Rep. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles) to Introduce Bill to End Use of Mercury in Dental Fillings
Date: Sat, 3 Nov 2001 06:55:26 -0600
From: Allene R Wahl
allenew@juno.comTo:
cms@interaccess.comFriday November 2, 4:37 pm Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: Consumers for Dental Choice
Rep. Diane Watson to Introduce Bill to End Use of Mercury in Dental Fillings
WHO: Congresswoman Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles), community leaders, anti-Mercury consumer and environmental activists
WHAT: Press conference to announce Rep. Watson's bill to end the use of the dangerous toxin Mercury in dental fillings by 2007
WHERE: DWP Building, 4030 Crenshaw (at MLK Blvd.)
WHEN: Monday, November 5 at 1:30 p.m.
WHY: So-called "silver" fillings are composed mainly of Mercury, a highly toxic material. Mercury is being removed from ALL other health care uses. Scientists agree that poisonous Mercury vapors constantly emit from fillings and can collect in the brain and other organs.
BACKGROUND
Congresswoman Watson has a long record of working for disclosure of the risks of Mercury-based dental fillings. While a California State Senator in 1992, Rep. Watson authored a first-of-its-kind law that requires the state Dental Board to issue a ``Fact Sheet'' on the risks of Mercury. Similar laws have since been adopted in Arizona and Maine. In California over the past six months, the issue of Mercury-based dental fillings has become a subject of major controversy (see coverage at Consumers for Dental Choice's web site,
www.toxicteeth.net http://www.toxicteeth.net). In June, consumer groups filed suit against the American and California Dental Associations for deceptively referring to mercury-based fillings as ``silver'' and for secretly accepting payments from Mercury amalgam manufacturers while endorsing their product as safe.In September the California Legislature voted to abolish the Dental Board and replace it with an entirely new Board, largely because of its refusal for nearly ten years to adopt a Fact Sheet that properly warned of the dangers of Mercury fillings. Governor Davis signed the bill into law last month (along with a bill outlawing Mercury thermometers), saying `Mercury is a persistent and toxic pollutant that bioaccumulates in the environment ...''
``It is no longer a question of if, but when, Mercury dental fillings will be history,'' said Congresswoman Watson. ``Mercury has been -- or is being -- removed from all other health care uses, including in thermometers, vaccines and disinfectants. It is politically and medically illogical to be removing Mercury from all other medical uses and at the same time continuing to place it in peoples' mouths.''
Mercury poses a particular risk to children and pregnant women, as well as other subpopulations (e.g. people with kidney disease or who wear braces). A 1999 government report (by the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry of the United States Public Health Service) says that the Mercury vapors from fillings go to the brain, which puts a child's developing brain at the most risk. The report further states that the Mercury goes through the placenta into the developing embryo and that it goes through the mother's breast milk into the baby.
While the American Dental Association still supports using Mercury fillings (and in fact receives a fee from Mercury amalgam manufacturers for endorsing their product), there is increasing opposition to the continued use of Mercury among dentists and other dental professionals. For example, smaller groups such as the Carmel-based American Academy of Biological Dentistry and the Orlando-based International Academy of Oral Medicine & Toxicology support an end to Mercury amalgam.
For news coverage and further information:
www.toxicteeth.netSOURCE: Consumers for Dental Choice
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Allene R. Wahl, Ph.D., C.N.C.
Int'l. Resource Center for Chemically Induced Immune Disorders
Ph. (847) 678-5934 e-mail:
allenew@juno.comTrue cause of immune epidemic:
http://members.tripod.com/immune_disorders/index.html
