Washington, DC— Congresswoman Diane E. Watson (CA-33), along with Rep. Dan Burton, today held a press conference in front of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to discuss their serious concerns about two studies on mercury dental fillings (amalgam) commissioned by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The government-funded studies found no evidence that dental fillings containing mercury are a health risk for children.  The studies, however, did not look at the health effects of mercury fillings on two groups – older adults and pregnant women and their infants –  that may be more susceptible to unhealthy concentrations of mercury in the body.

The studies also did not assert that use of mercury fillings in dentistry is risk-free.  In fact, an editorial by Dr. Herbert L. Needleman, printed in the same April edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association in which the two NIH-funded studies appear, cautions against using the studies to conclude that the use of mercury fillings in children poses no significant health risks.

One study commissioned by NIH tracked minority children in inner-city Boston and low-income children in Maine.  The other traced children at an orphanage in Portugal.  Both studies failed to disclose the risks of mercury exposure to children, parents, or guardians, a fact that has led the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Human Research Protections to open a comprehensive investigation about the medical ethics of the study.

Immediately following the press conference, Reps. Watson and Burton delivered a letter to HHS Secretary Leavitt.  The letter criticizes the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for permitting the sale of mercury fillings without having classified the substance and certified that the product is safe for use in humans.  The letter also addresses the NIH-funded studies on mercury fillings.

Reps. Watson and Burton are cosponsors of H.R. 4011, The Mercury in Dental Fillings Disclosure and Prevention Act, which prohibits after 2008 the use of mercury in dental fillings.

The complete text of Congresswoman Watson’s remarks follows:

“Who can conclusively say dental mercury is safe when in our bodies?  Mercury amalgam is considered dangerous before it is put in the mouth, and according to the government, must be labeled a hazardous waste when removed.  How can it then be safe while in the mouth?  I have been advocating for dental safety and informed consent for over 14 years.

“When in my capacity as the chairperson of the California Senate Health and Human Services Committee I advocated to ban smoking in public places, everyone thought that I was crazy.  The widespread use of lead paint was also overlooked as a health hazard.  Now smoking is banned in virtually all public places of gathering, and lead-based paints are a thing of the past.  Both lead and smoke from tobacco are highly toxic to humans, but the fact that mercury is only one periodic element removed from radioactivity is even more alarming.

“I fail to understand why the FDA would ban mercury in disinfectants such as Mercurochrome, warn against mercury in fish, and even ban mercury in all veterinary products, yet continue to allow its unregulated use inches from a child’s brain.  Fully ten years ago, Health Canada ordered an end to the use of mercury amalgam for pregnant women and children under six.  Since then, the United Kingdom stopped its use for pregnant women, and Scandinavian countries are phasing it out altogether.

“I want you to consider the fact that there has not been one argument put forward or study provided to justify the FDA permitting the sale of a product that is 50% mercury, a product that has never been proven safe in the first place.  The FDA is allowing the sale of mercury amalgam, so-called “silver fillings,” without classification as the law requires, without demanding that manufacturers prove it is safe, and without disclosing to the American people that they are constantly exposed to toxic mercury when mercury fillings are used in their mouths.  It is an undisputed fact that mercury vapor is released during the entire life of a mercury filling.

“Equally alarming, the FDA has never written an Environmental Impact Statement on a product that is the major source of toxic mercury in our wastewater.  Dental offices are one of the major sources of mercury pollution in our environment.  Continuing to allow mercury amalgam to be sold makes no environmental sense.  Alternative materials are available for every kind of dental cavity.

“A study released last week, involving administering mercury fillings to Portuguese orphans and low-income New England children, raises more questions than answers.  In an editorial in the April Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Herbert Needleman, an early whistleblower on the impact of incremental lead exposure on children, cautions that the studies in no way exonerate mercury fillings. He calls for further studies.

“According to Professor Boyd Haley, Chemistry Department Chair at the University of Kentucky, the NIH-funded studies were poorly designed and tell us just one thing of value: children with amalgams most likely slowly lose their ability to excrete mercury after about two years of amalgam exposure.  He further questions the medical ethics of the researchers and states that they should have used primates, not humans. The Office of Human Research Protections (HHS), which guards against wrongful experimentation on children, has similar concerns. The office is examining the principal investigators of the studies for withholding information about risks and other alleged improprieties.

“I commend the FDA for announcing hearings in September on the neurotoxicity of mercury amalgam.  I plan to testify.  Moreover, I hope my colleague, Congressman Burton, will do the same.  But let’s be clear, hearings alone are not the answer.  The FDA must do its duty.  It must address the environmental impact of mercury fillings, require proof of safety, and level with the American people about the fact that “silver” fillings aren’t really silver.

“I am also pleased to announce that a lawsuit has been filed by Moms Against Mercury, four other nonprofit organizations, a state lawmaker, and a state dental board member.  The suit raises substantial questions about the FDA’s failure to regulate mercury amalgam.  Toxic mercury dental amalgams have remained unclassified for too long.”