Dental Mercury Use and Release Reduction Forum Sponsored by US EPA, TURI and MPP To Be Held on January 23rd at U-MASS Lowell

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Dental Mercury Use and Release Reduction Forum Sponsored by US EPA, TURI and MPP To Be Held on January 23rd at U-MASS Lowell

VERMONT, MONTPELIER, Jan. 15 -/E-Wire/-- A Dental Mercury Reduction Release Symposium, co-sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency, Mercury Policy Project, Toxics Use Reduction Institute and others, is scheduled to be held at the U-MASS in Lowell, Massachusetts on January 23, 2003.

"The focus of the Symposium is on dental mercury use and release reduction," said Michael Bender, director of the Mercury Policy Project and the main Symposium organizer. "Dentists are one of the largest users of mercury in the U.S. and the single largest polluter of mercury to the nation's wastewater treatment plants. The best way to get to the New England Governors 1998 goal to 'virtually eliminate' mercury releases to the environment is to not use it in the first place."

The Symposium will provide a forum for federal, state and local government officials, non-government officials, dental sector representative and other interested parties to share ideas and discuss information. Topics to be covered will include policies, practices, equipment and research related to source reduction and reducing dental mercury releases through: increasing use of mercury-free dental fillings; employment of best management practices; and installation, operation and maintenance of amalgam separators at dental clinics.

Featured presenters at the forum will include experts from federal government agencies in both Canada and the United States, state officials, non-governmental and academic officials, and consultants, including a consultant doing work for the American Dental Association. Amalgam separator manufacturers will also be on hand exhibiting their equipment.

The Symposium will kick off with an Environment Canada official presenting information on the Canada-wide standards for dental mercury and local experiences that have reduced mercury wastewater discharges by 40% or more due to the installation of amalgam separators. Another talk will focus on the hazardous nature of dental mercuryâincluding its ability to methylate and become bioavailableâ presented by a US Naval Dental Research Institute official. Other talks will focus on source reduction, research findings on amalgam separators, and new first-in-the-nation state rules regulating the management of dental mercury in New Hampshire.

Mercury is a persistent, bioaccumulative toxin that poses a risk to human health, wildlife and the environment. Levels of mercury have increased 3-5 fold over the past century due to human activities. The most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control indicate that 1 in 12 women of childbearing age have mercury levels in their bodies that are considered unsafeâtranslating into nearly 400,000 children born in the United States at risk of mercury exposure each year.

Over forty states warn the public to limit consumption or not eat mercury-contaminated fish. The Food and Drug Administration warns pregnant women not to eat certain seafood due to high mercury levels, and 5 of the 6 New England states advise pregnant women and young children to limit consumption of canned tuna, the most consume fish in the Nation, due to mercury.

Other co-sponsors of the Symposium include Health Care Without Harm, National Wildlife Federation, and the New England Zero Mercury Campaign. The Research Foundation at the University of Lowell is providing meeting space for the Symposium free-of-charge.

For more information on the Symposium or to register (there is limited seating), see: http://www.mercurypolicy.org/new/documents/DentalHgLowellMtg012303. pdf

Mercury Policy Project

http://www.mercurypolicy.org

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