EPA to Regulate Dental Mercury

[Guest guest]

EPA to Regulate Dental Mercury

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it will regulate

dental mercury! The move is a blow to the pro-mercury American Dental

Association (ADA), which had lobbied for a “voluntary†approach to

preventing dental mercury pollution – the ADA’s way of doing nothing to stop

pro-amalgam dentists from dumping their mercury into our environment.

Mercury released by amalgam-using dentists pollutes our water, our air, and our

land, resulting in devastating environmental health effects. As the EPA

explains, once dental mercury enters the environment, “certain microorganisms

can change elemental mercury into methylmercury, a highly toxic form that builds

up in fish, shellfish and animals that eat fish. Fish and shellfish are the

main sources of methylmercury exposure to humans. Methylmercury can damage

children’s developing brains and nervous systems even before they are born.â€

Giving credit where it is due, this move by EPA dismantles the agency’s

“midnight deal†with the ADA. This “memorandum of understanding†put

the ADA in charge of environmental safety in dental offices, permitting a

predictably ineffective program of voluntary amalgam separators – a device for

catching dental mercury before it goes into our water. It was like putting

Colonel in charge of the chicken coop. Consumers for Dental Choice

teamed with environmental groups to protest this outrageous agreement and demand

regulation. Last spring, we helped organize a congressional hearing to address

the failure of ADA’s voluntary approach and the ever-increasing problem of

dental mercury pollution in our air (via crematoria especially).

In response, EPA will propose a rule to regulate dental mercury in 2011. We

will have the opportunity to submit public comments before the rule is finalized

in 2012. We must now roll up our sleeves and participate in the rule-making

process, less the ADA lawyers and lobbyists gain exemptions that eat up the

rule.

We have taken this significant step forward in the fight against dental mercury

thanks to three environmental heroes: (1) Bender of the Mercury Policy

Project who organized the environmentalists, then relentlessly demonstrated to

EPA that the “voluntary†approach is a ruse; (2) Congressman Dennis

Kucinich, who chaired the hearings that put EPA’s feet to the fire; and (3)

, Administrator of the EPA, who defied the ADA lobbyists and did the

right thing. I’m sure Congressman Kucinich, dennis.kucinich@...,

and Administrator , jackson.lisa@..., would enjoy hearing from you.

We applaud EPA for standing up to the American Dental Association, which still

takes the preposterous position that “Dental amalgam has little effect on the

environment... [and] this amount is not in the form [of mercury] found in

fish.†The Food and Drug Administration would do well to follow EPA’s lead

and ignore the ADA’s shady “scientific†claims.

Charlie

30 September 2010

P.S. Don’t forget to click here to submit your comments about mercury

fillings to FDA by the December 3 deadline!

[Guest guest]

Kudos to those who engineered this. Hope it doesn't change.

On Thu, Sep 30, 2010 at 8:49 PM, Shepard Salzer <

_Shepard@...> wrote:

>

>

>

> EPA to Regulate Dental Mercury

>

> The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it will

> regulate dental mercury! The move is a blow to the pro-mercury American

> Dental Association (ADA), which had lobbied for a “voluntary” approach to

> preventing dental mercury pollution – the ADA’s way of doing nothing to stop

> pro-amalgam dentists from dumping their mercury into our environment.

>

> Mercury released by amalgam-using dentists pollutes our water, our air, and

> our land, resulting in devastating environmental health effects. As the EPA

> explains, once dental mercury enters the environment, “certain

> microorganisms can change elemental mercury into methylmercury, a highly

> toxic form that builds up in fish, shellfish and animals that eat fish. Fish

> and shellfish are the main sources of methylmercury exposure to humans.

> Methylmercury can damage children’s developing brains and nervous systems

> even before they are born.”

>

> Giving credit where it is due, this move by EPA dismantles the agency’s

> “midnight deal” with the ADA. This “memorandum of understanding” put the ADA

> in charge of environmental safety in dental offices, permitting a

> predictably ineffective program of voluntary amalgam separators – a device

> for catching dental mercury before it goes into our water. It was like

> putting Colonel in charge of the chicken coop. Consumers for Dental

> Choice teamed with environmental groups to protest this outrageous agreement

> and demand regulation. Last spring, we helped organize a congressional

> hearing to address the failure of ADA’s voluntary approach and the

> ever-increasing problem of dental mercury pollution in our air (via

> crematoria especially).

>

> In response, EPA will propose a rule to regulate dental mercury in 2011. We

> will have the opportunity to submit public comments before the rule is

> finalized in 2012. We must now roll up our sleeves and participate in the

> rule-making process, less the ADA lawyers and lobbyists gain exemptions that

> eat up the rule.

>

> We have taken this significant step forward in the fight against dental

> mercury thanks to three environmental heroes: (1) Bender of the

> Mercury Policy Project who organized the environmentalists, then

> relentlessly demonstrated to EPA that the “voluntary” approach is a ruse;

> (2) Congressman Dennis Kucinich, who chaired the hearings that put EPA’s

> feet to the fire; and (3) , Administrator of the EPA, who defied

> the ADA lobbyists and did the right thing. I’m sure Congressman Kucinich,

> dennis.kucinich@... <dennis.kucinich%40mail.house.gov>, and

> Administrator , jackson.lisa@... <jackson.lisa%40epa.gov>,

> would enjoy hearing from you.

>

> We applaud EPA for standing up to the American Dental Association, which

> still takes the preposterous position that “Dental amalgam has little effect

> on the environment... [and] this amount is not in the form [of mercury]

> found in fish.” The Food and Drug Administration would do well to follow

> EPA’s lead and ignore the ADA’s shady “scientific” claims.

>

> Charlie

> 30 September 2010

>

> P.S. Don’t forget to click here to submit your comments about mercury

> fillings to FDA by the December 3 deadline!

>

>

--

God's blessings in Christ,

Your Partner in Health,

N. Rydland, M.D.

Founder and developer of kidsWellness, Inc.

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www.kidswellness.com

www.rydlandjuice.com

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434-984-KIDS [5437]