Taking Mercury off the Table

The amazing recovery of the American bald eagle may soon be in peril in some places, according to a study released this month by the BioDiversity Research Institute in Gorham, Maine. According to the study, bald eagle chicks in the Catskills Park region of New York -- considered a mercury hot-spot -- are showing elevated blood mercury levels close to those associated with reproductive problems.

But what does that have to do with your dinner tonight? Well, give me a second...

In 1962, Rachel Carson's Silent Spring alerted us to the very real dangers of poisons in our environment and their link to reproductive problems in birds -- often the first living creatures to manifest toxicity. Our problem is no longer the dreaded DDT. Today, birds are getting sick because of mercury. Here is how it works:

The mercury that is causing problems for eagles in New York comes mainly from coal-fired power plants that currently provide about half of our country's electricity. Emissions from these plants release airborne mercury, which eventually settles in bodies of water and, with the help of bacteria, is transformed into the very toxic methyl mercury. At this point, it enters the food chain when it's consumed by worms and other small organisms and then eaten by small fish. Larger fish eat the small fish and you know the rest. And mercury is not just affecting creatures that eat fish. The BioDiversity Research Institute is studying the links between mercury soil contamination and declining songbird numbers in the same region. Clearly, birds are not the only creatures being impacted. We are too.

President-elect Obama plans to make some fantastic changes as he moves us away from 'dirty' energy, but the EPA estimates that only about half of the mercury currently polluting the U. S. comes from American sources. The rest blows over mostly from Asia.

In 2004, the Sierra Club reported that 47 states put mercury advisories into effect for at least some of their waters. Because of this, and, some would argue, despite it, the FDA and EPA have maintained their recommendation that women of childbearing age who may become pregnant, as well as small children and mothers who are breastfeeding, simply avoid eating shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish. The FDA and EPA say it is "safe" for pregnant women and children to eat 12 ounces of other types of fish, like canned tuna, each week.

Perhaps, like me, your trust in the EPA has, well, floundered over the past years. Is it really safe to eat that much fish each week? We know that no level of mercury is safe for children under six and that methyl mercury is a developmental toxin that causes brain damage and many other health problems. But fear not. You can still go out for sushi.

Begin to protect your family by consulting the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch site. They have put together a credit-card sized guide that lists best and worst seafood choices by region. You can also help raise awareness by giving these guides to family and friends and by asking for healthier, more sustainable seafood choices at your favorite markets and restaurants. Also, don't automatically trust that your local health food store is vetting your omegas for you. Check the Environmental Defense Fund's Website for their ranking on the best and worst fish-oil supplements.

Next, be an educated recycler! Send your old electronics, compact fluorescent light bulbs and mercury-containing thermometers to a recycling center or find out when your city has a special garbage collection day so that these items can be properly sent to their grave.

Avoid "silver" fillings. In 2008, the Journal of the American Medical Association reported findings from two clinical trials that showed that dental amalgam tooth fillings (containing 50 percent elemental mercury) did not adversely affect the study participants' brain development or memory in the five to seven years that the children were observed.

However, we know that amalgam fillings do break down over time -- sometimes, according to one British study, in as little as 52 to 68 months. Amalgams also release mercury vapor, which can adversely affect the central nervous system. Once removed, amalgam fillings are classified as hazardous materials and require special handling and disposal methods. Do you really want these in your mouth? Instead, ask for Bisphenol- free composite fillings.

Last, thimerosal, the organomercury compound used as a preservative in vaccines, tattoo inks, and some medicines, is still around. Concerns about the toxicity of thimerosal have forced drug companies to take steps to remove it by switching from multi-dose vaccine vials to single-dose vials that do not require a preservative. But the majority of influenza vaccines distributed in the U. S. currently contain thimerosal as a preservative. Be sure to ask before you pull up your sleeve.

Comments

[fluvaccinedamagedmom]

I cant understand why we cant own mercury thermometers as they are a danger to us but we can implant it into our mouths at the dentist and inject it into our bodies (thimerosal is still in most flu shots and tetanus shots) You dont need a PhD to know this is illogical.

[dehalvemaen]

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfAdvisory/details.cfm?mtg=668
see transcript of the FDA Hearing on Dental Amlagam Sept. 6th & 7th, 2006
DR. NG: Man Wai. "I know something about the New England amalgam trial, although I was not involved in it. But I think it has to do with the study design, and it was purposefully designed to enroll children who are older and without medical problems"
It is vitally important that full disclosure regarding the details of studies be shared before jumping to conclusions. There is evidence that the New England Children's Study is not without its shortcomings and criticism. As seen above this was brought out during the FDA public hearing on dental amalgam. To leave the reader with the impression that the AMA's position is the end-all understanding of the study on children does little to fully expose the potential problems of mercury from dental amalgam in young children.
The environmental exposure of mercury from dental waste is significant. Here the life-cycle is critical in understanding the threats posed from mercury in dental amalgam. Mercury gets into the waste stream from dental offices, as well from human excrements of those with dental amalgam, which exposes marine life, etc.
Given what is known about the toxic effects of mercury should it really be placed in our teeth?

[GeeBee]

Where is the scientific evidence for the statement that "We know that no level of mercury is safe for children under six"? A better way to state it is that we don't know how little mercury might damage small children, so it is prudent to try to eliminate their exposure.

[Hoelder]

I think we have reached the point where we eat ourselves into extinction. The ocean have been dumping grounds for all kinds of toxic waste and the air distributes our energy related trash. Still the social responsibility of companies producing crap has not been challenged in the US. We have been living way beyond our means. At least some countries have regulations like ROHS that limit the use of heavy metals in the production of electronic equipment. The US government still allows harmful chemical to enter our food chain: pesticides, mining operations and dioxin for example. The real costs for deal with waste is hardly part of the cost of the products. For instance spent fuel rods of nuclear power plants. So far they are stored with the power plant, because nobody wants a re manufacturing plant and safe storage facility, where you need scientists and guards for about 10,000 years. Take an average salary of $100,000 that makes $1,000,000,000 per person and material for re manufacturing cost of $10,000,000 per year with a staff of 50, that would make $150 Billion additional that needs to be paid on the commercial life time of the rods for a full storage facility. Extend this to food safety we have managed to roll over enormous costs on following generation. In my opinion we won't make it.

[barbarafit]

When I was nine years old, on the way to day camp, my thermos broke after my impish next door neighbour (we had a love/hate relationship) threw it on the floor of the bus. We examined the contents and since there was nothing really broken except for the silvery bits floating in my juice I drank my juice. Fortunately, a camp counsellor noticed that my tongue was sparkling. After hearing what had happened, the decision was made to take me to a hospital. There, the doctor told me he was going to have my stomach pumped because I had swallowed mercury. I accused him of being a torturer, a sadist etc. while he was shoving a tube down my throat. which he thought was funny. I asked him what would have happened had he not tortured me. He told me I probably would be dead in two weeks from liver damage. I have never forgotten this and now use digital thermometers because I'm afraid I might break the old kind and ingest mercury again.

[ThinkForYourself2]

Great article.

[thedentalmaven]

Good story up to the amalgam trashing. Most dentists prefer to use white filling materials (composite resins), however, silver fillings (amalgams) offer an inexpensive and durable alternative. Presenting "reasons" for individuals to avoid dental treatment is irrational and harmful. Anyone opting for such treatment should know that dental amalgam is the most thoroughly researched and tested of all filling materials in use today. No legitimate science backs up the hysterical phobia surrounding dental amalgams.

[wadenelson1]

So why is amalgam use banned in Europe? All their scientists are quacks???

It may be only a small % of the public is sensitive to mercury/amalgam fillings. We're ALL safer without them. Period.

[mbaty]

It doesn't require "legitimate science" to use your common sense. Mercury is poison; amalgams are 50% mercury; some of that metal will break down in your mouth; dentists can't even handle the fillings without special procedures designed to safeguard them from the mercury. Go ahead, get the shiny "perfectly safe" fillings if you want. I will avoid them no matter what the ADA says.

[ErikW65]

But you don't deny that once those amalgam fillings are removed for whatever reason, they must be treated as the hazardous waste that mercury is... that sounds like a prima fascie case against the amalgams unless the non-mercury variety are prohibitively expensive.

[SearchForTheTruth]

Just like a dentist to say all mercury is dangerous except that in your mouth. The ADA should stick with endorsing Crest and stay out of trying to trump the opinion of toxicologists.

[robin50]

A funny, or not so funny story. I love tuna in anyway it is prepared. A tuna salad sandwich on wheat was my favorite lunch when it had to eaten on the fly. I was eating tuna at least four or five times a week. Curbing to something I eat only on rare occassions was not that hard for me.

Now weaning my cats was a whole different story. I feed my kitties dry food. But every now and then I would give them a treat and split a small can of tuna between the two. Of course they quickly trained me and enlightened me to the fact they deserved a treat every morning. If I forgot they loudly and verbally reminded me. Finally I realized if it wasn't good for me, what was it doing to their little bodies. You would not believe the moaning and groining and howling I got for days when I cut them off cold turkey. What abuse they thought they were going through!