous waste protocols.
Minamata and Iraq
The environmental impact of mercury contamination is well known. The disasters of mercury poisoning in Minamata Bay, Japan and Iraq are examples. From 1932 to 1968, Chisso Corporation, a company located in Kumamoto Japan, dumped an estimated 27 tons of mercury compounds into Minamata Bay. Kumamoto is a small town about 570 miles southwest of Tokyo. The town consists of mostly farmers and fisherman. When Chisso Corporation dumped this massive amount of mercury into the bay, thousands of people whose normal diet included fish from the bay, unexpectedly developed symptoms of methyl mercury poisoning. The illness became known as “Minamata Disease”. The mercury poisoning resulted from years of environmental destruction and neglect by Chisso Corporation.[26] The form of mercury caused people to laugh themselves to death. Even the cats ran happily off the ends of the wharves and committed suicide.
In Iraq “in the early 1970’s a major methyl mercury-poisoning catastrophe occurred in which an estimated 10,000 people died and 100,000 were severely and permanently brain damaged”.
In the late 1960s and into the 70s, Iraq’s grain and wheat harvests were not successful. Much had to be imported and much of it came from Mexico. To prevent the wheat from going moldy it had to be treated with some fungicide, and for this a product rich in methyl mercury was chosen. It was not chosen for its effectiveness nor for its safety. This product had been banned in Scandinavian countries and parts of America due to its environmental toxicity. There was a surplus and thus the price was cheap.
This crisis did provide the medical world with some greater understanding of how to detect methyl mercury poisoning. “Quiet baby syndrome,” for example, when mothers praise their babies for never crying, is now considered a warning sign for methyl mercury-induced brain damage in children.”[27]
Some readers may remember the days of the good old mercury thermometers which found their way into many parts of our bodies. Cases of people dying after thermometer breakages in the mouth are well documented. If one of these thermometers were to break in an average sized hospital ward, the ward would have to be evacuated and decontaminated. No wonder they were replaced with alcohol and electronic thermometers.
Mercury (Hg) release from dental offices has become an acute issue for the dental profession and has resulted in efforts by regulators to mandate both the use of Best Management Practices (BMPs) as well as the installation of amalgam separators.[28]
The British Dental Journal makes the following comment that British dentistry reduced its emissions of mercury to below the 1990 level, from 316 tonnes, to 8 tonnes in 2002.[29] Since when is 8 tonnes acceptable? 316 tonnes is just stupid.
The EPA (America) estimated that in 1989 approximately 643,000 kg (ie 643 tonns) of mercury was discarded as municipal solid waste, with 84% of it land filled. [30] About 60% of the waste generated during the removal of amalgams escaped the primary and secondary solids collectors and was released into the wastewater. [31]
Elemental mercury is converted to methylmercury in the bodies of humans as well as in the environment. Mercury bioaccumulates up the food chain. Small animals are eaten by bigger animals and accumulate compounding larger amounts of toxins in doing so.
“Methylmercury is particularly dangerous because it bioaccumulates in the environment. Bioaccumulation occurs when the methylmercury in fish tissue concentrates as larger fish eat smaller fish. A 22-inch Northern Pike weighing two pounds can have a mercury concentration as much as 225,000 times as high as the surrounding water.
These concentrations are significant when one considers the potential toxic effects of methylmercury. Methylmercury interferes with the nervous system of the human body and can result in a decreased ability to walk, talk, see, and hear. In extreme examples, high levels of methylmercury consumption has resulted in coma or death.
Mercury can interfere with an animal’s ability to reproduce, and lead to weight loss, or early death.” [32]
“… mercury can be carried long distances in the atmosphere, combining with other airborne chemicals as it travels. These compounds are much more water-soluble and therefore are more easily removed from the air in rainfall.” [33]
What goes up may come down a long way away. There is not one place on earth that is separate from any other place on earth. Industrial emissions in Asia are a major source of mercury in rainwater that is now falling along the California coast according to a study by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The researchers reported their findings in a paper published online by the Journal of Geophysical Research – Atmospheres.[34]
Some estimates of the financial cost to the environment have been made:
“… between 1.5 and 2 million children in the EU are born each year with MeHg exposures above the safe limit of 0.58μg/g and 200,000 above the WHO recommended maximum of 2.5μg/g.
… Exposure to MeHg in humans affects brain development, resulting in a lower IQ, and consequently a lower earning potential.
… Once MeHg is formed, it cycles though the environment for thousands of years, exposing humans and other species to potentially toxic levels for generations.” [35]
Man’s greed and ignorance often creates an environmental disaster. In the Amazon rainforest, gold has been found for centuries. Currently there is a gold rush happening there, and pristine forest is being cut down to allow for mining equipment to gain access. To extract the gold, large amounts of mercury are used. Mercury binds chemically with gold and there remains a large volume of mercury contaminated water which is returned to the river system. Once the solid is removed from the slurry it can be heated to remove the mercury leaving a small gold nugget. Many native people are poisoned in this process. Sadly, this is the tip of the iceberg. More than 100 tons of mercury is poured into the Amazonian rivers every year. Everything down stream is poisoned. The fish are poisoned as are all other animals including humans who have traditionally always relied on the river. In the present gold rush at least 2,000 tonnes has been released.[36]
References
[1] http://www.newmoa.org/prevention/mercury/imerc/FactSheets/dental_amalgam.pdf
[2] Global mercury assessment 2013: sources, emissions, releases, and environmental transport. Geneva: United Nations Environment Programme; 2013. Available from: http://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/7984 [cited 2017 Dec 28].
[3] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) ADA News. 20(2):1,6. 16 January 1989.
[4] Electric Power Research Institute, EPRI Technical Brief:”Mercury in the Environment”, 1993; & EPRI Journal, April 1990
[5] B.Windham, “Health Effects of Toxic Metals: An Anotated Bibliography”,1999.
[6] ” Developmental Effects of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals”,Eniron Heath Perspectives, V 101, No.5, Oct 1993
[7] T.Colborn(Ed.),Chemically Induced Atlerations in Functional Development, Princeton Scientific Press,1992
[8] Dental Transport of mercury from dental Silver Amalgam Restorations. Prog Histochem Cytochem 1991 23(1-4):321-6
[9] Shraim A Alsuhaimi A Al-Thakafy JT Dental clinics: a point pollution source, not only of mercury but also of other amalgam constituents. Chemosphere (2011 Aug) 84(8):1133-9
[10] Batchu, Stone, Naleway, Meyer; Comparison of Particle Size Distributions of Dental Waste Water Under Various Clinical Procedures. J. Dent Res.74(SI):149
[11] http://www.mercola.com/article/mercury/no_mercury.htm
[12] BBC Monday, 23 November, 1998, – http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/220366.stm
[13] The European Union pressed to ban mercury from mouths Saturday, July 28, 2007 – By Anna Stablum, LONDON, Reuters
[14] Health risks from exposure to mercury from crematoria. The Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institute Report, 51M 1/92.
[15] More mercury from crematoria : Nature 1990 Aug 16;346(6285):615. Comment on: Nature 1990 Oct 18;347(6294):623 Nature. 1991 Feb 28
[16] Nieschmidt AK Kim ND Effects of mercury release from amalgam dental restorations during cremation on soil mercury levels of three New Zealand crematoria. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol (1997 May) 58(5):744-51
[17] Mercury in the hair of crematoria workers Susan R Maloney, Carol A Phillips, A Ilan Mills THE LANCET – Vol 352 – November 14,1998
[18] Electric Power Research Institute, EPRI Technical Brief:”Mercury in the Environment”, 1993; & EPRI Journal, April 1990.
[19] Yoshida M; Kishimoto T; Yamamura Y; Tabuse M; Akama Y; Satoh H. Amount of mercury from dental amalgam filling released into the atmosphere by cremation. Nippon Koshu Eisei Zasshi 1994 Jul;41(7):618‑24.
[20] Reese Km. Mercury emissions from crematoria. Chem & Engin News, 12-7-98, p80-81; & Lancet 1998; 352, 1602.
[21] Facts about Mercury and Dental Amalgam (with Medical Study References) Bernard Windham, Editor
[22] Leistevuo J Leistevuo T Helenius H Pyy L Huovinen P Tenovuo J Mercury in saliva and the risk of exceeding limits for sewage in relation to exposure to amalgam fillings. Arch Environ Health (2002 Jul-Aug) 57(4):366-70
[23] Mercury released from dental “silver” fillings provokes an increase in mercury-resistant and antibiotic-resistant bacteria in oral and intestinal floras of primates resistant to one or more antibiotics, including: Ampicillin, tetracycline, streptomycin, kanamycin, chloramphenicol. Summers AO et al Antimicrob Agents Chemother (1993 Apr) 37(4): 825-34
[24]http://www.ada.org.au/media/documents/Products_Publications/Journal%20Archives/2000%20Archive/December/adj1200_chin.pdf
[25] The environmental effects of dental amalgam by G Chin, J Chong, A Kluczewska, A Lau, S Gorjy, M Tennant Australian Dental Journal 2000;45L4):246-249.
[26] http://www.american.edu/TED/MINAMATA.HTM
[27] http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/jernelov3/English
[28] Stone ME The effect of amalgam separators on mercury loading to wastewater treatment plants. J Calif Dent Assoc (2004 Jul)
[29] British Dental Journal (2005); 198, 191 http://www.nature.com/bdj/journal/v198/n4/full/4812154a.html
[30] Holton WC Quick fixes for quicksilver. Environ Health Perspect (1998 Feb) 106(2):A74-6
[31] Adegbembo AO Watson PA Lugowski SJ The weight of wastes generated by removal of dental amalgam restorations and the concentration of mercury in dental wastewater. J Can Dent Assoc (2002 Oct) 68(9):553-8
[32] Wisconson Mercury Sourcebook: DENTISTS http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/bnsdocs/hgsbook/dentist.pdf
[33] http://search.eurekalert.org/e3/query.html?col=ev3rel&qc=ev3rel&op0=%2B&fl0=&ty0=w&op1=%2B&fl1=keywords%3A&ty1=w&tx1=Atmospheric+Science&tx0=mercury
[34] http://search.eurekalert.org/e3/query.html?col=ev3rel&qc=ev3rel&op0=%2B&fl0=&ty0=w&op1=%2B&fl1=keywords%3A&ty1=w&tx1=Atmospheric+Science&tx0=mercury
[35] https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-01/bc-ctc010413.php PUBLIC RELEASE: 6-JAN-2013 Counting the cost of mercury pollution BIOMED CENTRAL
[36] Gold Mining as a Source of Mercury Exposure in the Brazilian Amazon OlafMalm Environmental Research Volume 77, Issue 2, May 1998, Pages 73-78
[37] https://www.ada.org.au/News-Media/News-and-Release/Latest-News/Recycling-dental-scrap