TOUGHER MERCURY LAWS URGED

Some advocate eliminating use in tooth fillings

By Nancy Remsen

Montpelier- By summer, Vermonters will find labels on batteries, thermometers and fluorescent light bulbs--and any other products that contain mercury. The labels will help consumers identify items that require special disposal because they contain the toxic chemical. After July 1, Vermonters won't be able to toss these products in their trash.

The Legislature passed restrictions on mercury last year in a law considered one of the toughest in the country. However, it's not tough enough for some environmentalists and residents worried about mercury's health effects. They back new legislation that would phase out many common uses of mercury, including its use in silver fillings for teeth.

"It's hard for me to believe that anyone who has common sense thinks putting heavy metal implants in living tissue is safe or healthy," said Jim Robicsek of Westford. He's decided to have his mercury fillings replaced. Thursday, he came to the Statehouse to listen to testimony on the environmental and health problems associated with mercury amalgam, the material dentists use most frequently to fill cavities.

Teeth and public health issues aren't the usual focus for the House Natural Resources Committee. However, Alan Wilds of Dental Recycling North America told the committee that some mercury pollution begins in mouths at dental offices-- because mercury filling material is improperly tossed in the trash, bagged with medical waste that is incinerated or rinsed down the drain. "Not all dentists are aware of the all the criteria to manage it properly," Wilds said. "Dentistry has not been moving as quickly as other industries (that use mercury)."

The Vermont Dental Society recently teamed with the National Wildlife Federation to produce a guide on how to handle mercury in dental offices. The booklet, paid for in part with a $15,000 grant from the Lake Champlain Basin Program, will be published in the spring.

"The amount of amalgam that escapes from Vermont dental offices has not been quantified, but we do recognize they are a source of mercury," said Wendy Anderson, water resources project associate with the Wildlife Federation. "We saw them as an opportunity to reduce mercury contamination in the environment."

Dentist Daniel Ferraris of South Burlington said dentists have long recycled amalgam, because it makes economic sense. Now he thinks they'll embrace handling guidelines aimed at protecting the environment. "We feel there is an opportunity there to clean up our act better."

Ferraris worries, however, that lawmakers might ban mercury fillings based on what he considers undocumented health hazards. Citing numerous scientific studies, Ferraris said, "While there is general consensus that amalgam can contribute detectable amounts of mercuryto the human body, there is no scientific evidence that such minute concentrations result in adverse health effects."