Page 37 - Summer2008

memory loss and other all-too-familiar health associated more with peripheral neuropathy than central nervous system
problems solely on metal toxicity but metals problems. Lead deposits primarily in bone, and it disrupts erythropoiesis,
certainly can play a major role in these condi- the formation of red blood cells, contributing to poor bone health, osteo-
tions. 9 penia and osteoporosis. 10-12
Although symptoms of poisoning by the The litany of adverse effects from exposure to mercury, lead,
various metals commonly overlap, different cadmium and arsenic is a long one. It includes physical, muscular and
metals tend to favor different sites. Mercury and neurological degeneration. Toxic heavy metals can cause, contribute to or
cadmium accumulate heavily in kidneys, but accelerate the development of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease,
cadmium doesn’t cross the blood brain barrier muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, and other brain and neurological
the way mercury does. Cadmium overload is disorders. 13

MERCURY, MERCURY EVERYWHERE

Mercury is number three on the ATSDR hazardous metal list. Yet doctors and dentists routinely assure the American
1
public that the same mercury that is so dangerous when spilled on the floor becomes mysteriously and miraculously safe
in the mouth as part of silver-colored amalgam dental fillings. (Astonishingly, that is about to change thanks to a successful
lawsuit against the FDA by Consumers for Dental Choice and Moms Against Mercury, which ended early in June with the
FDA agreeing to change its website on the issue of mercury and to reclassify mercury amalgam fillings by June 2009. It’s
unlikely that the FDA will forbid the use of amalgam fillings, but this is clearly the beginning of the end for the decades-
long cover up between the American Dental Association and FDA. The government website has already been changed
and reads “Dental amalgams contain mercury, which may have neurotoxic effects on the nervous systems of developing
children and fetus.” )
2
The average American also takes in mercury through FDA-approved over-the-counter contact lens solutions, nasal
sprays and hemorrhoid remedies, prescription drugs and vaccinations, especially flu shots. Mercury exposure is also ongo-
ing from contaminated water supplies, commercial crops grown from seeds treated with mercurial fungicides, agricultural
soil polluted with mercurial pesticides and fertilizers, and air contaminated from a variety of industrial sources, including
coal-burning power plants and crematorium smokestacks, which spew mercury vapors from the amalgam fillings contained
in corpses. Mercury thermostats in the World Trade Center towers would have spewed mercury all over New York and
the east coast.
3-5
Pregnant women and others at high risk from mercury exposure are rightly warned to avoid tuna, swordfish and
other seafood. What happens is that mercury in the water—either because of natural volcanic explosions and off gassing
from the earth’s crust or unnaturally because of industrial pollution—is methylated by algae and bacteria in the water,
then goes up the food chain into fish and seafood.
Even the FDA warns of this danger, and online calculators at www.oceana.org and www.gotmercury.org can help
visitors figure their personal danger from a long list of fish. The figures for all of us, pregnant or not, are frightening, with
a single serving of ahi sushi exceeding a week’s safe dose. Many commonly eaten fish are surprisingly low in mercury,
especially North Atlantic small fish, as opposed to the large predatory ones or the estuary bottom dwellers. Fortunately,
mercury accumulates in the protein portion of fish, not the oil, so we need not—and should not—avoid cod liver oil.
Unfortunately, the FDA and other agencies exploit the fear of fish to distract the American public from the dental
issues. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identifies dental amalgam as the primary source of mercury exposure,
and the World Health Organization and Health Canada acknowledge that the mercury burden from multiple amalgam
fillings far exceeds that in people who eat a lot of fish. More than ten years ago the New England Journal of Medicine
indicated that amalgam fillings pose a far greater danger than fish. 6-10

1. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. 2007 CERCLA Priority List for Hazardous Substances. www.atsdr.cdc.gov/cercla. Retrieved June 11, 2008.
2. http://www.naturalnews.com/023367.html www.toxicteeth.org www.momsagainstmercury.org. http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/consumer/amalgams.html.
3. Blaylock. Russell. Health and Nutrition Secrets that Can Save Your Life. (Albuquerque, NM, Health Press, 2006). Chapter 3: Mercury the Silent Killer, pp. 39-72.
4. Pavia, Will. Dearly departed encouraged to do their bit on global warming Times (London) January 8, 2008. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/ar-
ticle3149010.ece. Retrieved June 1,2008.
5. Jones, Carolyn. Bay Area Neighbors fight crematorium plan: Neptune Society’s proposal to move from gentrifying Emeryville to semi-industrial area of Richmond has
neighbors crying foul. July 7, 2006. /www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/07/07/BAG7OJQPDC1.DTL. Retrived June 1, 2008.
6. Salonen JT, Nyyssonen K, Salonen R. Fish intake and the risk of coronary disease. N Eng J Med. 1995 Oct 5;333(14):937.
7. Berglund A. Estimation by a 24-hour study of the daily dose of intra-oral mercury vapor inhaled after release from dental amalgam. J Dent Res 69: 1646-1651
(1990).
8. Skare I, Enkqvist A. Human exposure to mercury and silver released from dental amalgam restorations. Arch Environ Health. 1994, 49: 384-394.
9. World Health Organization: Environmental Health Criteria, Vol. 118: Inorganic Mercury. WHO, Geneva, Switzerland, 1991.
10. Patterson, JE, Weisberg BG, Dennison PJ. Mercury in human breath from dental amalgams Bull Environ Contam Toxicol., 1985, 34, 4, 459-68.

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