Amalgam Risk Assessments 2010

On December 14 and 15, 2010, the FDA convened a scientific panel to re-examine the issue of mercury exposure from amalgam dental fillings. Two private foundations, assisted by IAOMT, commissioned G. Mark Richardson, PhD, of SNC Lavallin, Ottawa, Canada, formerly of Health Canada, to provide the scientific panel and FDA regulators with a formal risk assessment using the latest information from the scientific literature.  Previously published risk assessments dated from the 1990’s.  Meanwhile, newer studies have uncovered more toxicity produced by lower levels of mercury exposure, and various government agencies have been reducing their allowed exposure levels.

The final work is presented here in two parts.

Part 1 is titled UPDATING EXPOSURE, REEXAMINING REFERENCE EXPOSURE LEVELS, AND CRITICALLY EVALUATING RECENT STUDIES.  “…it was determined that some 67.2 million Americans would exceed the Hg dose associated with the REL of 0.3 ug/m3 established by the US Environmental Protection Agency in 1995, whereas 122.3 million Americans would exceed the dose associated with the REL of 0.03 ug/m3 established by the California Environmental Protection Agency in 2008.”

Part 2 is titled CUMULATIVE RISK ASSESSMENT AND JOINT TOXICITY: MERCURY VAPOR, METHYL MERCURY AND LEAD.  “A large proportion – 1/3rd – of the US population is concurrently exposed to Hg0, methyl Hg and Pb on a daily basis. The weight of available evidence suggests that risks posed by concurrent exposure to combinations of these 3 substances should be assessed as additive.”

View Article:

• Amalgam Risk Assessment Part 1
• Amalgam Risk Assessment Part 2

Mark Richardson PhD explains the back story to the amalgam risk assessment he performed in consultation with the FDA.