To: President Donald Trump, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
Ban the Mercury "Silver" Dental Filling
I am very disappointed that our country has failed to address dental mercury pollution. Dental amalgam (deceptively marketed as silver fillings) is a primitive and polluting cavity-filling material that contains 50% mercury, a known neurotoxin and reproductive toxin. Even though modern environmentally-friendly alternatives are available, dentists are still the second largest buyers of mercury in the United States, where more mercury resides in human mouths than in all other products combined.
The mercury implanted into the teeth of unsuspecting patients ultimately ends up back in our environment: (1) in our water via dental clinic releases and household toilets; (2) in our air via cremation, sludge incineration, dental clinic emissions, and human respiration; and (3) in our land via landfills, burials, and fertilizer.
As a result, dental clinics are by far the greatest source of mercury in our wastewater and a major source of mercury in the fish we eat. Taxpayers are left to pay the environmental clean-up expense, as well as the environmental health costs of dental mercury pollution. For instance, the U.S. EPA estimates that already one in six babies is at risk for developmental disorders due to mercury exposure in the womb.
To protect our community from this toxin, I request that the US Governent hold public hearings to address dental mercury pollution.
The mercury implanted into the teeth of unsuspecting patients ultimately ends up back in our environment: (1) in our water via dental clinic releases and household toilets; (2) in our air via cremation, sludge incineration, dental clinic emissions, and human respiration; and (3) in our land via landfills, burials, and fertilizer.
As a result, dental clinics are by far the greatest source of mercury in our wastewater and a major source of mercury in the fish we eat. Taxpayers are left to pay the environmental clean-up expense, as well as the environmental health costs of dental mercury pollution. For instance, the U.S. EPA estimates that already one in six babies is at risk for developmental disorders due to mercury exposure in the womb.
To protect our community from this toxin, I request that the US Governent hold public hearings to address dental mercury pollution.
Why is this important?
Dental Amalgam Fillings contain 50% Mercury, a known neurotoxin. Continued use of the "silver" filling is toxic to humans and the environment, causing undiagnosed health problems to millions of people. Dental offices are one of the biggest sources of mercury pollution. Mercury Dental Products are not necessary and are a result of corporate interests. As Sweden, Norway, Germany, and Canada has done, we are calling on Congress for legislation to ban the dental mercury filling.