DENTAL AMALGAM MERCURY SYNDROME ............................www.amalgam.org
DAMS Intl. 1079 Summit Ave St Paul MN 55105
For Immediate Release: local contact: see
page 6
Studies Document that amalgam dental
fillings are the largest source of both inorganic and organic mercury in most
people.
Peer-reviewed medical studies and
thousands of clinical tests by Medical Labs have documented that:
1. The daily mercury exposure(measured in saliva and feces) for those with amalgam dental fillings is on average more
than 10 times higher than those without
amalgam fillings.
2.
Amalgam is the largest source of mercury exposure in most people-
both for inorganic and organic mercury.
3. Amalgam is also a major source
of the high levels of mercury in all U.S. sewer plants, sewer sludge, and in
lakes, rivers, and fish. Over 50% of
Florida rivers and lakes have mercury fish consumption
warnings, and most bays. Over 20% of all
U.S. lakes have fish consumption warnings, including all Great Lakes.
4. Millions of
people in the U.S. have dangerous levels of mercury exposure and millions of
women of child bearing age have levels high enough to make birth defects and
developmental disorders in infants likely.
Documentation:
U.S., Canadian, German, and Swedish Government
agencies, along with the World Health Organization have documented that amalgam
is the number one source of mercury in most people(1-4,12). Many
other peer-reviewed studies and thousands of clinical tests have confirmed
these results and that amalgam has affected
millions(11-20,FS1-8).
The reference average level of mercury in feces(dry
weight) for those tested at Doctors
Data Lab with amalgam fillings is .26 mg/kg, compared to the reference
average level for those without amalgam fillings of .02 mg/kg(10). (13 times that of the population w/o amalgam). A
Swedish lab that does fecal tests for mercury had similar results(10).
In a large study of a group with amalgams, a group
without amalgams, and a group that had undergone amalgam replacement- using saliva mercury measurements, it was
concluded that amalgam is the main source of organic mercury in most people.
Those with amalgams on average had more than 4 times as much
organic mercury as either group without amalgam. Those with amalgam had
over 10 times the total mercury as those without(11). And mercury
from fish was controlled for in the study and not a factor in these
results. Mercury vapor and inorganic
mercury are well documented to be methylated to
methyl mercury in the mouth and intestines by bacteria, yeast, and other methyl
donors(21,22,23).
The saliva mercury level for those with
several amalgam fillings(8 or more) was more than 10 times the level of those
without amalgam fillings. 10 % of those with amalgam fillings had unstimulated mercury saliva levels of
over 100 ug/L. Mercury level was proportional
to the number of fillings(12,11). Three studies that looked at a population
with more than 12 fillings found generally
higher levels than this study, with average
mercury level in unstimulated saliva of 29 ug/L [33 ug/d](13), 32.7 ug/L
[37 ug/d] (14), and 75 ug/day(15). The saliva and feces of children with
amalgams have
approximately 10 times the level of mercury as children without
(10,16,17,FS 8),
and much higher levels in saliva after chewing.
Mercury levels in saliva and feces usually decline
after amalgam replacement between 80 to
95% (10,11,18-20,FS
8). The studies document that amalgam is the number
one source of both inorganic and organic mercury in most people. It has
been documented that inorganic mercury is methylated
to methyl mercury in the mouth and intestines by bacteria, yeast, and other
methyl donors(21,22,23).
Because of the extreme toxicity of
mercury, the U.S. EPA drinking water standard for mercury is 2 parts per
billion, which allows for not over 4 micrograms per day mercury exposure
for an average adult. The U.S.EPA
mercury health guideline for elemental mercury exposure(vapor)
is 0.3 micrograms per cubic meter of air(0.3 ug/M3). For the average adult breathing 20 M3 of air
per day, this amounts to an exposure of 6 micrograms(ug) per day.
The U.S. Department of Health, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry (ASTDR) standard (MRL) -for acute inhalation exposure to
mercury vapor is 0.2 micrograms Hg/M3, which translates to approx. 4 ug/day for the average adult(1,FS
1).
The main reasons for the high exposure
levels from mercury are the high volatility of mercury(which is vaporizing constantly at
room temperature) and the galvanic currents in the mouth generated by
mixed metals in an electrolyte(saliva)
(FS 7).
Metal crowns are usually placed over amalgam base which gives
even more galvanic currents and mercury exposure than amalgam fillings. This is
warned against by the largest amalgam manufacturer and many Government health
agencies, along with other common practices regarding
amalgam by dentists in the U.S. (FS 8) Several;
states now require warnings to patients by dentists about
the toxicity of mercury(FS 10).
Studies that the Government Health
Standards were based on have found adverse health effects at very low levels(FS 8,25) and developmental effects on infants
and children at very low levels of exposure(FS 2,FS 5,25), along with
finding that mercury vapor from a mothers fillings is readily transferred
through the mothers
blood across the placenta to a fetus and also through mothers milk(FS 2) and commonly causes
developmental effects(FS 2,25).
All sewer plants in the U.S. and sewer sludge have
been found to have high levels of mercury by Govt
agencies, with mercury excretion into home and business sewers by those with
amalgam fillings the most common factor along with high levels from dental
office sewers(5-7,FS 9). Government agencies have documented that this
is a major factor in mercury in rivers, lakes, fish, as well as crops and rain
since soil bacteria methylate the mercury from sludge
used for land spreading or in landfills to methyl mercury, which is emitted at
high levels. Over 50% of Florida rivers
and lakes have fish consumption warnings along with most bays(FS9). Over 20% of all U.S. lakes, including all
Great Lakes, and 7% of U.S. river miles have mercury fish consumption warnings(8).
DAMS is currently working with
thousands of people in the U.S. dealing with serious health effects caused by
exposure to mercury from amalgam and urges everyone to find out more about this
major problem and to get involved in resolving these health safety issues. DAMS can provide information and help to
anyone who is interested or who thinks they might have health problems related
to their amalgam fillings.
(www.home.earthlink.net/~berniew1/indexd.html)
References
(1) Agency for Toxic Substances and
Disease Registry(ATSDR), U.S. Public Health Service,
"Toxicological Profile for Mercury"March,
1999.
(2) Mark Richardson, Environmental
Health Directorate,Health
Canada, Assessment of Mercury Exposure and Risks from Dental
Amalgam, 1995, Final Report; & Swedish Council for Planning and
Coordination(FRN),
Amalgam and Health, 1999.
(3) World Health Organization(WHO),1991,
Environmental Health criteria 118,
Inorganic Mercury, WHO, Geneva;
(4) A.Kingman et al, National
Institute of Dental Research, "Mercury concentrations in urine
and blood associated with amalgam exposure in the U.S. military
population", J Dent Res, 1998, 77(3):461‑71.
(5) U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency Mercury Sourcebook: a Guide to Help Your
Community Identify and Reduce
Releases of Elemental Mercury. Section
III, Mercury Use: Dentists, p249-292.
Http://www.epa.gov/grtlakes/bnsdocs/hgsbook/index.html &
http://home.xnet.com/~aadr/thetest.htm
&
(b) Association
of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies' Evaluation of Domestic Sources of Mercury :
http://www.amsa‑cleanwater.org/pubs/mercury/mercury.htm
(6) Lindberg, S.G., et al. 2001. Methylated
mercury species in municipal waste landfill gas sampled in Florida, USA.
Atmospheric Environment 35(Aug):4011-15.; & Lindberg, S.G. et al, Airborne
Emissions of mercury from municipal solid waste: measurements from 3 Florida
landfills, JAWMA, 2002 ;& Janet Raloff, Landfill
gas found to have high levels of highly toxic dimethyl
form of mercury. Week of July 7, 2001; Vol. 160, No. 1, Science News; & Study Says Landfill Bacteria Worsen
Mercury Pollution, Solid Waste Report, Vol. 32 No. 28 July 12, 2001 Page 217. ;
& U.S. EPA, Air Emissions of landfill
gas pollutants at Fresh Kills Landfill, Staten Island, NJ, December 1995, NTIS
Order number PB97-500508INC 04/20/2001 [www.ntis.gov/fcpc/cpn7634.htm];
(7) Methyl Mercury Contamination and Emission
to the Atmosphere from Soil Amended with Municipal Sewage Sludge, Anthony Carpi, toxicology, Journal Environ. Quality 26:1650-1655
(1997) Genetic Analysis of Drinking Water
www.toxicsaction.org/tacsludgereport10_30_01.pdf;
& Department
of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Press Release: ORNL finds green
plants fertilized by sewer sludge emit organic and inorganic mercury, http://www.ornl.gov/Press_Releases/archive/mr19960117‑01.html; &
Maine Toxics Action Center, Toxic sludge:
threatening farm lands and public health, Oct 2001.
http://www.toxicsaction.org/tacsludgereport10_30_01.pdf
(8)United States Environmental Protection Agency,
Office of Water, Novermber 2000, The National
Listing of
Fish and Wildlife Advisories: Summary of 1999 Data,
EPA‑823‑F‑00‑20,
www.epa.gov/ost/fish/advisories/general.html;
(10) Doctors Data Inc.; Fecal
Elements Test; P.O.Box 111, West Chicago, Illinois, 60186-0111; www.doctorsdata.com ; & Biospectron Lab, LMI, Lennart Mansson International AB, lmi.analyslab@swipnet.se
(11) Leistevuo
J et al, Dental
amalgam fillings and the amount of organic mercury in human saliva. Caries Res 2001
May-Jun;35(3):163-6; & Sellars WA, Sellars
R. Univ. Of Texas Southwestern Medical School Methyl mercury in dental amalgams in
the human mouth, Journal of Nutritional &
Environmental Medicine 1996; 6(1): 33-37
(12) Dr. P.Kraub
& M.Deyhle, Universitat
Tubingen- Institut fur Organische Chemie, "Field
Study
on the Mercury Content of
Saliva", 1997 www.uni-tuebingen.de/KRAUSS/amalgam.html;
(20,000 people tested for mercury level
in saliva and health status/symptoms compiled)
(13) M.J.Vimy,F.L.Lorscheider,Intra oral Mercury released from
dental amalgams and estimation of daily
dose J. Dent Res., 1985,64(8):1069-1075;
(14) A.Gebhardt,
Ermittlung der Quecksilberbelastung aus Amalgamfullurngen, Labormedizin
16,384-386,1992;
(15) B.Arnold,
Eigenschaften und Einsatzgebiete
des Chelatbildners:DMPS, Z.Umweltmedizin 1997,5(1):38- ; & Diagnostik un Monitorung vonSchwermetallbelastungen,I,II,
ZWR,1996, 105(10): 586-569 & (11):665-; & Therapie der Schwermetallbelastung,
Mineraloscope, 1996,(1):22-23.
(16) C.Malmstrom,
M.Hansson, M. Nylander,
Conference on Trace
Elements in Health
and Disease.
Stockholm May 25,1992; & C. Malmstrom
et al., "Silver amalgam: an unstable material",
Swedish paper translated
in Bio-Probe Newsletter, Vol 9(1):5-6, Jan. 1993 & C.Malmstrom,
"Amalgam
derived mercury in feces", Journal of
Trace Elements in Experimental
Medicine, 5, (Abs 122), 1992;
(17) B.Engin-Deniz
et al,"Die queckssilberkonzentration
im spichel zehnjariger kinder in korrelation
zur anzahl und Grobe iher amalgamfullungen",
Zeitschrift fur Stomatologie,1992,
89:471-179;
(18) L.Bjorkman
et al, "Mercury in Saliva and Feces after Removal of
Amalgam Fillings", Toxicology
and Applied Pharmacology, 1997, 144(1),
p156-62; & (b) J Dent Res 75: 38-, IADR Abstract 165, 1996.
(19)G. Sandborgh-Englund, Pharmakinetics of
mercury from dental
amalgam,
Medical School Dissertation Dept. Of
Basal Oral Sciences, Karolinska
Institute,(Stockholm),1998,1-49; &
G. Sandborgh-Englund et al, Mercury in biological fluids after amalgam
removal. J Dental Res, 1998, 77(4): 615-24;
(20) A. Engqvist
et al, "Speciation of mercury excreted in feces from individuals with amalgam fillings",
Arch Environ Health, 1998, 53(3):205-13; & Dept. of Toxicology & Chemistry,
Stockholm Univ., National Institute for
Working Life, 1998 (www.niwl.se/ah/1998-02.html)
(21) Heintze et al,Methylation of
Mercury from dental amalgam and mercuric
chloride by oral Streptococci.,Scan. J. Dent. Res. 1983, 91:150-152; & L.I.Liang et al, "Mercury reactions in the
human mouth with dental amalgams" Water, Air, and Soil pollution,
80:103-107; & Wang J, Liu Z; [.In vitro Study of Strepcoccus
Mutans in the Plaque on the Surface of Amalgam
Fillings on the Convertion of Inorganic Mercury to
Organic Mercury][Article in Chinese], Shanghai Kou Qiang
Yi Xue. 2000 Jun;9(2):70-2.
(22)S Yannai, I Berdicevsky,
and L Duek, Transformations of inorganic mercury by
Candida albicans and Saccharomyces
cerevisiae.
Appl Environ Microbiol.
1991 January; 57 (1): 245247;
& Choi SC, Bartha R.. Cobalamin-mediated mercury methylation by Desulfovibrio desulfuricans LS. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1993 Jan;59(1):290-5;
& Pan-Hou HS, Imura
N. Involvement of
mercury methylation in microbial mercury detoxication.
Arch Microbiol. 1982
Mar;131(2):176-7; & Zorn NE, Smith JT. A relationship between
vitamin B12, folic acid, ascorbic acid, and mercury uptake and methylation.
Life Sci. 1990;47(2):167-73.
(23) Ludwicki
JK., Studies on the role of gastrointestinal tract contents in the methylation of inorganic mercury compounds. Bull Environ Contam
Toxicol. 1989 Feb;42(2):283-8;
& Rowland I, Davies M, Grasso P.
Biosynthesis of methylmercury compounds by the
intestinal flora of the rat. Arch
Environ Health. 1977 Jan-Feb;32(1):24-8; & Rowland
IR, Grasso P, Davies MJ. The methylation
of mercuric chloride by human intestinal bacteria. Experientia. 1975 SEP 15;31(9):1064-5.
(24) ATSDR/EPA Priority List for 1999: Top
20 Hazardous Substances, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/99list.html ; & Apr 19,1999 Media
Advisory, New MRLs for toxic substances, MRL:elemental mercury vapor/inhalation/chronic & MRL:
methyl mercury/ oral/acute; &
http://atsdr1.atsdr.cdc.gov:8080/97list.html.
(25) U.S. CDC, National Center for Environmental Health , National Report on
Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, 2001,
www.cdc.gov/nceh/dls/report/Highlights.htm ;
& National Research Council,
Toxicological Effects of Methyl mercury (2000), pp. 304‑332: Risk
Characterization and Public Health Implications, Nat'l Academy Press 2000.
Available fact sheets on
website with over 2000 medical study references include:
FS1. Common Mercury Exposure Levels from
Amalgam Fillings High and Government
Health Standards Commonly
Exceeded, www.myflcv.com/amalno1.html
FS2. Transfer of
Mercury from Mothers Amalgams
and Breast Milk
to the Fetus
and Developmental Effects of Mercury on Infants, www.myflcv.com/fetaln.html
FS3. Documentation of
recovery from 60,000 clinical cases of serious adverse health effects after
replacement of amalgam fillings
in over 30 chronic health conditions,
www.flcv.com/amalg6.html
FS4. Adverse Oral Health
Problems related to Amalgam Fillings,
www.flcv.com/periodon.html
FS5. Effect of Mercury and
Other Toxic Metal Exposure on Cognitive and Behavioral Problems
of Children-
including ADD, dyslexia, juvenile delinquency, and crime,
FS6, Autoimmune conditions:
CFS, FM, MS, Parkinsons, ALS, Alzheimers, Lupus, Chrons,
Schleraderma: the connection
to mercury immune reactivity and
amalgam fillings;
www.myflcv.com/damsindx.html
FS7. The battery in your
mouth: oral galvanic currents and metals in the mouth, and interactions with EMF , www.myflcv.com/galv.html
FS8. Health Effects of
amalgam fillings and results of replacement of amalgam filings. Over 2000 medical study references(most in Medline) documenting
common high mercury exposures from amalgam, and that vapor from amalgam is the most dangerous form of
mercury to the fetus, and
approx. 60,000 clinical cases of amalgam replacement followed by
doctors;
FS9. The environmental effects of amalgam
affect everyone. High levels of mercury
in sewer plants, sewer sludge, crops, rain, rivers, lakes, fish due to mercury
excreted by those with amalgam. www.flcv.com/damspr2f.html
FS10. State laws
requiring warnings about adverse health effects of mercury by dentists or placing restrictions
on amalgam use www.myflcv.com/damspr5.html
National contact person: Bernie Windham berniew1@embarqmail.com 850-878-9024
