Re: I thought this NG was about dentistry
- From: "Jan" <jdrew63929@xxxxxxx>
- Date: 4 Jan 2007 07:49:13 -0800
Peter Bowditch wrote:
Le Huart <fritzfield@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Let's see, there is Jan, Jan Drew, and Peter Bowditch. Can someone
explain why there is a paucity of posts about dentistry as compared to
the above 3 individuals.
I generally only come here by responding to someone's cross-posted
rant about the imagined horrors of root canals or "mercury amalgams"
(whatever that tautology means). This crap gets posted to other places
where I spend my time.
See how Peter lies. This thread was not cross-posted.
He comes here mostly to stalk me.
*imagined horrors of root canals*
Blatant liars ADA.
http://www.ada.org/public/topics/root_canal_faq.asp
How long will the restored tooth last?
Your restored tooth could last a lifetime, if you continue to care for
your teeth and gums. However, regular checkups are necessary. As long
as the root(s) of a treated tooth are nourished by the tissues around
it, your tooth will remain healthy.
http://www.cfsn.com/maz/
http://www.hallvtox.dircon.co.uk/hallvt.html
Root Canals. A tooth has miles of tiny canals running through the root.
A dead or root filled tooth will have bacteria in these canals. There
is no way of removing the bacteria once they are in there.
http://www.zip.com.au/~rgammal/RCTframeset.htm
~~~~~~~
Root canal treatments and restorations including fillings, crowns and
bridges, use chemicals known to the state of California to cause
cancer.
http://www.altcorp.com/AffinityLaboratory/rcttreatment.htm
http://www.tldp.com/issue/157-8/157rootc.htm
Surprisingly it's composed of little tiny tubules, and those tubules
are so small that if we took our smallest front tooth and stretched it
out - stretched those tubules out end to end - it would stretch out for
a distance of 3 miles. Now what happens is when you get a cavity in a
tooth and the decay gets into the dentin of the tooth the bacteria that
are involved in the decay process get into those tubules. I should tell
you that initially those tubules carry a fluid and that that fluid
carries nutriments and the nutriments in those dentin tubules keep the
tooth alive and healthy. And those nutriments come from the nerve and
the blood vessels that come into the root canal of the tooth. And so
fundamentally what happens when you get a deep cavity and it exposes
the nerve of the tooth, those bacteria get into all of those dentin
tubules and they remain in there causing infection and eventually they
can escape and that's a story in itself. They can escape in what's
known as the lateral canals and there toxins can actually escape
directly through the root surface into what's called the peridontal
membrane or ligament. This is a hard fibrous tissue which holds the
tooth in the bony socket, and when the infection gets into there it
transfers easily into the bony socket and from there the bacteria and
the bacterial toxins can get into the surrounding bone and the blood
supply of that surrounding bone. And now this acts much like cancer
cells, you know cancer cells metastasize and that means that they
travel around the body in the bloodstream and they get to another
tissue, gland or organ and they set up a new cancer. Well these
bacteria from infected dentin tubules also travel around and
metastasize in the same way and they can get into the various tissue.
Those bacteria are kind of like people, you know, if they get to like
Seattle or Reno or someplace they decide that's where they're going to
have their home, well the bacteria traveling around the body, they may
get to the liver, the kidneys or the heart or the eyes or some other
tissue and they set up an infection in that area. So this is exactly
what happens and why the degenerative diseases occur from these teeth.
http://www.curezone.com/dental/root_canal.html
MJ You're assuming that ALL root-filled teeth harbor bacteria and/or
other infective agents?
GM Yes. No matter what material or technique is used - and this is just
as true today - the root filling shrinks minutely, perhaps
microscopically. Further and this is key - the bulk of solid appearing
teeth, called the dentin, actually consists of miles of tiny tubules.
Microscopic organisms lurking in the maze of tubules simply migrate
into the interior of the tooth and set up housekeeping. A filled root
seems to be a favorite spot to start a new colony.
One of the things that makes this difficult to understand is that
large, relatively harmless bacteria common to the mouth, change and
adapt to new conditions. They shrink in size to fit the cramped
quarters and even learn how to exist (and thrive!) on very little food.
Those that need oxygen mutate and become able to get along without it.
In the process of adaptation these formerly friendly "normal" organisms
become pathogenic (capable of producing disease) and more virulent
(stronger) and they produce much more potent toxins.
Today's bacteriologists are confirming the discoveries of the Price
team of bacteriologists. Both isolated in root canals the same strains
of streptococcus, staphylococcus and spirochetes.
MJ Is everyone who has ever had a root canal filled made ill by it?
GM No. We believe now that every root canal filling does leak and
bacteria do invade the structure. But the variable factor is the
strength of the person's immune system. Some healthy people are able to
control the germs that escape from their teeth into other areas of the
body. We think this happens because their immune system lymphocytes
(white blood cells) and other disease fighters aren't constantly
compromised by other ailments. In other words, they are able to prevent
those new colonies from taking hold in other tissues throughout the
body. But over time, most people with root filled teeth do seem to
develop some kinds of systemic symptoms they didn't have before.
MJ It's really difficult to grasp that bacteria are imbedded deep in
the structure of seemingly-hard, solid looking teeth.
GM I know. Physicians and dentists have that same problem, too. You
really have to visualize the tooth structure - all of those microscopic
tubules running through the dentin. In a healthy tooth, those tubules
transport a fluid that carries nourishment to the inside. For
perspective, if the tubules of a front single-root tooth, were
stretched out on the ground they'd stretch for three miles!
A root filled tooth no longer has any fluid circulating through it, but
the maze of tubules remains. The anaerobic bacteria that live there
seem remarkably safe from antibiotics. The bacteria can migrate out
into surrounding tissue where they can "hitch hike" to other locations
in the body via the bloodstream. The new location can be any organ or
gland or tissue, and the new colony will be the next focus of infection
in a body plagued by recurrent or chronic infections.
All of the "building up" done to try to enhance the patient's ability
to fight infections - to strengthen their immune system - is only a
holding action. Many patients won't be well until the source of
infection - the root canal tooth - is removed.
MJ I don't doubt what you're saying, but can you tell us more about how
Dr. Price could be sure that arthritis or other systemic conditions and
illnesses really originated in the teeth - or in a single tooth?
GM Yes. Many investigations start with the researcher just being
curious about something - and then being scientifically careful enough
to discover an answer, and then prove it's so, many times over. Dr.
Price's first case is very well documented. He removed an infected
tooth from a woman who suffered from severe arthritis. As soon as he
finished with the patient, he implanted the tooth beneath the skin of a
healthy rabbit. Within 48 hours the rabbit was crippled with arthritis!
http://www.midnightcafe.com/alzh/endnotes.html
19. Dentin Tubules: The tooth structure is porous and dental tubules
(hollow tubes)
within a single tooth are approximately three miles in length.
Eight bacteria
fit side by side within one dentin tubule, which makes bacteria
difficult to
eradicate. It is not uncommon for cavitations to become reinfected.
X-rays
revealed I have six to eight reinfected cavitations.
20. Cavitations: Infected areas within the jawbone.
21. Bone necrosis: Disease caused in healthy cells due to direct
contact with
any agent (usually living organism) capable of producing infection.
http://www.carondevita.com/dentaldebate.html
Dentists do not generally consider this a problem as they are taught
that the
tooth is basically dead
anyway except for that little bit of nerve in the root area. However,
although
it appears to be a solid, very hard substance, dentin in fact has many
dentinal
tubules. They are so tiny that a single tooth has as much as three
miles of
tubules
* or "mercury amalgams"*
http://www.laleva.cc/choice/mercury_cronicdis.html
http://www.algonet.se/~leif/FUSCIFCT.html
http://www.algonet.se/~leif/yaTITLfr.html
http://www.yourhealthbase.com/amalgams.html
http://www.health.gov/environment/amalgam1/appendixIII.htm
http://www.altcorp.com/DentalInformation/amalgampage.htm
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/mercury.html
medscape.com/uslclient/searchMedline.do?queryText="mercury%20amalgam"
Recently, Caulk Company, manufacturers of Dispersalloy, published the
latest
Materials Safety Data *** (MSDS) and their Direction For Use (DFU)
which
includes contraindications to the use of dental amalgam.
(.http://www.caulk.com/MSDSDFU/DispersDFU.html February 1998)
[no longer available]
I just happen to still have it.
**** the manufacturers are now acknowledging the intrinsic dangers of
this
material.***** The legal implications of this latest development are
far
reaching. If you continue to use dental amalgam you may be playing
legal
roulette with your assets.
Caulk state that dental amalgam should not be used:
1. In proximal or occlusal contact to dissimilar metal restorations.
2. In patients with severe renal deficiency.
3. In patients with known allergies to amalgam.
4. For retrograde or endodontic filling.
5. As a filling material for cast crown.
6. In children 6 and under.
7. In expectant mothers.
The Caulk Co. home page also warns that mercury may be a skin
sensitizer,
pulmonary sensitizer, nephrotoxin and neurotoxin and, further, cautions
that
the number of amalgam restorations for one patient should be kept to a
minimum.
Caulk has also published the Material Safety Data *** (MSDS) for
mercury.
Of
particular importance, are some statements made in "Section VIII -
Control
Measures, Inhalation, Chronic: Inhalation of mercury vapour over a long
period
may cause mercurialism, which is characterized by fine tremors and
erethism.
Tremors may affect the hands first, but may also become evident in the
face,
arms, and legs. Erethism may be manifested by abnormal shyness,
blushing,
self
consciousness, depression or despondency, resentment of criticism,
irritability
or excitability, headache, fatigue, and insomnia. In severe cases,
hallucinations, loss of memory, and mental deterioration may occur.
Concentrations as low as 0.03 mg/m3 have induced psychiatric symptoms
in
humans. Renal involvement may be indicated by proteinuria, albuminuria,
enzymuria, and anuria. Other effects may include salivation,
gingivitis,
stomatitis, loosening of the teeth, blue lines on the gums, diarrhea,
chronic
pneumonitis and mild anemia. Repeated exposure to mercury and its
compounds
may
result in sensitisation. Intrauterine exposure may result in tremors
and
involuntary movements in the infants. Mercury is excreted in breast
milk.
Paternal reproductive effects and effects on fertility have been
reported in
male rats following repeated inhalation exposures."
Ivoclar/Vivadent go further in their contraindications. They state that
their
amalgam is:
1. Not only contraindicated for expectant mothers but also for nursing
mothers.
2. Not only contraindicated for patients with severe renal deficiency
but
for
all
patients suffering from any reduced kidney function.
The Australian Dental Association is now in a difficult, if not
untenable,
position. The prevailing ADA position is that patient exposure to
mercury
from
amalgam dental fillings is medically insignificant. At the same time
major
amalgam manufacturers are exhibiting public warnings.
All dentists must now acknowledge the contradictions between ADA policy
and
amalgam manufacturers' public warnings.
Medico-legally, the dentist who ignores manufacturer's public warnings
places
himself/herself in a precarious position. Dentists are obliged to be
familiar
with the information provided in MSDS's for the products they use and
if
patients suffer ill effects from the product being used in a way which
is
contrary to the manufacturer's directions, then the dentist may be
liable
for
the consequences. In this situation it does not matter what the
Australian
Dental Association says, as it is the dentist who will be held
responsible.
You
may be interested to know that the American Dental Association has
recognised
such a possibility and in a recent case petitioned the court to release
it
from
a suit filed jointly against a dentist and the AmDA,. The AmDA claimed
that
it
owed no responsibility for the advice being given. The court granted
the
petition, which left the dentist, who had relied on AmDA advice, as the
sole
defendant. It is little comfort that you may be insured.
All dentists must be aware of the potential adverse effects of mercury
exposure
and must also be attentive to the potential effects in pregnant females
and
nursing mothers. Before placing another amalgam filling, a dentist
might be
well advised to establish that the patient has normal kidney function.
It is
not clear whether taking a medical history will suffice or whether a
kidney
function test might need to be requested. The galvanic effect created
by
placing different metals in a mouth with amalgam fillings has the
potential
to
increase mercury release from all amalgam fillings. This also has
implications
not generally considered when placing stainless steel orthodontic
appliances
in
a patient with amalgam fillings. The use of metal pins with amalgam may
need
to
be reconsidered. If amalgam is contraindicated in a six year old, the
next
question must surely be - at what age is amalgam safe? The scientific
research
shows clearly that mercury is toxic to all people, at all levels. The
Agency
for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry in the USA lists mercury as
one of
the twenty most hazardous substances to human beings. The ATSDR's
current
allowable Minimal Risk Levels (MRL) for acute exposure are 0.02 mcgm/m3
and
for
chronic exposure 0.014 mcgm/m3. Compare this with published research,
indicating amalgam mercury vapour concentrations in the mouth, as high
as
87.5
mcgm/m3. The absorption rate of inhaled mercury vapour is extremely
high,
approximately 80% of the inhaled dose, reaching the brain tissue within
one
blood circulation cycle. The toxic threshold for mercury vapour has
never
been
found. Even the US Environmental Protection Agency has so stated. The
existing
occupational standards are all specifically declared to be estimates
only on
the appearance of clinically observable signs and symptoms. The World
Health
Organisation, in 1991, made it clear that there is NO safe level of
mercury
vapour and that amalgam represents the greatest source of mercury to
the
general population.
The spectre of potential liability for adverse effects from dental
amalgam
is
now a reality.
ASOMAT recently made a 4 page submission to the Federal Executive of
the
Australian Dental Association offering confidential background
briefings
about
the latest research to all Executive members and any other officers or
committees. ASOMAT's submission was conciliatory and asked for the
lines of
communication to be opened so that the ADA could stay informed about
ALL the
research. Our offer of cooperation was peremptorily rejected.
Any dentist faced with patients wanting the removal of amalgams from
their
mouths should note that specific protocols exist for the safer removal
of
amalgam. Unless you are familiar with these protocols, it is not
recommended
to
proceed with the wholesale removal of dental amalgam. You may create
more
problems than you solve.
It would be appropriate for you to contact your insurer and ask the
specific
question..." If I use amalgam contrary to the specific warnings and
contraindications stated by the manufacturer and my patient suffers
effects
known to be associated with mercury exposure, will you cover me fully
for my
legal costs and any damages in the event that the patient sues me? "
Whatever
the answer, get it in writing!
ASOMAT's concern has always been that dentists and patients be fully
informed.
We are very worried that the profession is badly prepared to deal with
these
quickly changing circumstances, especially in light of a recent press
conference in Sweden on the 19th February 1998. At that time the
Swedish
Council for Planning and Coordinating Research, a body commissioned by
the
Swedish Government to review the literature on amalgams, stated the
following..
"Mercury from amalgam may damage the brain, kidneys and the immune
system of
a
great number of people. The effects in foetus and children are of most
concern." Those are the conclusions of a report soon to be handed to
the
Government. "There is no conflict any more", says Gunnar Goude from the
board
of the Swedish Council for Planning and Coordinating Research (FRN),
after
reviewing the comprehensive documentation from the four seminars.
"There is
total agreement among the Board members that it is time to move forward
and
leave amalgam.
1: Ned Tijdschr Tandheelkd. 1993 Apr;100(4):179-82.Related Articles,
Links
[Amalgam. IV. Metabolism of mercury]
[Article in Dutch]
Gladys S, van Meerbeek B, Vanherle G, Lambrechts P.
Afdeling Conserverende Tandheelkunde en Tandheelkundige Materialen,
School voor Tandheelkunde, Mondziekten en Kaakchirurgie, Katholieke
Universiteit te Leuven, Belgie.
After absorption in the body by four ways, each type of mercury
undergoes a specific metabolism. Elementary mercury as mercury vapour
becomes rapidly oxidized to Hg2+ and, afterwards, is metabolized as an
inorganic mercurial compound. From the blood circulation mercury
reaches target organs like the kidneys, the central nervous system, the
liver and the hypophysis, in which mercury accumulates. The retention
time varies by organ and is longest in the brain. Mercury is mainly
eliminated with urine and faeces, to a lesser degree with transpiration
and mother's milk and sometimes by respiration.
Publication Types:
Review
Review, Tutorial
PMID: 11822127 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://www.greenfacts.org/mercury/l-2/mercury-2.htm#2
..2 How are we exposed to mercury?
The main source of elemental mercury vapour is dental amalgam (a tooth
filling).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11799732
1: Bull Group Int Rech Sci Stomatol Odontol. 2000
May-Dec;42(2-3):88-93.Related Articles, Links
Salivary mercury levels in healthy donors with and without amalgam
fillings.
Pizzichini M, Fonzi M, Gasparoni A, Fonzi L.
Department of Biomedical Science, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.
Dental amalgam (AMG) is the most diffused dental filling material.
Since it is constituted for at least 40-45% of Hg, many questions have
raised about its safe use. Hg particles from dental amalgam dissolve in
saliva and, being ingested, they reach the blood stream through the
intestinal mucosa. It has been demonstrated that amalgam fillings
continuously release Hg vapour and that there is detectable Hg in
expired and inspired air of amalgam owners. It is not yet fully
accepted that AMG fillings represent the principal source of Hg for man
and the aim of this study was to evaluate if the mercury level in
saliva: 1) was higher within people bearing dental amalgam restorations
than in people with no restorations; 2) was different between males or
females; 3) increased in relation to the surface of amalgam
restorations. The results showed a correlation between number of
fillings and salivary Hg, between amalgam surface and salivary Hg. The
Authors could finally assert that AMG fillings represented the
principal source of salivary Hg in the subjects studied.
PMID: 11799732 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=14651282
1: J Endod. 2003 Nov;29(11):743-6.Related Articles, Links
In vitro neurotoxic evaluation of root-end-filling materials.
Asrari M, Lobner D.
Department of Endodontics, Marquette University School of Dentistry,
Milwaukee, WI 53233, USA. masrari@xxxxxxxxx
Root-end-filling materials have been tested for toxicity on several
cell types, but their toxicity has not been tested on neurons. In this
study we evaluated the neurotoxicity in murine cerebral cortical cell
cultures of four commonly used root-end-filling materials: mineral
trioxide aggregate, amalgam, Super EBA, and Diaket. Standardized
amounts of each material were placed on culture-well inserts, allowing
the material to be exposed to the culture bathing media without causing
physical disruption of the cells. Cell death was quantified by assaying
release of the cytosolic enzyme lactate dehydrogenase. Exposure of
cortical cultures to freshly mixed or 7-day-old MTA did not cause
significant neuronal death, whereas exposure to freshly mixed or
7-day-old amalgam, Super EBA, and Diaket resulted in significant
neuronal death (p < .05). Thus, each material, except for mineral
trioxide aggregate, can induce neurotoxicity, even when allowed to set
thoroughly.
PMID: 14651282 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12752546
Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2003 Jun;31(3):200-6.Related Articles,
Links
Reporting on adverse reactions to dental materials--intraoral
observations at a clinical follow-up.
Lygre GB, Gjerdet NR, Gronningsaeter AG, Bjorkman L.
Dental Biomaterials Adverse Reaction Unit, University of Bergen,
Norway. Gunvor.Lygre@xxxxxxxxxxxx
OBJECTIVES: A national reporting system designed to monitor adverse
reactions to dental materials was established in Norway in 1993. The
activities have also included clinical examination of patients with
suspected reactions to dental materials. The ongoing activities are
coordinated by the Dental Biomaterials Adverse Reaction Unit at the
University of Bergen. The reporting procedure is based on voluntary
spontaneous reporting by dentists and physicians. The reports could be
based on subjective symptoms or objective findings, or both. The aim of
the present study was to compare reported objective intraoral findings
with those found during examination at the unit. METHODS: Reported
reactions were compared with clinical findings obtained following
dental and medical examination at the unit. From 1993 to 1999, a total
of 899 reports were received while 253 patients were referred and
examined at the unit. RESULTS: The reports on patients who were
examined at the unit involved mainly reactions related to amalgam
fillings (84%), metals in fixed dentures (11%), resin-based materials
and cements (4%), materials used in removable dentures (2%), and
endodontic materials (2%). Edema, lichenoid reactions, ulcers/vesicles,
erythema, and atrophy were found in 80 patients during the examination
at the unit. For 35 of these patients, the intraoral findings at the
unit were also given in the reports. For another 45 patients, objective
intraoral signs of reactions were found upon examination at the unit,
but these findings had not been reported. CONCLUSION: A spontaneous
reporting system is a cost-effective method for monitoring intraoral
reactions associated with dental materials. Considering the increasing
number and complexity of these materials, there appears to be a need
for continuous validation of reports by a speciality unit. In order to
receive more accurate information about the adverse reactions, it would
be advisable that the reporting forms include more detailed guidance
regarding signs of reactions that practitioners should be on the look
out for and consider.
PMID: 12752546 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12018634
J Nephrol. 2002 Mar-Apr;15(2):171-6.Related Articles, Links
Mercury in dental restoration: is there a risk of nephrotoxicity?
Mortada WL, Sobh MA, El-Defrawy MM, Farahat SE.
Urology and Nephrology Center, Mansoura University, Faculty of Science,
Egypt.
BACKGROUND: Concern has been voiced about exposure to mercury (Hg) from
dental amalgam fillings, and there is a need to assess whether this
leads to signs of nephrotoxicity. METHODS: A total of 101 healthy
adults (80 males and 21 females) were included in this study. The
population as grouped into those having amalgam fillings (39 males and
10 females) and those without (41 males and 11 females). Hg was
determined in blood, urine, hair and nails to assess exposure. Urinary
excretion of beta2-microglobulin (beta2M),
N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), gamma-glutamyltransferase
(gammaGT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were determined as markers of
tubular damage. Albuminuria was assayed as an early indicator of
glomerular dysfunction. Serum creatinine, beta2M and blood urea
nitrogen (BUN) were determined to assess glomerular filtration.
RESULTS: Hg levels in blood and urine were significantly higher in
persons with dental amalgam than those without; in the dental amalgam
group, blood and urine levels of Hg significantly correlated with the
number of amalgams. Urinary excretion of NAG, gammaGT and albumin was
significantly higher in persons with dental amalgam than those without.
In the amalgam group, urinary excretion of NAG and albumin
significantly correlated with the number of fillings. Albuminuria
significantly correlated with blood and urine Hg. CONCLUSION: From the
nephrotoxicity point of view, dental amalgam is an unsuitable filling
material, as it may give rise to Hg toxicity. Hg levels in blood and
urine are good markers of such toxicity. In these exposure conditions,
renal damage is possible and may be assessed by urinary excretions of
albumin, NAG, and gamma-GT.
PMID: 12018634 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://www.icnr.com/uam/hgcourse/M4/SciLit5.html
http://tinyurl.com/dpjdj
FASEB J. 1995 Apr;9(7):504-8.Related Articles, Links
Comment in:
FASEB J. 1995 Nov;9(14):1499-500.
Mercury exposure from "silver" tooth fillings: emerging evidence
questions a traditional dental paradigm.
Lorscheider FL, Vimy MJ, Summers AO.
Department of Medical Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of
Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
For more than 160 years dentistry has used silver amalgam, which
contains approximately 50% Hg metal, as the preferred tooth filling
material. During the past decade medical research has demonstrated that
this Hg is continuously released as vapor into mouth air; then it is
inhaled, absorbed into body tissues, oxidized to ionic Hg, and finally
covalently bound to cell proteins. Animal and human experiments
demonstrate that the uptake, tissue distribution, and excretion of
amalgam Hg is significant, and that dental amalgam is the major
contributing source to Hg body burden in humans. Current research on
the pathophysiological effects of amalgam Hg has focused upon the
immune system, renal system, oral and intestinal bacteria, reproductive
system, and the central nervous system. Research evidence does not
support the notion of amalgam safety.
Publication Types
PMID: 7737458 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11822127
1: Ned Tijdschr Tandheelkd. 1993 Apr;100(4):179-82.Related Articles,
Links
[Amalgam. IV. Metabolism of mercury]
[Article in Dutch]
Gladys S, van Meerbeek B, Vanherle G, Lambrechts P.
Afdeling Conserverende Tandheelkunde en Tandheelkundige Materialen,
School voor Tandheelkunde, Mondziekten en Kaakchirurgie, Katholieke
Universiteit te Leuven, Belgie.
After absorption in the body by four ways, each type of mercury
undergoes a specific metabolism. Elementary mercury as mercury vapour
becomes rapidly oxidized to Hg2+ and, afterwards, is metabolized as an
inorganic mercurial compound. From the blood circulation mercury
reaches target organs like the kidneys, the central nervous system, the
liver and the hypophysis, in which mercury accumulates. The retention
time varies by organ and is longest in the brain. Mercury is mainly
eliminated with urine and faeces, to a lesser degree with transpiration
and mother's milk and sometimes by respiration.
Publication Types:
Review
Review, Tutorial
PMID: 11822127 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://www.greenfacts.org/mercury/l-2/mercury-2.htm#2
..2 How are we exposed to mercury?
The main source of elemental mercury vapour is dental amalgam (a tooth
filling).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11799732
1: Bull Group Int Rech Sci Stomatol Odontol. 2000
May-Dec;42(2-3):88-93.Related Articles, Links
Salivary mercury levels in healthy donors with and without amalgam
fillings.
Pizzichini M, Fonzi M, Gasparoni A, Fonzi L.
Department of Biomedical Science, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.
Dental amalgam (AMG) is the most diffused dental filling material.
Since it is constituted for at least 40-45% of Hg, many questions have
raised about its safe use. Hg particles from dental amalgam dissolve in
saliva and, being ingested, they reach the blood stream through the
intestinal mucosa. It has been demonstrated that amalgam fillings
continuously release Hg vapour and that there is detectable Hg in
expired and inspired air of amalgam owners. It is not yet fully
accepted that AMG fillings represent the principal source of Hg for man
and the aim of this study was to evaluate if the mercury level in
saliva: 1) was higher within people bearing dental amalgam restorations
than in people with no restorations; 2) was different between males or
females; 3) increased in relation to the surface of amalgam
restorations. The results showed a correlation between number of
fillings and salivary Hg, between amalgam surface and salivary Hg. The
Authors could finally assert that AMG fillings represented the
principal source of salivary Hg in the subjects studied.
PMID: 11799732 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=14651282
1: J Endod. 2003 Nov;29(11):743-6.Related Articles, Links
In vitro neurotoxic evaluation of root-end-filling materials.
Asrari M, Lobner D.
Department of Endodontics, Marquette University School of Dentistry,
Milwaukee, WI 53233, USA. masrari@xxxxxxxxx
Root-end-filling materials have been tested for toxicity on several
cell types, but their toxicity has not been tested on neurons. In this
study we evaluated the neurotoxicity in murine cerebral cortical cell
cultures of four commonly used root-end-filling materials: mineral
trioxide aggregate, amalgam, Super EBA, and Diaket. Standardized
amounts of each material were placed on culture-well inserts, allowing
the material to be exposed to the culture bathing media without causing
physical disruption of the cells. Cell death was quantified by assaying
release of the cytosolic enzyme lactate dehydrogenase. Exposure of
cortical cultures to freshly mixed or 7-day-old MTA did not cause
significant neuronal death, whereas exposure to freshly mixed or
7-day-old amalgam, Super EBA, and Diaket resulted in significant
neuronal death (p < .05). Thus, each material, except for mineral
trioxide aggregate, can induce neurotoxicity, even when allowed to set
thoroughly.
PMID: 14651282 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12752546
Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2003 Jun;31(3):200-6.Related Articles,
Links
Reporting on adverse reactions to dental materials--intraoral
observations at a clinical follow-up.
Lygre GB, Gjerdet NR, Gronningsaeter AG, Bjorkman L.
Dental Biomaterials Adverse Reaction Unit, University of Bergen,
Norway. Gunvor.Lygre@xxxxxxxxxxxx
OBJECTIVES: A national reporting system designed to monitor adverse
reactions to dental materials was established in Norway in 1993. The
activities have also included clinical examination of patients with
suspected reactions to dental materials. The ongoing activities are
coordinated by the Dental Biomaterials Adverse Reaction Unit at the
University of Bergen. The reporting procedure is based on voluntary
spontaneous reporting by dentists and physicians. The reports could be
based on subjective symptoms or objective findings, or both. The aim of
the present study was to compare reported objective intraoral findings
with those found during examination at the unit. METHODS: Reported
reactions were compared with clinical findings obtained following
dental and medical examination at the unit. From 1993 to 1999, a total
of 899 reports were received while 253 patients were referred and
examined at the unit. RESULTS: The reports on patients who were
examined at the unit involved mainly reactions related to amalgam
fillings (84%), metals in fixed dentures (11%), resin-based materials
and cements (4%), materials used in removable dentures (2%), and
endodontic materials (2%). Edema, lichenoid reactions, ulcers/vesicles,
erythema, and atrophy were found in 80 patients during the examination
at the unit. For 35 of these patients, the intraoral findings at the
unit were also given in the reports. For another 45 patients, objective
intraoral signs of reactions were found upon examination at the unit,
but these findings had not been reported. CONCLUSION: A spontaneous
reporting system is a cost-effective method for monitoring intraoral
reactions associated with dental materials. Considering the increasing
number and complexity of these materials, there appears to be a need
for continuous validation of reports by a speciality unit. In order to
receive more accurate information about the adverse reactions, it would
be advisable that the reporting forms include more detailed guidance
regarding signs of reactions that practitioners should be on the look
out for and consider.
PMID: 12752546 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12018634
J Nephrol. 2002 Mar-Apr;15(2):171-6.Related Articles, Links
Mercury in dental restoration: is there a risk of nephrotoxicity?
Mortada WL, Sobh MA, El-Defrawy MM, Farahat SE.
Urology and Nephrology Center, Mansoura University, Faculty of Science,
Egypt.
BACKGROUND: Concern has been voiced about exposure to mercury (Hg) from
dental amalgam fillings, and there is a need to assess whether this
leads to signs of nephrotoxicity. METHODS: A total of 101 healthy
adults (80 males and 21 females) were included in this study. The
population as grouped into those having amalgam fillings (39 males and
10 females) and those without (41 males and 11 females). Hg was
determined in blood, urine, hair and nails to assess exposure. Urinary
excretion of beta2-microglobulin (beta2M),
N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG), gamma-glutamyltransferase
(gammaGT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were determined as markers of
tubular damage. Albuminuria was assayed as an early indicator of
glomerular dysfunction. Serum creatinine, beta2M and blood urea
nitrogen (BUN) were determined to assess glomerular filtration.
RESULTS: Hg levels in blood and urine were significantly higher in
persons with dental amalgam than those without; in the dental amalgam
group, blood and urine levels of Hg significantly correlated with the
number of amalgams. Urinary excretion of NAG, gammaGT and albumin was
significantly higher in persons with dental amalgam than those without.
In the amalgam group, urinary excretion of NAG and albumin
significantly correlated with the number of fillings. Albuminuria
significantly correlated with blood and urine Hg. CONCLUSION: From the
nephrotoxicity point of view, dental amalgam is an unsuitable filling
material, as it may give rise to Hg toxicity. Hg levels in blood and
urine are good markers of such toxicity. In these exposure conditions,
renal damage is possible and may be assessed by urinary excretions of
albumin, NAG, and gamma-GT.
PMID: 12018634 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Summary Brief Abstract Citation MEDLINE ASN.1 XML/SGML LinkOut Related
Articles
Protein Links Nucleotide Links Popset Links Structure Links Genome
Links OMIM
Links Structure Domains Links
1: Stomatologiia (Mosk) 1997;76(4):9-11 Related Articles,
Books[Patterns
of mercury release from amalgam fillings into the oral cavity].[Article
in Russian]Motorkina AV, Barer GM, Volozhin AI.
Seventy-five subjects aged 20 to 57 with 1 to 15 fillings of silver
amalgam
were examined. The level of mercury vapors in the oral cavity was
assessed using an AGP-01 device and the method developed by the
authors.
Emission of mercury vapors in the oral cavity increased with the number
of fillings.
The concentration of mercury in the oral cavity depends largely on the
number
of silver amalgam fillings and less so on these fillings' length of
service.AdvDent Res 1992 Sep;6:110-3
Related Articles, Books, LinkOut Side-effects: mercury contribution to
body
burden from dental amalgam.Reinhardt JW.Department of Operative
Dentistry,
University of Iowa College of Dentistry,Iowa City 52242.
The purpose of this paper is to examine and report on studies that
relate
mercury levels in human tissues to the presence of dental amalgams,
giving
special attention to autopsy studies. Until recently, there have been
few
published studies examining the relationship between dental amalgams
and
tissue mercury levels. Improved and highly sensitive tissue analysis
techniques
have made it possible to measure elements in the concentration range of
parts
per billion. The fact that mercury can be absorbed and reach toxic
levels in
humantissues makes any and all exposure to that element of scientific
interest.
Dental amalgams have long been believed to be of little significance as
contributors to the overall body burden of mercury, because the
elemental
form of mercury is rapidly consumed in the setting reaction of
therestoration.
Studies showing measurable elemental mercury vapor release from
dental amalgams have raised renewed concern about amalgam safety.
Mercury vapor absorption occurs through the lungs, with about 80% of
the
inhaled vapor being absorbed by the lungs and rapidly entering the
bloodstream.
Following distribution by blood circulation, mercury can enter and
remain in
certain tissues for longer periods of time, since the half-life of
excretion is
prolonged. Two of the primary arget organs of concern are the central
nervous
system and kidneys.
Publication Types: Review Review, Tutorial PMID: 1292449 [PubMed -
indexed
for MEDLINE] 1: FASEB J 1990 Nov;4(14):3256-60 Related Articles, Books,
LinkOut
Comment in: FASEB J. 1991 Feb;5(2):236.
Whole-body imaging of the distribution of mercury released from dental
fillings
into monkey tissues.Hahn LJ, Kloiber R, Leininger RW, Vimy MJ,
Lorscheider
FL.Department of Radiology, University of Calgary, Faculty of
Medicine,Alberta,Canada.
The fate of mercury (Hg) released from dental "silver" amalgam tooth
fillings
into human mouth air is uncertain. A previous report about sheep
revealed
uptake routes and distribution of amalgam Hg among body tissues. The
present
investigation demonstrates the bodily distribution of amalgam Hg in a
monkey
whose dentition, diet, feeding regimen, and chewing pattern closely
resemble
those of humans.
When amalgam fillings, which normally contain 50% Hg, are made with a
tracer of radioactive 203Hg and then placed into monkey teeth, the
isotope appears
in high concentration in various organs and tissues within 4wk.
Whole-body images
of the monkey revealed that the highest levels of Hg werel ocated in
thekidney, gastrointestinal tract, and jaw.
The dental profession's advocacy of silver amalgam as a stable tooth
restorative material is not supported by these findings.PMID:2227216
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
1: Neurotoxicology 1983 Fall;4(3):201-4 Related Articles, Books,LinkOut
Mercury toxicity and dental amalgam.Wolff M, Osborne JW, Hanson
AL.There
is adequate evidence that dental amalgam restorations, during and after
placement, results in the release of Hg into the patient's body.
Whether the Hg
released from amalgam is due to placement procedures, surface abrasion,
orl ater
corrosion breakdown, there is evidence that a low level Hg release
continues for years.
It is generally agreed that if amalgam was introduced today as a
restorative material, they would never pass F.D.A. approval.
With new and more accurate techniques of measuring Hg levels,
especially
in tissue and blood, additional studies are necessary to relate
blood-Hg
levels with dental amalgam restorations. Studies must relate existing
restorations as well as the placement of new restorations to body-Hg
levels.
It is possible that we have accepted a potentially dangerous material
as
being safe.
Bull Group Int Rech Sci Stomatol Odontol. 2000
May-Dec;42(2-3):88-93.Related Articles, Links
Salivary mercury levels in healthy donors with and without amalgam
fillings.
Pizzichini M, Fonzi M, Gasparoni A, Fonzi L.
Department of Biomedical Science, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.
Dental amalgam (AMG) is the most diffused dental filling material.
Since it is constituted for at least 40-45% of Hg, many questions have
raised about its safe use. Hg particles from dental amalgam dissolve in
saliva and, being ingested, they reach the blood stream through the
intestinal mucosa. It has been demonstrated that amalgam fillings
continuously release Hg vapour and that there is detectable Hg in
expired and inspired air of amalgam owners. It is not yet fully
accepted that AMG fillings represent the principal source of Hg for man
and the aim of this study was to evaluate if the mercury level in
saliva: 1) was higher within people bearing dental amalgam restorations
than in people with no restorations; 2) was different between males or
females; 3) increased in relation to the surface of amalgam
restorations. The results showed a correlation between number of
fillings and salivary Hg, between amalgam surface and salivary Hg. The
Authors could finally assert that AMG fillings represented the
principal source of salivary Hg in the subjects studied.
PMID: 11799732 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://tinyurl.com/bc4r3
Caries Res. 2001 May-Jun;35(3):163-6.Related Articles, Links
Dental amalgam fillings and the amount of organic mercury in human
saliva.
Leistevuo J, Leistevuo T, Helenius H, Pyy L, Osterblad M, Huovinen P,
Tenovuo J.
The National Public Health Institute, Antimicrobial Research
Laboratory, Turku University, Turku, Finland.
We studied differences in the amounts of organic and inorganic mercury
in saliva samples between amalgam and nonamalgam human study groups.
The amount of organic and inorganic mercury in whole saliva was
measured in 187 adult study subjects. The mercury contents were
determined by cold-vapor atomic absorption spectrometry. The amount of
organic and inorganic mercury in paraffin-stimulated saliva was
significantly higher (p<0.001) in subjects with dental amalgam fillings
(n = 88) compared to the nonamalgam study groups (n = 43 and n = 56):
log(e) (organic mercury) was linearly related to log(e) (inorganic
mercury, r(2) = 0.52). Spearman correlation coefficients of inorganic
and organic mercury concentrations with the number of amalgam-filled
tooth surfaces were 0.46 and 0.27, respectively. Our results are
compatible with the hypothesis that amalgam fillings may be a
continuous source of organic mercury, which is more toxic than
inorganic mercury, and almost completely absorbed by the human
intestine.
PMID: 11385194 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://tinyurl.com/3bp8f
1: Adv Dent Res. 1992 Sep;6:110-3. Related Articles, Links
Side-effects: mercury contribution to body burden from dental amalgam.
Reinhardt JW.
Department of Operative Dentistry, University of Iowa College of
Dentistry,
Iowa City 52242.
The purpose of this paper is to examine and report on studies that
relate
mercury levels in human tissues to the presence of dental amalgams,
giving
special attention to autopsy studies. Until recently, there have been
few
published studies examining the relationship between dental amalgams
and tissue
mercury levels. Improved and highly sensitive tissue analysis
techniques have
made it possible to measure elements in the concentration range of
parts per
billion. The fact that mercury can be absorbed and reach toxic levels
in human
tissues makes any and all exposure to that element of scientific
interest.
Dental amalgams have long been believed to be of little significance as
contributors to the overall body burden of mercury, because the
elemental form
of mercury is rapidly consumed in the setting reaction of the
restoration.
Studies showing measurable elemental mercury vapor release from dental
amalgams
have raised renewed concern about amalgam safety. Mercury vapor
absorption
occurs through the lungs, with about 80% of the inhaled vapor being
absorbed by
the lungs and rapidly entering the bloodstream. Following distribution
by blood
circulation, mercury can enter and remain in certain tissues for longer
periods
of time, since the half-life of excretion is prolonged. Two of the
primary
target organs of concern are the central nervous system and kidneys.
Publication Types:
Review
Review, Tutorial
PMID: 1292449 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://tinyurl.com/2ld6k
J Alzheimers Dis. 2003 Jun;5(3):189-95. Related Articles, Links
Apolipoprotein E genotyping as a potential biomarker for mercury
neurotoxicity.
Godfrey ME, Wojcik DP, Krone CA.
Bay of Plenty Environmental Health Clinic, Tauranga, New Zealand.
godf...@xxxxxxxxxx
Apolipoprotein-E (apo-E) genotyping has been investigated as an
indicator of
susceptibility to heavy metal (i.e., lead) neurotoxicity. Moreover, the
apo-E
epsilon (epsilon)4 allele is a major risk factor for neurodegenerative
conditions, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). A theoretical
biochemical basis
for this risk factor is discussed herein, supported by data from 400
patients
with presumptive mercury-related neuro-psychiatric symptoms and in whom
apo-E
determinations were made. A statistically relevant shift toward the
at-risk
apo-E epsilon4 groups was found in the patients p<0.001). The patients
possessed a mean of 13.7 dental amalgam fillings and 31.5 amalgam
surfaces.
This far exceeds the number capable of producing the maximum identified
tolerable daily intake of mercury from amalgam. The clinical diagnosis
and
proof of chronic low-level mercury toxicity has been difficult due to
the
non-specific nature of the symptoms and signs. Dental amalgam is the
greatest
source of mercury in the general population and brain, blood and urine
mercury
levels increase correspondingly with the number of amalgams and amalgam
surfaces in the mouth. Confirmation of an elevated body burden of
mercury can
be made by measuring urinary mercury, after provocation with
2,3,-dimercapto-propane sulfonate (DMPS) and this was measured in 150
patients.
Apo-E genotyping warrants investigation as a clinically useful
biomarker for
those at increased risk of neuropathology, including AD, when subjected
to
long-term mercury exposures. Additionally, when clinical findings
suggest
adverse effects of chronic mercury exposure, a DMPS urine mercury
challenge
appears to be a simple, inexpensive procedure that provides objective
confirmatory evidence. An opportunity could now exist for primary
health
practitioners to help identify those at greater risk and possibly
forestall
subsequent neurological deterioration.
PMID: 12897404 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://tinyurl.com/2h6y4
Altern Med Rev. 2000 Jun;5(3):209-23. Related Articles, Links
Environmental medicine, part three: long-term effects of chronic
low-dose
mercury exposure.
Crinnion WJ.
Healing Naturally, 11811 NE 128th St., Suite 202, Kirkland, WA 98034,
USA.
Mercury is ubiquitous in the environment, and in our mouths in the form
of
"silver" amalgams. Once introduced to the body through food or vapor,
mercury
is rapidly absorbed and accumulates in several tissues, leading to
increased
oxidative damage, mitochondrial dysfunction, and cell death. Mercury
primarily
affects neurological tissue, resulting in numerous neurological
symptoms, and
also affects the kidneys and the immune system. It causes increased
production
of free radicals and decreases the availability of antioxidants. It
also has
devastating effects on the glutathione content of the body, giving rise
to the
possibility of increased retention of other environmental toxins.
Fortunately,
effective tests are available to help distinguish those individuals who
are
excessively burdened with mercury, and to monitor them during
treatment.
Therapies for assisting the reduction of a mercury load include the use
of
2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) and 2,3-dimercato-1-propanesulfonic
acid
(DMPS). Additional supplementation to assist in the removal of mercury
and to
reduce its adverse effects is discussed.
Publication Types:
Review
Review, Tutorial
PMID: 10869102 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://tinyurl.com/2gnwl
: Br Dent J. 1997 May 24;182(10):373-81. Related Articles, Links
The future of dental amalgam: a review of the literature. Part 4:
Mercury
exposure hazards and risk assessment.
Eley BM.
Periodontal Department, King's College School of Medicine & Dentistry,
London.
This is the fourth article in a series of seven on the future of dental
amalgam. It first describes toxic mercury hazards from all sources of
exposure
including dental amalgam. It begins by considering the many problems in
accurately estimating daily mercury intakes from these sources. It then
describes potential mercury hazards to industrial workers and the
calculation
of thresholds for the general public from industrial data. The
implications of
these findings to the production of a safe threshold for patients with
dental
amalgams are then discussed. It finally discusses the attempts which
have been
made to carry out a risk assessment of dental amalgam. In this
connection it
reports the reviews of the United States Public Health Service in 1993,
the
Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare in 1994 and the risk
assessment
commissioned from Canada Health which was reported in 1995. It also
includes
comments on the methods used in this last report.
Publication Types:
Review
Review, Tutorial
PMID: 9185355 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://tinyurl.com/yuj39
Acupunct Electrother Res. 1996 Apr-Jun;21(2):133-60. Related
Articles, Links
Significant mercury deposits in internal organs following the removal
of dental
amalgam, & development of pre-cancer on the gingiva and the sides of
the tongue
and their represented organs as a result of inadvertent exposure to
strong
curing light (used to solidify synthetic dental filling material) &
effective
treatment: a clinical case report, along with organ representation
areas for
each tooth.
http://tinyurl.com/2gnwl
1: Br J Dermatol. 1996 Mar;134(3):420-3. Related Articles, Links
The relevance and effect of amalgam replacement in subjects with oral
lichenoid
reactions.
Ibbotson SH, Speight EL, Macleod RI, Smart ER, Lawrence CM.
Department of Dermatology, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon
Tyne, U.K.
In this study we examined the prevalence of mercury hypersensitivity in
patients with oral lichenoid reactions (OLR) and the effect of amalgam
replacement in subjects with amalgams adjacent to OLR irrespective of
their
mercury sensitivity status. One hundred and ninety-seven patients with
oral
problems were examined: 109 with OLR, 22 with oral and generalized
lichen
planus, and 66 with other oral diagnoses, including aphthous ulcers and
orofacial granulomatosis. Nineteen per cent of patients with OLR
reacted to
mercury on patch testing, significantly more than in those with
generalized
lichen planus (0%) and in those with other oral diagnoses (3%).
Twenty-two
patients with OLR and adjacent amalgams had amalgam replacement and, in
16 of
17 mercury-positive subjects and three of four mercury-negative
subjects, the
OLR resolved after amalgam removal. In conclusion, we found a
significantly
increased prevalence of mercury hypersensitivity in patients with
localized OLR
in comparison to subjects with other oral problems. Amalgam replacement
resulted in resolution of OLR in the majority of patients with amalgams
adjacent to OLR irrespective of their mercury sensitivity status.
PMID: 8731663 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://tinyurl.com/2dp6g
1: Psychol Rep. 1992 Jun;70(3 Pt 2):1139-51. Related Articles,
Links
A comparison of mental health of multiple sclerosis patients with
silver/mercury dental fillings and those with fillings removed.
Siblerud RL.
Rocky Mountain Research Institute, Inc., Colorado.
In this study was compared the mental health status of 47 multiple
sclerosis
patients with silver/mercury tooth fillings (amalgams) to that of 50
patients
with their fillings removed. On the Beck Depression Inventory the
multiple
sclerosis subjects with amalgams suffered significantly more depression
while
their scores on the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory indicated
the former
group also exhibited significantly more anger. On the SCL-90 Revised,
subjects
with amalgam fillings had significantly more symptoms of depression,
hostility,
psychotism, and were more obsessive-compulsive than the patients with
such
fillings removed. On a questionnaire containing 18 mental health
symptoms
multiple sclerosis subjects with amalgam fillings reported a history of
43%
more symptoms than those without amalgam fillings over the past 12
months.
These data suggested that the poorer mental health status exhibited by
multiple
sclerosis subjects with dental amalgam fillings may be associated with
mercury
toxicity from the amalgam.
PMID: 1496084 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://tinyurl.com/2ukse
: Am J Psychother. 1989 Oct;43(4):575-87. Related Articles, Links
The relationship between mercury from dental amalgam and mental health.
Siblerud RL.
Colorado State University, Department of Physiology, Fort Collins.
The findings presented here suggest that mercury poisoning from dental
amalgam
may play a role in the etiology of mental illness. Comparisons between
subjects
with and without amalgam showed significant differences in subjective
reports
of mental health. Subjects who had amalgams removed reported that
symptoms of
mental illness lessened or disappeared after removal. The data suggest
that
inorganic mercury poisoning from dental amalgam does affect the mind
and
emotions.
PMID: 2618948 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
polipoprotein-E (apo-E) genotyping has been investigated as an
indicator of susceptibility to heavy metal (i.e., lead) neurotoxicity.
Moreover, the apo-E epsilon ( varepsilon )4 allele is a major risk
factor for neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer's disease
(AD). A theoretical biochemical basis for this risk factor is discussed
herein, supported by data from 400 patients with presumptive mercury
-related neuro-psychiatric symptoms and in whom apo-E
determinations were made. A statistically relevant shift toward the
at-risk apo-E varepsilon 4 groups was found in the patients p<0.001).
The patients possessed a mean of 13.7 dental amalgam fillings and 31.5
amalgam surfaces. This far exceeds the number capable of producing
the maximum identified tolerable daily intake of mercury from amalgam.
The clinical diagnosis and proof of chronic low-level mercury toxicity
has been difficult due to the non-specific nature of the symptoms and
signs. Dental amalgam is the greatest source of mercury in the general
population and brain, blood and urine mercury levels increase
correspondingly with the number of amalgams and amalgam surfaces
in the mouth. Confirmation of an elevated body burden of mercury
can be made by measuring urinary mercury, after provocation with
2,3,-dimercapto-propane sulfonate (DMPS) and this was measured
in 150 patients. Apo-E genotyping warrants investigation as a
clinically useful biomarker for those at increased risk of
neuropathology, including AD, when subjected to long-term mercury
exposures. Additionally, when clinical findings suggest adverse
effects of chronic mercury exposure, a DMPS urine mercury
challenge appears to be a simple, inexpensive procedure that
provides objective confirmatory evidence. An opportunity could now
exist for primary health practitioners to help identify those at
greater
risk and possibly forestall subsequent neurological deterioration.
PMID: 12897404 [PubMed - in process]
= = = = = = =
Some medical practitioners prescribe GSH and vitamin C alone or in
combination with DMPS or DMSA for patients with mercury
exposure that is primarily due to the mercury vapor emitted by dental
amalgams. HYPOTHESIS: This study tested the hypothesis that
GSH, vitamin C, or lipoic acid alone or in combination with DMPS or
DMSA would decrease brain mercury. METHODS: Young rats were
exposed to elemental mercury by individual nose cone, at the rate of
4.0 mg mercury per m3 air for 2 h per day for 7 consecutive days.
After a 7-day equilibrium period, DMPS, DMSA, GSH, vitamin C,
lipoic acid alone, or in combination was administered for 7 days and
the brain and kidneys of the animals removed and analyzed for
mercury by cold vapor atomic absorption. RESULTS: None of these
regimens reduced the mercury content of the brain. Although DMPS
or DMSA was effective in reducing kidney mercury concentrations,
GSH, vitamin C, lipoic acid alone, or in combination were not.
CONCLUSION: One must conclude that the palliative effect, if any,
of GSH, vitamin C, or lipoic acid for treatment of mercury toxicity
due to mercury vapor exposure does not involve mercury
mobilization from the brain and kidney. PMID: 12870874
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
mercurypoisoned.com/FDA%20hearings/PersonalStoryofaMercuryPoisonedDentistAndreaBrockman.doc
Personal Story of a Mercury Poisoned Dentist
(Dr. Brockman testified before the FDA hearing)
My name is Dr. Andrea Brockman. I practiced dentistry for almost 25
years in Philadelphia, PA. I got my undergraduate degree in Nursing and
practiced for 6 years in medical-surgical, intensive care and
geriatrics. When working in hospitals, we were prohibited from entering
a room where there were mercury spills from sphygmomanometers or
thermometers. Until the room was properly cleaned by specialized and
protected people, the room was considered a hazardous site.
It was quite confusing to me to be in dental school and be in a student
clinic of 300 dentists placing amalgams, spilling more mercury on the
floor than 300 thermometers. My questions to instructors of why we were
handling such a poisonous substance evoked anger and the same stock
answer, "It gets locked into the filling and becomes inert." Well, even
if that were true, it still made no sense to me at all that the
dentists were squashing the excess mercury out of the amalgam in
squeeze cloths and burning the caked on amalgam from condensing
instruments. In those days, we didn't wear gloves or masks.
I never put two and two together that when I started working in the
clinic that I ended up in the hospital with heart arrhythmias, started
getting panic attacks, migraine headaches and later that year a
miscarriage. I was a previously healthy 25 year old and attributed my
new problems to the stress of being in dental school.
Composite resins were just coming out for anterior teeth and were not
strong enough for posterior teeth. Our materials were limited to
amalgams or gold foils for direct restorations. We were taught to place
pins in teeth for larger restorations and polish amalgams for greater
longevity. Each time we placed, polished and drilled out old amalgams,
the dentist and everyone else in the room was exposed to mercury vapor.
I couldn't tell you how many micrograms of mercury were coming out of
fillings, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that
dental personnel are being exposed to dangerous amounts.
Every business that uses mercury has specific procedures coming down
from OSHA for protection of employees and the EPA for protection of the
environment. There have never been any guidelines for protection of
dental workers nor for the protection of the water where tons of
mercury from excess amalgam from newly placed fillings and drilled out
fillings go into the suction system directly into the water. I've heard
the statistics that 60% of the mercury at the water treatment plants is
coming from dental offices.
In the earlier years of my practice when I was pregnant and placing and
removing amalgams without any masks or gloves, I became very concerned
that I was now also exposing my unborn child to mercury vapor. There
was nothing I could find in the literature (there was no internet then)
that gave me any statistics on fetal exposure to mercury vapor in
dental personnel. I thought that if anyone had that information, it
would certainly be the American Dental Association. I believed that
their interests would be to protect its members.
I called the ADA and spoke with several scientists and respectfully
acknowledged their position that mercury gets locked into the filling.
My question to them was, "I'm a female dentist and I'm pregnant. I've
already had one miscarriage and it has taken me several years to become
pregnant again. I drill out hundreds of amalgams a week. Could you tell
me what my exposure is to the mercury vapor created by the aerosol of
drilling? And how is this affecting my baby?" The answer I got was,
"I'll get back to you." That was 25 years ago and I'm still waiting.
I had a difficult delivery and had a son that was hyperactive,
asthmatic, a bet wetter, suffers from chronic sinus and digestive
problems, periods of depression, difficulty focusing and impulsive
behavior. The gamut of doctors treated his symptoms but the problems
were never corrected. It was not until he was in his late teens that I
had him tested for mercury. Provoked urine challenge test showed that
he was loaded with mercury and there was no other possible place he
could have been exposed other than from me in utero or through my
breast milk.
I was also tested and showed large amounts of mercury on provoked urine
challenge tests. The science that the ADA produces has not definitively
proven that the mercury in amalgam is not linked to any illness. They
continue to espouse that the amount that escapes from the filling is so
minute that it is insignificant.
Cigarettes are a contributing factor in lung cancer and heart disease,
but are not the total cause. There are always other factors. Cigarettes
do, however, present a risk and should be avoided for optimum health.
That doesn't mean that a person who gives up smoking or who doesn't
smoke will never get sick. In the case of amalgams, it is prudent never
to have them placed in the first place. In the case of a healthy
person, if removed safely (precautions should be taken like asbestos
removal), it is a positive health choice. If a person's health is
already compromised, it is very important to have mercury amalgams
removed, but only if proper precautions and strict protocols are
followed. Otherwise, the person can be exposed to more mercury and can
deteriorate.
As far as dental personnel are concerned, they need to wake up and
start doing their own research and not taking the word of the ADA that
there is no scientific proof that amalgam is dangerous. Every dentist
should obtain the government's "Toxicological Profile of Mercury"
available from the Department of Commerce through the Freedom of
Information Act.
We should demand tests for ourselves and our employees and gather true
health statistics. Dentists are at risk and putting their families at
risk. Even if amalgams are deemed safe, dentists are putting their
patients at risk from placing and drilling out fillings. Hygienists are
risking exposure for themselves and their patients from polishing
amalgams. The amount of vapor released from the heat of friction of a
prophy cup can be measured with a Jerome Mercury Vapor Analyzer.
Dentists are putting people, animals, and fish, if not the entire food
chain at risk by not separating out the mercury in the suction system
before it leaves the office and goes into the water supply.
Forget the debate that amalgams are dangerous for patients. I believe
that if dentists are not protecting themselves they are hiding their
heads in the sand. Irritability is one of the symptoms of mercury
toxicity. Perhaps the anger expressed by the dentists over this issue
is not only a need to defend a long trusted belief, but a reaction
triggered by the mercury in their own systems.
Andrea H. Brockman, DDS
President, OraMedica International, LLC
As an example, I would have appeared here lately answering some
comments about environmental mercury pollution.I only posted to
sci.med.dentistry because the original poster included the group and I
was interested to know what it had to do with dentistry.
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.health.alternative/msg/b184987bdf5c739c
There are no anti-vaccine liars, only pro-vaccine liars.
This post does have relevance to dentistry. You have to be really dumb
not to get it.
Jag.
http://www.mercurypoisoned.com/
Breaking News in 2006
Kiddie Kollege Day Care Poisoning in New Jersey
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/19/nyregion/19mercury.html
After Mercury Pollutes a Day Care Center, Everyone Points Elsewhere
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, N.J., Aug. 14 - Five days a week for two years,
parents in this rural township in southern New Jersey would drop off
their children, some as young as 8 months old, at Kiddie Kollege, a day
care center where these days wilted pansies go unattended outside the
locked front door.
But what the parents did not know was that the unattractive one-story
building, about 30 miles south of Philadelphia, was the site of a
former mercury thermometer factory and that their children, who spent
up to 10 hours a day there, were being exposed to what the State
Department of Environmental Protection described last month as
unacceptably high levels of mercury.
A third of the 60 children tested have shown abnormally high levels of
mercury in their systems. And while experts have said the levels of
mercury found in urine specimens are not high enough to indicate health
problems, they are high enough to require long-term monitoring, and the
ultimate health implications for the children may not be known for
years.
But what is clear, and what is now the subject of an investigation by
the state attorney general, is that the responsibility for cleaning up
and regulating the building slipped like quicksilver through the
fingers of state agencies, local officials and the building's owner,
who in February 2004 allowed Kiddie Kollege to open.
"I've had a lot of sleepless nights, and my wife cries on a daily
basis," said Sean McCleery, whose two children, Autumn, 6, and
Tristan, 3, tested above normal and must continue to be monitored.
"You think you're doing the best you can to protect your children,
and it ends up in a heartbreaking situation."
So while health experts are minimizing the long-term effects of the
contamination, that is little comfort to parents and the owner of
Kiddie Kollege, who closed the center on July 28, the day the state
determined that the building was not fit for occupancy.
For now, the state attorney general's office is investigating who was
responsible for allowing a building to open despite mercury vapor
levels at least 27 times the regulatory limit. Mercury, a naturally
occurring element, is toxic if inhaled or ingested. Symptoms of mercury
poisoning in children include insomnia, irritability, rashes and
peeling of hands and skin. Mercury vapors are heavier than air and
therefore more prevalent near the floor, where children nap and play.
A timeline released by the state's Department of Environmental
Protection describes how a series of missed opportunities and
incomplete communications over the past 12 years put children at risk.
Christopher M. Manganello, a lawyer in Pitman, N.J., who is
representing more than a dozen families, said: "As a pilot, you need
a chain of errors, not just one error, to cause a crash. If any one
error had not been made, this whole tragedy would not have occurred.
The ball got dropped."
The first missed step came on Jan. 1, 1994, when Accutherm Inc. of
Williamsburg, Va., which made thermometers in the one-story building
here, closed after 10 years in business. Under state environmental law,
a company is required to clean up any spills or toxic materials left
behind, even if it files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as the
company did in March 1994.
But Accutherm did not comply with the department's directive to clean
all the discharges of mercury and other toxic material at the site.
Bill Wolfe, the head of an environmental watchdog group and a former
policy adviser at the environmental agency, said the state should have
put a lien on the property and erected signs and fences around it to
notify neighbors about the possible hazards. The New Jersey Spill
Compensation and Control Act allows for the department to clean up
hazards left behind, then to charge the polluter three times the cost.
"That's where the breakdown initially occurred," Mr. Wolfe said.
"Had that been addressed appropriately by D.E.P., all the other stuff
would not have occurred."
Lisa P. Jackson, the commissioner of the environmental department,
conceded in an interview this week that the agency needed better
tracking of contaminated sites, clearer cleanup priorities and stronger
enforcement efforts. "This is an example when all three of those kind
of collide in a bad way," she said. "It crystallizes some of the
things we need to do differently."
But she said other people involved in the case needed to do similar
soul-searching. "I won't run from the fact that D.E.P. played a
role in this, but lots of other people did too," she said. "And
lots of people are running to point fingers who need to be looked at
really closely."
The building remained vacant until 2001, when a local realtor, Jim
Sullivan Jr., bought it for back taxes and began renovations. Mr.
Sullivan's lawyer, Richard M. Hluchan, said his client knew that the
building had once housed a thermometer factory, but thought it could be
developed because a 1996 report issued by the federal Environmental
Protection Agency said the site did not belong on the Superfund list
and was not eligible for a federal cleanup because it "does not
present an immediate threat to human health or the environment."
In fact, only the state can issue a letter saying that cleanup
standards have been met. The federal determination simply meant that
hazards from the site were not reaching other properties.
Published: August 19, 2006
(Page 2 of 2)
But Mr. Hluchan said Mr. Sullivan also felt reassured because the state
environmental department never responded to a letter from Mr.
Sullivan's son addressed "To Whom it May Concern" requesting
information about any problems at the site.
Then in September 2003, a township construction official told the state
environmental department that the owner wanted to convert the site to a
day care center.
"N.J.D.E.P. informed the construction official that it was not
recommended to convert the site at that time," according to the
department's timeline, because it had not been certified as cleaned
and ready for development.
But the mayor of Franklin Township, Dave Ferrucci, said his staff had
no memory of any such phone conversation, and had erroneously relied on
the federal report. In October 2003, Mr. Hluchan said, Mr. Sullivan was
considering selling the property and again asked the state
environmental department for public records about the site. But he said
Mr. Sullivan received only the 1996 report, which did not accurately
reflect the problems at the site.
Mr. Sullivan decided not to sell the property, and after the township
granted permits for renovations, a zoning permit and a certificate of
occupancy, he leased the building to Kiddie Kollege, which opened in
2004.
"We weren't told anything, we had no idea," said Linda Turner,
who was a receptionist at the day care center and whose pregnant
daughter, Becky Baughman, owns the business. "I would not have even
started to work there and I'm sure she wouldn't put her child in
there," Ms. Turner said.
Then, in 2005, the property was removed from the state environmental
agency's booklet of known contaminated sites along with about 1,800
other sites that were considered low priority because, as Commissioner
Jackson said, it was believed to be empty.
Still, as for allowing a day care center on the site, she said, "The
one decision that made this into a screaming emergency is not one we
made."
On April 11 this year, while inspecting low-priority sites, the
department discovered that the child care center was operating in the
building.
Two weeks later, the state environmental department said it contacted
Mr. Sullivan to see if the site had been decontaminated, and according
to the timeline, he said the state had indicated there were no problems
there. But he was again referring to the 1996 federal report.
On July 28, tests that the state environmental department required
showed elevated levels of mercury vapor, and droplets of mercury were
later found in the basement and between the floor joists.
Some have questioned why the state did not close the day care center as
soon as the environmental agency discovered that mercury was present,
since officials knew that there was no letter certifying it clean and
ready for development. But Elaine Makatura, a spokeswoman for the
department, said that at that time it did not have test results to
confirm that the building was unsafe.
"In hindsight, in April, we could have shut it down regardless of
home rule, regardless of anything," Ms. Makatura said.
Despite her department's failure to provide complete information
about hazards at the property, Ms. Jackson criticized local officials
for missing her agency's warning against allowing the day care site,
and spoke harshly of Mr. Sullivan.
"For the owner to have hired an attorney and basically say at this
point, 'Well, I sent an undated letter with no address and I figured
it was clean and consider that a level of diligence,' I don't know
how he sleeps at night," she said.
The state's Division of Youth and Family Services, which licenses day
care centers, has also been criticized for not discovering the site on
the environmental department's public list of contaminated areas. But
Kate Bernyk, a spokeswoman, said the division was not required to check
that list, and is required to ensure only that day care centers are
free of lead, asbestos and radon gas, not mercury.
"We are already working with the Department of Environmental
Protection on how the two departments, along with other state and local
officials, can best share information to strengthen that safety net,"
she said.
Gov. Jon S. Corzine has formed a team of cabinet members from the
Departments of Health, Community Affairs, Labor, Environment, and
Children and Families, to discuss ways to prevent similar chains of
errors from endangering the public.
Robert Jenkins, 44, a diesel mechanic who lives across the highway from
the center, had considered sending his children there, but he said that
in the end he did not want them crossing the busy street.
"I fault the state and the township too," Mr. Jenkins said. "The
bad thing about it is children are going to suffer. In the township,
everybody starts finger-pointing, but the children are going to
suffer."
http://www.mercurypoisoned.com/news/carol_freya_gene_help_kiddie_koll...
Carol Ward, Freya Koss and Gene Elwell Seek
to Help Poisoned Children from Kiddie Kollege Day Care
Updated December 18, 2006
On Sunday December 10, 2006 Carol Ward of Dental Amalgam Mercury
Syndrome (DAMS) and Freya Koss of the PA Coalition for Mercury-Free
Dentistry joined Gene Elwell, President of the American Medical Saliva
Testing at the Franklin Township Library in New Jersey. They were there
to meet with parents of mercury poisoned children and to let parents
know there is help, if you know where to look.
When Gene called me the first part of December, he was very concerned
that these children would fall through the cracks and not get the
proper health care and testing. I referred him to Freya Koss and Carol
Ward since they live in the Philadelphia area which is close to
Franklin Township in New Jersey.
"Gene Elwell has taken on this mercury crisis with the Kiddie Kollege
children as a personal challenge and he seems very sincere," says Carol
Ward, Vice President of DAMS. Gene was there to offer his oral fluids
saliva test and to ask parents to join with him in helping their
children through a non profit organization he plans to establish.
Franklin Township
Library
1584 Coles Mill Road
Franklinville, NJ 08322
Franklin Township Library, where about 20 parents of mercury poisoned
children attended a meeting to find information to help their children.
Also in attendance was Deborah Bowman-Ehelele, Chief of Staff of
Senator Fred H. Madden.
Where are the other parents of the 200 plus children that were
originally enrolled in Kiddie Kollege Day Care? Only 60 children have
been tested.
Kiddie Kollege Day Care Center in Franklinville, NJ, was housed in the
building of a former mercury thermometer factory. The factory went
bankrupt and the owner left town without cleaning up the toxic mess. It
was put on a list of toxic sites in NJ and then removed from the list
without officials seeing it to it that it was cleaned up first. So
these children, some as young as eight months, played, ate and slept
for up to 10 hours a day in a toxic waste dump of mercury.
The Associated Press reported on August 6, 2006, "According to Bill
Wolfe, a former Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) staffer
who is director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a
watchdog group, the only way for a site to be removed from the list is
for the DEP to take it off."
The Pennsylvania Inquirer reported, "Even after state environmental
officials saw that Kiddie Kollege had opened despite their warnings to
the township, they did nothing for more than three months as children
as young as 8 months continued to play where mercury vapors registered
more than 27 times acceptable limits." The DEP is accusing the Franklin
Township of not listening to their warnings not to issue a permit for a
day care center. Franklin Township said the DEP is lying about
this--they were never told not to issue a permit. Philadelphia Inquirer
Story
Though news reports are referring to 60 children being tested, Gene
Elwell told me that 200 plus children could be affected. He said
government agencies were only testing the children that had been
enrolled between January 1, 2006 and up to July 2006 when they shut the
doors on the Kiddie Kollege. He said the school opened up in January
2004, so none of these children from January 2004 up to January 2006
have been tested at all. The government agencies said there was no use
testing these children because by this time all the mercury would have
left these children's bodies.
What misinformation! What a miscarriage of justice! I was poisoned from
exposure to mercury vapor in 2001 and am still not rid of all the
mercury and I have been actively detoxifying for at least 3 1/2 years.
These children are probably suffering from a varied collection of
symptoms and diseases and the parents and doctors treating them have no
idea what is going on. Gene Elwell is trying to get newspapers in New
Jersey and Franklinville, drawn once again to this story so he can get
these missing children to come forward to be tested.
The owners of the Kiddie Kollege Day Care could supply the names of the
children who were enrolled in the school previous to January 2006, but
the parents are suing the owners, so they may not want to supply the
names of additional people to sue themselves. But wouldn't the courts
look more favorably upon the owners if they try to help the kids?
Someone needs to find a legal way to secure these names and warn the
parents they need to get their children tested.
Gene told me that neighbors had seen factory workers dumping mercury
out behind the thermometer factory. This would seep into the ground
near the basement foundation. The children's blankets, sleeping mats
and toys were stored in the basement soaking up the mercury fumes. Then
day care workers would go into the basement to bring up the mats and
blankets to the first floor so children could take their naps. The day
care workers were getting more exposure than the children because they
went into the basement. However, the children had less body weight than
the workers so it would still affect them very badly. Can you imagine
those small children sleeping on a mat and cuddled up to a stuffed
animal and breathing the mercury laden blankets around their little
faces?
The amount of mercury on the first floor was 25 to 28 times the
government "safe" level. The amount of vapor in the basement was 180
times higher than the government "safe" levels.
The mercury is also affecting neighbors. Mr. John Lilley who lives next
door is so numb he didn't even feel it when he burned himself while
working on his car. Gene said his two teenagers are also poisoned and
Mr. Lilley fears the mercury may have contaminated his water supply. If
there is any hope for Mr. Lilley and his family, he MUST immediately
leave his house. If he stays there with his family, they could all die.
You must avoid your source of exposure to all mercury to start
recovering. At some point, people who are poisoned are no longer able
to reason because it affects them mentally.
Would somebody please persuade Mr. Lilley to take his family and go
stay with relatives? Gene Elwell will test his family for mercury
before they leave, and they need to leave a forwarding address with
Gene Elwell. A homeless shelter would be better than living in that
house. Where are the churches in the neighborhood? Would God's people
please step forward and help?
If people are waiting around for a lawsuit to come through, or for
govenment aide to come through, they may be waiting a long time. Who
knows when the goverment will do something? It took government agencies
three months to shut down the day care, even after finding out it was
highly toxic. The New Jersy Department of Health is saying there is no
problem with metallic mercury. But when Mr. Lilley's family shows high
levels of mercury, they will have to change their minds.
But by the time help arrives, it may be too late. Dr. Rebecca Painter,
a physician from Gillette, WY, testified in recent FDA hearings on
dental mercury that some patients just wait too late and she can't help
them. They die.
Gene was invited by the CDC to a meeting in Savannah, Georgia this year
where he met with the Departments of Health from all 50 states. They
were there to talk about lead testing in children. His saliva testing
company is to be in a pilot program for the CDC in Texas.
When Gene mentioned the Kiddie Kollege mercury poisoning incident at
this CDC meeting, only two officials from the Departments of Health in
all of the 50 states had heard of the incident.
These two Department of Health officials told Gene, "These children
need help NOW." The New Jersey Department of Health had told the
parents, "There is no problem with elemental mercury."
The Monday, December 11th edition of the Gloucester County Times
reported on the Sunday meeting at the library. The Times wrote an
article about Gene Elwell's presentation to the parents of mercury
poisoned children of the Kiddie Kollege Day Care.
Day care parents look ahead
NJ.com
Gloucester County Times
http://www.nj.com/news/gloucester/index.ssf?/base/news-1/116581380325...
Monday, December 11, 2006
By Jonathan Vit j...@xxxxxxxxxxxx
FRANKLIN TWP. Parents and community members affected by the
contaminated Kiddie Kollege day care center continue to push for
long-term testing, with plans to seek corporate funding if the state's
health department refuses.
The donations will fund a task force of four doctors recognized in the
field with the intent of providing more exhaustive testing of the
children, workers and community members living around the center,
explained Gene Elwell, president of American Medical Saliva Testing.
"There is a lot more that needs to be done to determine what (are) the
toxic levels of mercury for a child," Elwell told an audience of
parents of former Kiddie Kollege students gathered Sunday at the
township's community center. "The current levels are based on an
adult."
After snapping on a protective glove, Elwell removed a small container
containing a thermometer's amount of mercury. He suggested to everyone
in attendance that "nine grams of mercury is enough to contaminate your
child."
A previous blood plasma test conducted by Elwell's Mount Laurel
Township-based firm found three people to contain mercury at toxic
levels of eight or more micrograms per deciliter of blood.
Kiddie Kollege housed in a former thermometer manufacturing plant off
Station Avenue was closed in July after state Department of
Environmental Protection air samples showed elevated levels of mercury.
How the day care center was allowed to open in 2004 in the former
Accutherm Inc. building has been the subject of debate among state,
county and township officials.
Elwell explained that a variety of long term tests from further oral
swabs to spinal taps are necessary in order to paint an accurate
picture of the amount of mercury still remaining within the children's
bodies.
"Something has to be done on the long term," Elwell said. "More tests
need to be completed, there is an opportunity here to bring in some of
the best minds." Mother Connie Davis sat alongside Elwell, explaining
that mercury poisoning has sent her daughter Alexis' health into a
steep decline.
From left to right: Gene Elwell, Vanessa Renzi, a poisoned worker, and
Connie Davis, whose daughter is experiencing facial paralysis and tooth
deterioration.
"Alexis went to Kiddie Kollege for two years. Over those two years her
health really deteriorated," she said. "They didn't know what was wrong
with her." As she spoke, Davis presented class pictures of her
daughter, taken while she was enrolled at Kiddie Kollege. The three
pictures taken over the course of two years show the slow paralysis of
Alexis' face, with the right side of her face no longer able to smile,
Davis suggested.
"You can see her face has no strength; her teeth are rotting; these
kids need help," Davis said.
As the organizer of the testing task force, Elwell's firm plans to set
up a non-profit organization to accept donations from corporations and
private business owners with the intent of setting up a long term
testing facility in Camden, providing a service at no cost to Kiddie
Kollege parents.
"Much has to be done," Elwell said. "Your children need help. It is not
like it is going to leave your system, no (level of) mercury is
acceptable in any child."
The task force will be assembled of three doctors from Arkansas-based
Hyphenated Solutions and a doctor from the Georgia Department of Human
Resources Childhood Lead Poison Prevention Program.
"This is an independent study, these are independent scientist, but
(the decision) is up to you," Elwell said to the parents. "You are the
ones suffering."
Carol Ward and Freya Koss went to this meeting because they know about
mercury poisoning. Both of them have been poisoned by mercury from
their dental fillings that contained the same kind of mercury the
children at the Kiddie Kollege were exposed to. That is metallic
mercury. Mercury in a therometer and mercury in tooth fillings are the
same kind of mercury.
Both Carol and Freya had to research and seek out their own medical
help when they were poisoned. Officials such as those with the CDC, EPA
and FDA, and the Department of Health do not understand mercury
toxicity like they should, and minimize it effects. They do not
understand that blood testing is not valid in low level exposure with
tooth fillings. They may not use a mercury chelator1 to pull mercury
into the urine in cases of low level exposure and dismiss mercury
toxicity outright.
Parents of these poisoned children need to know that Julie Gerberding
of the CDC has never admitted that mercury in vaccines causes any
problems. So if these folks don't want to take the mercury out of
vaccines, and the Department of Health is giving vaccines to children
with mercury in them, how can the parents trust them to be experts on
what has happened to their children? There is no such thing as a safe
level of mercury exposure, I don't care how much officials say it is.
Dr. Herbert Needleman proved there was no safe level of lead, and we
are in the process of proving there is no safe level of mercury.
I am not saying these children shouldn't receive help from these
agencies, if they offer testing and so forth, but don't accept their
final opinion as the ultimate truth, because it isn't. If parents have
a little voice down inside saying something is wrong here, they should
listen to that little voice.
I have checked with Bernie Windham, President of DAMS, who is the
scientific researcher for the DAMS organization. He said these children
have HIGH LEVEL chronic exposure. In poisoning from tooth fillings,
there is low level chronic exposure, except when the dentist drills out
a filling the exposure level increases.
Acute exposure would be from a mercury spill and the poisoning occuring
all at once. One man contacted me who was acutely poisoned from working
in a mercury recycling plant in Wisconsin.
Will the mercury show up in the blood as well as the urine, even
without a chelator if they have high level exposure? Parents would need
to ask a holistic doctor or someone like Dr. Boyd Halely about this.
Some questions I would like answers to are the following. I will be
asking people who know and will report back.
1. Will these children show high levels of mercury in the blood since
they were around the mercury for so long and on a continual basis? I
ask this question in case government officials would want to do blood
testing.
2. Do these children need a mercury chelator like DMSA to pull the
mercury into their urine before testing? Would this be dangerous for
them?
(Patrick Sullivan reports on www.patsullivan.com, the blog for Jigsaw
Health, that Dr. Buttar in North Carolina says transdermal DMPS,
(TD-DMPS) will work as an challenging agent to pull mercury out into
the urine in order to test for mercury. It would not be as strong as an
IV of DMPS, and test results would be lower than a IV of DMPS, but in
my opinion would be much safer for children.)
Ultimately it will be up to the holistic doctors, working with the
parents, to determine on an individual basis what would be best for
each child. But it would be good for the parents to know their options.
In children who easily test positive for mercury, Gene Elwell's oral
fluids testing with just a cotton swab in the mouth in the little
pocket between the front teeth and the lower lip, would be a painless
and inexpensive way to monitor them without sticking them with a needle
in the case of blood testing. I am sure that Gene will work with
holistic doctors in the area to check the accuracy of the oral fluids
test against the testing the doctors are currently using.
Dr. Boyd Haley, former Chairman of the Chemistry Department and mercury
expert from the University of Kentucky says, "It is critical that all
of the parents with children in this school have a urinary porphyrin
profile done to determine if the children are mercury toxic." I emailed
Dr. Boyd Haley about this test and this is his information that parents
can pass on to their doctors.
Bernie Windham told me that the urine porphyrin tests in the US used to
test for mercury, but after all these children were being harmed by
mercury in their vaccines, the mercury component of the test started
"disappearing" out of the tests done here in the US. Then parents had
to send to Paris, France for this test. I suppose the accuracy of the
urine porphyrin profile test didn't help the CDC mission to keep
injecting kids with mercury containing vaccines.
Bernie said, "they removed the part of the test most indicative of
mercury. But mercury still affects some of the porphyrins still in the
test sometime, just not as definitively. I haven't checked the latest
version of the test, or all labs' version of the test."
Gene Elwell told me today (12/18/06) that their testing facility in
Arkansas has a urine porphyrin test. He said he didn't care what other
labs did, his lab was going to test for mercury. They will be getting
this test up and going to test for mercury toxicity in people who do
not show high levels from his oral fluids testing.
I read in news reports that some parents were very relieved their
children had low levels of mercury. That does not mean they are safe.
If these children are poor excretors of mercury, then they could be
worse off than some of the children who show high levels. A nurse from
Philadelphia, who is mercury poisoned from mercury in her hepatitis
shots and her mercury dental fillings, told me she followed the story
in the news, and heard a toxicologist from Duke University on the news
talking like low scores meant the kids were safe. But this is just not
so. Dr. Boyd Haley testified about how unreliable the urine testing is
for people who are poor excretors at recent FDA hearings on dental
amalgam. A urine test only measures how much mercury your body is able
to excrete into the urine, not how much mercury is still left in the
organs like the brain, kidneys and liver.
But if the children do a urinary porphyrin profile with a holistic
doctor, that would be a good indicator of whether the children truly do
not have any mercury.
According to news reports, the Department of Health acted as though the
mercury levels will just come down on their own. No, it does not happen
that way. These children need to be treated by holistic type doctors
who know mercury poisoning. Many of these doctors are already treating
children who are mercury poisoned from their vaccines and know how to
use chelation therapy. Regular doctors will just leave the mercury in
their bodies and "monitor" them.
Even if urine levels fall, that does not mean the mercury has been
excreted from the children's bodies. Dr. Mark Geier explains in an
article published in the peer reviewed Journal of American Physicians
and Surgeons that the half life of mercury in the blood from
thermerosol in vaccines is from 4 to 10 days. It is at that point (4 to
10 days) that half of the mercury has disappeared from the blood.
However, this does not mean the mercury has exited the body, as
government officials may claim. It means it has deposited itself into
the organs of the body like the brain, kidneys, and liver. The same
would apply to mercury in the urine testing, if the child is not
chelating.
If a child is chelating with an agent that pulls mercury out of the
body, then doctors can follow and see if the scores are getting lower.
But when mercury just disappears into "thin air," and the doctor can't
find it in the blood or urine, and the child has not had any mercury
pulled out of his body with chelators, then this just means it has gone
into hiding in the organs of the body.
If any of you are reading this article, please inform the parents that
we who have been mercury poisoned from dental fillings have scientists
to advise us, and we have had to learn this in order to survive. We
found NO help in main stream medicine. The parents who found out their
kids were poisoned from thimerosal in vaccines also had to seek out
alternative health doctors and are now chelating their children to get
heavy metals out of their bodies. These parents often go to DAN
doctors. DAN stands for Defeat Autism Now.
There are holistic doctors in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Carol Ward
handed out a list of these doctors in a packet of materials to the
parents at the meeting on Sunday. I will soon be posting this list
online.
If parents need to ask questions they should contact Freya Koss and
Carol Ward.
Carol Ward
7426 Rhoads Street
Philadelphia, PA 19151
telephone 610-649-0465
EMail: carolw...@xxxxxxxxx
Freya Koss
telephone 610-649-2606
EMail: frek...@xxxxxxx
These children need to avoid all vaccines that contain thimerosal (like
the flu vaccine), and all silver amalgam dental fillings. These so
called "silver" fillings are actually 50% mercury and they are
constantly leaking mercury into the body. They don't need any more
mercury.
The lawyers in news reports are just quoting a few symptoms of mercury
toxicity. Check out this page for a longer list of mercury poisoning
symptoms.
One word of caution for the parents. These kids do not need high levels
of mercury chelators. They need to work with holistic doctor who will
very slowly remove this mercury from their kids' bodies.
Best wishes to you parents and your children. My heart goes out to you.
Marie Flowers, DAMS Activist
marief...@xxxxxxx
540-890-4233
If you wish to help these children, please contact Gene Elwell at (856)
858-1456 or www.amsalivatesting.com. Gene's email is
amct...@xxxxxxxxxxx
More information is available on this news report, Day Care Workers
Team Up.
http://www.mercurypoisoned.com/news/carols_report.html
[see Freya's picture before and after removal of mercury amalgams, plus
detoxing]
We listened to questions from the parents and handed out our
information. I had made up a fairly sizable packet. I pointed out that
EDTA chelation may be a specific for lead but not mercury. My packet
contained names of holistic doctors and practitioners in the general
Phila-New Jersey area.
Our presentations were tailored to the concerns and needs of the
parents.. but we emphasized that mercury is mercury no matter where
and how it occurs- in fillings or via body contamination.
One mother came up to me afterward and told me what she had been going
through with her two boys, the oldest is 7 and the one is younger. She
had briefly breast fed the older one. The oldest one is doing pretty
well in school but has difficulty concentrating. He has some bowel
problems (looseness of stools). He has had quite a bit of trouble with
a great amount of anger. The younger child has had fewer problems
except with anger though to a lesser degree than the older one.
The parents brought out the fact that they are working people or they
would not have had to have their children in day care. They do not
appear to be oriented toward going to health food stores and using
alternative doctors.
They appeared to be enormously grateful that we came out to share our
information with them. Finally someone had some concrete suggestions
for them to get them off dead center.
I would have to check with Elwell on this and Freya, but I believe a
lawsuit may be in progress. Elwell is not interested in having the town
and state involved very much- he seeks private funding so that the
parents will have freedom, perhaps, to get whatever treatments the
children need.
Some of the children are having symptoms of Bell's Palsy wherein their
eyelids or eyebrows droop.
Carol Ward
Vice President, DAMS
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/16203480.htm
N.J. contends with secret dangers below
As many as 300 long-closed landfills remain unknown to residents - and
even, sometimes, to state officials.
Harriet Lewis began to wonder what was buried behind her Franklinville
home the day she spied men in white coveralls drilling into the earth.
"Routine inspections," they told her.
Years later, in the mid-1980s, she and her Gloucester County neighbors
learned otherwise. Wells supplying their drinking water contained a
toxic stew of mercury, lead, benzene, chloroform and other chemicals
leaching from the long-abandoned Franklin Township Sanitary Landfill.
The residents demanded to know how about 30 ranch homes could have been
built on or near a toxic dump. Two decades later, there is still no
good answer.
"I was 19 when my husband and I bought the house. We had no idea there
was a landfill there," said Lewis, who moved away after discovering the
pollution.
As many as 300 long-closed municipal landfills, including others laden
with toxic waste, lurk beneath New Jersey's landscape, closer to homes
than many people realize. Despite the state's sophisticated list of
17,000 known toxic sites and new laws designed to make sure residents
know whether the state's rich chemical history affects them, the
Franklin Township landfill shows how easily some dangers can stay
unnoticed.
The first homes near Franklin's 32-acre landfill were built in 1978,
when no laws required disclosure about underground poisons. The
landfill, which operated throughout the 1960s and accepted pesticides
among other refuse, closed in the early 1970s.
Now a new wave of home buyers is moving into the neighborhood, which is
a half-mile from the infamous mercury-tainted Kiddie Kollege day care.
New residents say they know as little about the old dump as the
original homeowners.
"This is irresponsible," said Bill Wolfe, director of the environmental
watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
"These landfills didn't just take municipal garbage. They also accepted
industrial wastes."
Old landfills are among the state's worst groundwater polluters, Wolfe
said.
Yet the state Department of Environmental Protection stopped monitoring
the groundwater beneath 180 of the old landfills about 20 years ago,
said Wolfe, a former DEP analyst.
The Franklin Township landfill is on the DEP list of toxic sites, but
the latest DEP report was filed in 1994. It recommended a cleanup that
never happened.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency discovered the landfill in
1979, when chemical maker FMC Corp. filed a report acknowledging it had
dumped as much as 5,000 truckloads of pesticides and other refuse
there.
The EPA began monitoring the dump, and during the next decade federal
inspectors detected cadmium, lead, manganese, arsenic, benzene and
other poisons in the groundwater.
The inspectors also reported that houses were being built near the
dump. No one shared the government's pollution findings with the people
who moved into those houses.
In 1989, the EPA declined to clean up the landfill with federal
Superfund money. It suggested that state authorities build a fence
around the dump, clean it up, and continue the monitoring.
The state did none of that.
Residents and local officials said they were unaware of this history.
"I have lived here most of my life and had some historical knowledge
about the landfill," said Michael DiGiorgio, acting Franklin Township
administrator.
He did not know it was on the state toxic-sites list until four months
ago, after Kiddie Kollege was discovered in a defunct thermometer
factory, he said. The thermometer factory also was on the list and
wasn't cleaned up before it reopened as a day-care center.
Twenty people who live near the old dump said in interviews that they
had known nothing about it when they moved in. Many learned about the
landfill after moving there, but not that it was on the state's
toxic-sites list, they said.
A 1995 state law requires real estate brokers to disclose environmental
hazards - if they know of any - to home buyers. The law also requires
brokers to give information to buyers, referring them to other
authorities that can provide toxic-site information.
In Franklin Township, the township clerk tells home buyers to search
the DEP Web site.
That doesn't always lead to accurate information. Last year, for
example, Kiddie Kollege and the Franklin Township landfill were among
1,860 sites removed from the DEP toxic-sites list in what state
officials later called a bookkeeping move.
After the Kiddie Kollege scandal, state officials returned those 1,860
sites to the list.
A search of the Web site for the landfill gave a phone number for
further information. When The Inquirer called the number, a DEP
employee reported that the landfill contained "unknown contaminants,"
and that further information was not immediately available.
Days later, DEP Deputy Commissioner Irene Kropp found the landfill
records. She said the landfill was no longer monitored by DEP and would
be removed from the toxic-sites list because old inspection reports
logged low levels of pollutants.
"There's nothing to clean up. It's an old landfill, and there's no
known contaminant plume impacting the receptors - the private wells,"
Kropp said.
"We can't go back and chase every sanitary landfill in the state. When
properly run, they're the least-contaminated of the sites - unless
something starts to show up in the wells," she said.
Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club,
said the state's indifference to old landfills was leading to a new
generation of problems - housing developments proposed dangerously
close, he said, to old landfills in Monroe, Harrison, North Wildwood,
Medford, Stafford and other communities.
"The contamination doesn't go away," Tittel said. "If there are drums
of chemicals buried in the landfill, it might take them 20 years to rot
and crack open."
Angie Bittle said she had known little about the Franklin Township
landfill even though she had grown up nearby. She lets her 4-year-old
play on the dirt path near Crosby Road where Bittle played as a child.
"I thought it was gone," said Bittle, who was surprised to hear the old
landfill was still beneath the path. "You would think they would tell
us to be careful and don't go back there."
Diane Brennan, who lives nearby on Triumph Avenue, learned about the
dump a few weeks ago. Her child attended Kiddie Kollege and was exposed
to the day care's high mercury levels.
"I'm traumatized," she said. "I would have never moved here if I had
known about it."
http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=739
NEW JERSEY TOXIC CLEANUP PROGRAM EXPOSED AS TOOTHLESS TIGER - State
Allows Industry to Control Cleanup Even In Most Egregious Cases
Trenton - The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
has yet to issue any fines or penalties for failures to comply with a
1995 cleanup order, and for other actions that led to poisoning at
least 20 children in the mercury-contaminated "Kiddie Kollege"
day-care center, according to documents released today by Public
Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Even when DEP knew
that children inhabited the highly contaminated site, it negotiated for
weeks with the building's owner before warning parents and finally
requesting its voluntary closure.
In April of this year, when DEP first learned that the
mercury-contaminated Accutherm site it had assumed was abandoned was,
in fact, occupied by a day care center, it did not inform the parents
or the day care operator, or take other steps to remove the children
from the building. Instead, DEP quietly began negotiations with the
building's owner, Jim Sullivan Inc., seeking to enter into a
voluntary site cleanup agreement. Nearly three months went by before
DEP notified parents (on July 28th) that their children were exposed to
high levels of mercury vapors.
Even now, after extensive public outrage about the case, DEP is
negotiating a "consent order" as the means to induce a final
cleanup of the former thermometer factory. Rather than assuming control
of the site cleanup in the Kiddie Kollege case, DEP, instead, on August
14, 2006, proposed an Administrative Consent Order (ACO) to govern DEP
oversight of Jim Sullivan Inc.'s private cleanup of the site. Under
an ACO, cleanup consultants employed by Jim Sullivan Inc. would conduct
the site sampling, remedial investigation, and craft cleanup plans for
the site. DEP would merely oversee - with no community involvement in
selecting the cleanup plan - the private cleanup of the Kiddie
Kollege site, which includes a highly contaminated building as well as
soil and groundwater contamination.
Nonetheless, Jim Sullivan Inc. has still refused to enter into a
consent order with DEP or post $500,000, the inadequate funding DEP
requested as financial assurance for cleanup. Despite Sullivan's
track record and this recalcitrance, the agency remains unwilling to
proceed without the agreement of the violator.
Under the state Spill Compensation and Control Act (Spill Act) DEP is
authorized to issue enforcement fines and take over public control of
the cleanup of the site. After cleanup, DEP is empowered to pursue
damages and obtain treble cost recovery (three times the DEP's
cleanup costs). But the DEP has been reluctant, even phobic, about
using these tougher tools.
The absence of financial reserves in the state's public cleanup
account has made the DEP unwilling to front cleanup costs, even if
those costs will be recovered three times over. Industry insiders know
about DEP's unwillingness or inability to proceed with
publicly-financed cleanups and hold out for negotiated deals that are
more in their, but not the public's interest.
"New Jersey only cleans up contaminated sites with the consent of the
polluter - how nuts is that?" asked New Jersey PEER Director Bill
Wolfe, who has been pressing for a complete overhaul of the DEP toxic
remediation program. "If the Kiddie Kollge scandal cannot produce
meaningful reform, then heaven help us because we apparently cannot
help ourselves."
Governor Jon Corzine has rebuffed PEER's call for a systematic
independent transparent review of the DEP cleanup program and has
instead proposed tighter day-care licensure standards.
"The Governor apparently either does not understand or does not want
to understand the scope of the problem," Wolfe added. "Addressing
this problem through day-care standards is like proposing to end a
string of taxi-cab robberies by tightening livery licenses."
http://www.peer.org/docs/nj/06_30_8_initial_1995_cleanup_order.pdf
http://www.peer.org/docs/nj/06_30_8_voluntary_06_negotiation.pdf
http://www.peer.org/docs/nj/06_30_8_telephone_log.pdf
http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=728
CALL FOR INSPECTOR GENERAL TO HEAD MERCURY DAY-CARE PROBE - Severe
Toxic Problems Acknowledged in 2002 Internal "Vulnerability
Assessment"
Trenton - With the sudden resignation of the state Attorney General,
the investigation into what went wrong at the mercury-laden "Kiddie
Kollege" day-care site should be taken over by Inspector General Mary
Jane Cooper, according to a letter sent today to Governor Jon Corzine
by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The group
also released an internal "vulnerability assessment" prepared in
2002 showing that top agency officials had been aware of program
deficiencies for years.
"These problems have been falling through the cracks for too long,"
stated New Jersey PEER Director Bill Wolfe, arguing that the abrupt
departure of Attorney General Zulima Farber may set adrift the nascent
inquiry into how a day-care center came to be housed in an abandoned
thermometer factory. "If we do not want to see this type of debacle
recur, it is crucial that the underlying policy, regulatory, and
program weaknesses be identified - and that is a job for the
Inspector General."
PEER points to the job that the Inspector General performed last year
at the request of then-Acting Governor Richard Codey to get to the
bottom of the scandal which rocked the state's $8.6 billion School
Construction Corporation (SCC) program. The resultant report detailed
systematic mismanagement and led to a series of management and policy
reforms at the troubled SCC.
Similarly, the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) seems
to be staggering from scandal to scandal. Today's scandals have roots
in long-festering problems, as indicated by a confidential internal DEP
"Vulnerability Assessment" review of the troubled site cleanup
program conducted by former DEP Commissioner Bradley Campbell in
February 2002. This candid inside look shows a long-standing awareness
of serious flaws, including -
Virtually non-existent enforcement of cleanup requirements at more than
10,000 sites. More than 5,0000 of those sites were enrolled in the
failed "Voluntary Cleanup Program" in which un-enforced voluntary
agreements led to incomplete cleanups, delays, and poor performance
that completely bypassed any local or community involvement;
In excess of 6,000 known groundwater contamination cases. More than 90%
of these tainted groundwater sites are not being actively cleaned up
but instead sit un-reclaimed in a status euphemistically titled
"passive remediation;" and
DEP intentionally kept secret the "risk rankings" for all the toxic
sites, on the questionable grounds that information about abandoned
sites was "enforcement sensitive." This action kept the public and
local officials in the dark about the severity of toxic problems in
their neighborhoods.
"If ever a program needed a thorough, top-to-bottom performance
review from an Inspector General, it is the DEP toxic site remediation
program," Wolfe added, noting that any such review need not interfere
with any criminal investigations that the Attorney General's office
may choose to conduct. "What our communities desperately need is a
set of reform recommendations to the Governor that will cure the
pervasive failures revealed by the Kiddie Kollege outrage."
http://www.peer.org/docs/nj/06_17_8_corzine_ig_request.pdf
http://www.peer.org/docs/nj/06_17_8_dep_vulnerable_srp.pdf
http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=722
MERCURY-LADEN DAY-CARE CENTER IN NEW JERSEY IS NO ANOMALY - Lax State
Brownfield Laws Make Tragedy an "Accident Waiting to Happen"
Washington, DC - The discovery of toxic mercury vapors in a day-care
center built on the site of a former thermometer factory last week is
just the latest in a series of toxic scandals to rock New Jersey. A
weak state law and political pressure to quickly re-develop old toxic
sites, called brownfields, make such events "an accident waiting to
happen," according to Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility (PEER).
More than 30 children, ranging in ages from 8 months to 3 years, were
exposed to toxic mercury vapors at the Kiddie Kollege day-care center
in Franklinville, New Jersey. The state Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) and the Department of Health issued a joint closure
order for the center on July 28th following indoor air sampling which
detected mercury vapors.
The reason that the state conducted the air sampling is not clear.
Contrary to earlier public statements by DEP, the sampling was not
"random" and must have been prompted by a complaint or a file
review at DEP indicating that this site had slipped through
bureaucratic cracks. The day-care center is housed in an abandoned
thermometer manufacturing plant operated by the now-bankrupt Accutherm
Corp.
The mercury-tainted day-care center is only the latest in a series of
recent embarrassing state pollution breakdowns. This spring, PEER
exposed a scheme by the state to purchase land and build a high school
on a highly contaminated former Manhattan Project site in Union City
with DEP approval. The former uranium processing facility is one of as
many as 200 contaminated sites that DEP had expedited for school
construction. In prior months, there have been several other toxic
scandals.
"What is going on in New Jersey is both unbelievable and to be
expected from its deliberately anemic toxic cleanup laws," stated New
Jersey PEER Director Bill Wolfe, a former DEP analyst. "There are
likely hundreds more ticking toxic time bombs out there that have been
re-developed with DEP's blessings."
The Kiddie Kollege day-care site was under a 1995 DEP cleanup order.
Rather than enforcing state cleanup requirements, DEP referred the site
to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which completed its review
in 1996. In drinking water and groundwater sampling done between 1999
and 2002, DEP found extensive mercury groundwater contamination at over
18 wells in Franklin Township (location of the Accutherm facility) with
unknown sources.
Ultimately, the site apparently was taken off the DEP's "Known
Contaminated Sites List" which requires that DEP issue a "No
Further Action" letter which certifies complete cleanup of a site.
DEP is refusing to release records concerning the site, citing an
ongoing investigation by the state Attorney General.
"It is vital that any investigation look beyond the circumstances
leading up to the closure of the Kiddie Kollege day-care center,"
Wolfe added, arguing that the entire state toxic cleanup program needs
a serious overhaul. ""If this case does not fuel meaningful
reforms, I do not know what will."
http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=700
NEW JERSEY DEP WEAKENING TOXIC STANDARDS DESPITE SCANDALS -
Legislature Expands DEP Toxic Probe and Ponders Reform Bills
Washington, DC - In the face of a string of highly-publicized
breakdowns in cleanups of toxic sites, the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection is moving to water down groundwater cleanup
standards, reduce oversight of private industry cleanup consultants,
and limit enforcement, according to documents released today by Public
Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The thrust of the
changes in groundwater standards would allow the state to declare that
polluted sites do not have to be cleaned up, in many cases by loosening
the applicable cleanup standards ten-fold for toxic chemicals such as
chromium, vinyl chloride and petroleum.
"Somebody needs to tell the DEP that it is in a hole and should stop
digging," stated New Jersey PEER Director Bill Wolfe, a former
analyst for the state Department of Environmental Protection. "These
toxic fiascoes were no accidents and will certainly recur unless the
Legislature gets serious about restructuring cleanup laws and
engineering a major attitude adjustment at DEP."
Today, the Assembly Judiciary Committee begins a second round of
hearings on the causes of the hazardous waste scandals and the need for
statutory and policy changes, following an opening round of hearings
two weeks ago.
Significantly, DEP has a number of initiatives quietly underway that
appear to roll back environmental protections and increase industry
influence, under the rubric of "reform," including-
Relaxing groundwater cleanup standards so that tainted groundwater
would be left permanently polluted ("long-term management" is the
DEP euphemism). The groundwater standards would be diluted by a factor
of ten in cases where direct contamination of drinking water or surface
waters is deemed low;
Establishing polluter "enforcement grace periods" in hazardous
waste management and cleanup programs during which DEP will forego
enforcement of "minor" violations; and
Reducing oversight of industry cleanup consultants under the "Cleanup
star program", where private consultants are allowed to investigate
and cleanup properties with limited oversight.
Notwithstanding charges of becoming too close to regulated industry,
conflicts of interest, and revolving door practices where former DEP
Assistant Commissioners have moved to the cleanup industry, the state
and industry are co-sponsoring boat tours and other promotional junkets
to redevelop contaminated sites.
"DEP appears to be confused about the difference between cleaning up
and covering up problems," Wolfe added. "All of the changes that
DEP is contemplating make it easier for polluters responsible for
contamination to avoid cleanup responsibilities-precisely the
opposite direction the State of New Jersey should be heading."
[see more there]
http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/000807.php
State admits mercury mix-up
FRANKLIN, N.J. -- The state Department of Environmental Protection late
last year removed 1,800 properties from a list of contaminated sites
statewide, among them a former thermometer factory that was used as a
day-care center here.
Kiddie Kollege was on a list of cases the agency considered dormant
because they had not been assigned to a specific caseworker, a
department official acknowledged Thursday. In department parlance, the
properties on the list are known as "awaiting assignment."
"This site should not have been in that category," said Len Romino,
director of the department's Division of Remediation Support.
Kiddie Kollege's operator voluntarily shut down the center July 28
after testing found mercury levels more than 25 times the acceptable
limits inside the building.
Meanwhile, some anxious parents on Thursday night learned the results
of mercury tests on youngsters who attended Kiddie Kollege, said
Gretchen Michael, a state Department of Health and Senior Services
spokeswoman.
Michael would not discuss the test results, however, noting not all
parents had been informed.
Kiddie Kollege opened in January 2004 on the former site of Accutherm
Inc. at Delsea Drive and Station Avenue. Officials at all levels of
government were aware of the site's history of contamination for more
than a decade, according to DEP information released earlier this week.
Removing the sites from the list prevented the public -- including
parents who brought their children to Kiddie Kollege -- from
researching a property's environmental history, a former DEP senior
staff member said.
A list of the roughly 15,000 known contaminated properties in New
Jersey is available through a database on the DEP's Web site.
"The whole purpose of the list is to provide information to the public
about where the hazards are," said Bill Wolfe, the former staffer who
is now director of New Jersey Public Employees for Environmental
Responsibility. "Anybody that's purchasing property wants to know if
they're (buying) next door to a toxic waste site. That's just common
sense."
Under DEP regulations, a property cannot be taken off a list of
contaminated sites until the agency issues a "No Further Action" letter
proving the site was cleaned up and has no deed restrictions. No such
letters were issued for properties removed from the list, Romino said.
Many of the 1,800 sites awaiting assignment did not belong on the list
because the agency did not believe they were contaminated, Romino said.
A large number were residential homes, he said.
After removing the sites from the list roughly eight months ago, the
DEP began individual reviews of each case file. That's how the agency
discovered Kiddie Kollege was operating on a contaminated site, Romino
said.
Roughly 1,600 cases have been looked over so far, he said.
Asked if it would have made more sense to review the files before
removing properties, Romino said, "I guess that argument could be
made."
He could not say who ordered the sites removed from the list.
Bradley M. Campbell, who was DEP commissioner at the time, did not
respond to a message left on his cell phone or an e-mail Thursday.
The state Attorney General's Office is conducting a criminal
investigation to determine how a day-care center was allowed to operate
on a contaminated site.
During a tense meeting with DEP officials Wednesday, some parents broke
down, said local resident Kate Phillips, whose two children attended
Kiddie Kollege and have exhibited symptoms of mercury poisoning.
"Half of us started crying," she said.
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=Kiddie+Kollege+mercury&btn...
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/16340219.htm
State agency sues to enter contaminated day-care site
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has filed suit
against the owner of Kiddie Kollege, a mercury-tainted day-care center,
for immediate access to the property.
The state says in its filing in Superior Court, Gloucester County, that
it has been prevented by owner Jim Sullivan Inc. from getting onto the
Delsea Drive, Franklin Township, site.
Environmental officials want to study the contamination by drilling,
digging and excavating, with the ultimate goal of cleaning up the site.
Kiddie Kollege is on a defunct thermometer factory. It was shuttered in
the summer when mercury was detected on the site.
Nearly 100 children who attended the day care during the two years it
was open were exposed to the type of dangerous mercury vapors that can
affect brain and kidney function. State health department officials say
the children should not suffer serious long-term health effects, but
parents have not been as confident.
A state grand jury is investigating whether any laws were broken.
Also named as defendants in the state's lawsuit, filed Dec. 22, are the
Navillus Group, former bankrupt owner Accutherm Inc., its principal,
Philip Giuliano, and Franklin Township.
Representatives for Jim Sullivan Inc. could not be reached yesterday
for comment. However, the company previously said it thought, based on
a 1996 DEP document, that the building had been cleaned up before it
purchased it in 2001.
Jim Sullivan Inc. filed suit in October against those previous owners,
saying they had ignored state orders to remediate the site, and that
the government failed to notify it that contamination still existed.
http://www.nj.com/news/gloucester/local/index.ssf?/base/news-5/116737...
Group: Kiddie Kollege bill' not ready
Friday, December 29, 2006
By Pete McCarthy pmccar...@xxxxxxxxxxxx
An environmental watchdog group has called on Gov. Jon Corzine to
temporarily veto the "Kiddie Kollege bill" to get rid of what it calls
glaring loopholes.
"While we support the intent of this legislation, the current version
of the bill is seriously flawed and will not achieve its stated
objectives," wrote Bill Wolfe, director of New Jersey Public Employees
for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).
The legislation passed by the Legislature and awaiting consideration by
Corzine was designed to prevent another incident like what happened in
Franklin Township when Kiddie Kollege day care was allowed to operate
on the site of a former thermometer manufacturing facility. Dozens of
youngsters were then exposed to mercury before it was shut down in
July.
A key component of the original proposal, which called for inclusion of
residential properties in the review process, has been removed,
according to Wolfe.
Other wording of the legislation needs to be strengthened in order to
keep day care facilities safe, he said.
"It's a good step in the direction and may prevent future Kiddie
Kolleges, but it's not going to deal with the entire scope of the
problem," Wolfe said.
Wolfe said Corzine should use his "conditional veto" powers to make the
changes before it becomes law.
"This bill really isn't solving the problem that Kiddie Kollege
exposed," Wolfe said. "They did the littlest they could have done to
create the appearance they were solving the problem. The governor can
fix that."
Corzine spokesman Anthony Coley said that the governor is out of town
and had not yet read the organization's letter.
"You've got us on record saying we support (the legislation)," Coley
said.
If and when Corzine does sign the bill, it would not be until January
and he would do so in Gloucester County, officials said.
2006: Hot spots had many just sick with worry
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Dozens of parents first learned in late July that their children were
exposed to toxic levels of mercury while attending Kiddie Kollege day
care in Franklin Township over the past two years.
The day care, built on the site of a former thermometer manufacturing
plant, had slipped through the cracks at the local, state and federal
levels. Officials allowed the transformation to take place even though
former owners had failed to clean the known contamination.
Factor that in with the pile of radioactive material left at
Shieldalloy in Newfield, and residents of the county were given
advanced lessons in environmental and health issues.
Sidney Katz, a professor of chemistry at Rutgers University in Camden,
said that greater than the cleanup of these spots is the impact they
will have on the people.
Rehabilitating the sites alone is not going to be done in weeks or
months, it's going to take years, Katz said.
But, "the personal impact is much more serious than the scientific
impact," he said. "The people will have lifelong concerns."
Still unknown in both instances is what action will be taken to clean
these sites. The state Department of Environmental Protection has taken
the owner of the Franklin Township property to court so it can get
inside and assess the damage. Shieldalloy has gone through several
federal hearings, including one which most recently included testimony
from U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, who spoke against keeping the pile in
Newfield.
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061228/...
State sues Kiddie Kollege
Thursday, December 28, 2006
The state Department of Environmental Protection is taking the owners
of Kiddie Kollege in Franklin to court to gain access to the
mercury-contaminated building that housed a day-care center for more
than two years.
The DEP filed a lawsuit in Superior Court, seeking immediate and
ongoing access to the Delsea Drive building to begin environmental
testing and cleanup.
A judge is expected to rule on the complaint Tuesday.
According to the lawsuit, current owner Jim Sullivan Inc. refused to
allow the DEP onto the property since the agency issued a directive in
August ordering Sullivan and former owner Accutherm Inc. to pay
$500,000 for testing and cleanup of the site.
Previous testing in July found abnormally high levels of mercury inside
the building, which once operated as a thermometer factory.
The day-care center's owners voluntarily ceased operations July 28.
Subsequent testing found elevated mercury levels in at least 20
children who attended Kiddie Kollege. Some parents said they believe
their children were sickened by attending the day-care center.
In its own lawsuit filed in October, Jim Sullivan Inc. contends its
2001 purchase of the building is void because the previous owners did
not disclose the building was contaminated.
Jim Sullivan III, a principal in the company and a local real estate
agent, was out of town Wednesday, according to his secretary. He could
not be reached for comment.
Sullivan's attorney, Richard Hluchan, said Wednesday he had not yet
seen the DEP's complaint and could not comment.
"Regardless of who owns the property, plaintiff DEP now needs immediate
access to the property to perform the proposed remedial activities,"
the agency's complaint said.
After Accutherm went bankrupt in 1994, the DEP ordered the company to
clean up the property but it never complied.
In its complaint, the DEP said it wants to test septic systems and
wells on the property, conduct soil sampling and perform wipe-sampling
inside the building.
A criminal investigation by the state Attorney General's Office into
how the building was allowed to operate as a day-care center is
ongoing.
The families of several children who attended the center have filed
lawsuits, and legislation that would prevent day-care centers or
schools from operating on known contaminated sites awaits the
governor's signature.
State seeks access to Kiddie Kollege
Thursday, December 28, 2006
WOODBURY The state has asked a judge to give it access to Kiddie
Kollege in Franklin Township to begin cleanup efforts on the
mercury-contaminated former day care facility.
In a lawsuit filed in Superior Court here, the state Attorney General's
Office, on behalf of the Department of Environmental Protection, seeks
continuous access to the Delsea Drive property something which has been
denied by owner Jim Sullivan Inc.
"At this point the department is going to continue to pursue access in
order to complete the investigation and clean up of this site," DEP
Commissioner Lisa Jackson told the Times. "It's been long enough."
In August, the DEP ordered Jim Sullivan Inc. pay $500,000 toward
cleanup efforts. Jim Sullivan III, a principle in the group, has denied
payment and access claiming the responsibility should be on the former
owners because they failed to reveal the contamination.
"Regardless of who owns the property, plaintiff DEP now needs immediate
access to the property to perform the proposed remedial activities,"
the complaint states.
After Accutherm, which operated the thermometer facility for 10 years,
went bankrupt, the DEP ordered a cleanup. That never occurred.
These past two years it was a day care.
Testing of the property found elevated levels of mercury contamination.
The day-care operator voluntarily shut down operations on July 28.
Youngsters who were attending the day care have been tested for mercury
poisoning. Twenty came back with high levels in their systems.
An investigation has been launched into the matter by the state
Attorney General's Office to determine how the day care was granted
permission to operate on a known contaminated site.
Multiple lawsuits have been filed by the families of children who
attended Kiddie Kollege. Legislation awaiting signature from the
governor would prevent day-care centers and other schools from being
built on contaminated land.
Sullivan's attorney could not be reached for comment late Wednesday.
Corzine asked not to sign Kiddie Kollege pollution bill
Press of Atlantic City, NJ - Dec 28, 2006
.... currently on the governor's desk came in the wake of the Kiddie
Kollege debacle, where ... center from being built on a site with a
history of mercury contamination ...
DEP sues over polluted day care center
Asbury Park Press, NJ - Dec 29, 2006
.... environmental officials access to the site after the Kiddie Kollege
day-care center closed in August following tests showing elevated
levels of mercury in at ...
Corzine Urged to Close Loopholes in Toxic Day-Care Bill
YubaNet, CA - Dec 27, 2006
.... that resulted in more than 60 toddlers being exposed to toxic
mercury in a ... Otherwise, months from now, when another Kiddie
Kollege-type tragedy erupts, as it ...
State sues for access to contaminated daycare center
Newsday, NY - Dec 28, 2006
.... the state shut down Kiddie Kollege in August. Tests showed 20 of
the 60 children enrolled at Franklin daycare tested positive for
elevated levels of mercury. ...
Grand jury studies Kiddie Kollege case
Cherry Hill Courier Post, NJ - Dec 3, 2006
.... The state Attorney General's Office has been looking into how
Kiddie Kollege was allowed to open in 2004 without remediating the
mercury. ...
--
Peter Bowditch
.
- Follow-Ups:
- Re: I thought this NG was about dentistry
- From: marika
- Re: I thought this NG was about dentistry
- From: Peter Bowditch
- Re: I thought this NG was about dentistry
- References:
- Re: I thought this NG was about dentistry
- From: Peter Bowditch
- Re: I thought this NG was about dentistry
- Prev by Date: Re: Not again!
- Next by Date: Re: Not again!
- Previous by thread: Re: I thought this NG was about dentistry
- Next by thread: Re: I thought this NG was about dentistry
- Index(es):
Loading
