Bangor Daily News
January 12, 2006
Ban mercury amalgam
Today the Natural Resources Committee will have another opportunity to
revisit two held-over bills that are calling for a ban on mercury amalgam
dental fillings, LD 1327 and LD 1338.
This issue was first brought to the Legislature in 1998. In 2001, the
Legislature passed legislation to create an informational brochure on
mercury amalgam that has become the model for the nation, although questions
remain about how many dentists are using the brochures.
Along with being one of the first states to enforce a mercury amalgam
separator law, to force Maine dentists to trap excess mercury scrap that is
considered hazardous waste, Maine has been a national leader on issues
concerning mercury in dentistry. But we still have one more challenge and
that is to be the first state in the nation to ban mercury dental fillings.
It's time to question the authority of agencies like the American Dental
Association for testifying in Maine and before Congress that mercury and
dental amalgam are not the same and that their properties are not
interchangeable. This statement is false and a deceptive play on words. To
quote an internationally acclaimed scientist and chairman of the chemistry
department at the University of Kentucky, Boyd Haley, "The mercury vapor
that is emitted from dental amalgams is indistinguishable from pure liquid
mercury and is just as toxic to the human body."
A 128-page report by the Swedish Chemicals Inspectorate concluded there "are
strong grounds for banning amalgam for environmental reasons. ... There are
other dental filling materials available on the market which meet the needs
encountered in normal dental care for children and adults. To restrict the
supply of mercury to society, and thereby take care of the problem at the
source, is an effective way to reduce the risks to human health and the
environment instead of using pollution control measures and collecting and
taking hazardous waste into safekeeping."
LD1327 and1338, when passed, will ban mercury amalgam, one of the largest
sources of mercury pollution in the environment.
Pamela J Anderson
Houlton, ME