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A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO CONDUCT A STUDY ON THE

DANGERS OF MERCURY AMALGAM AND DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS FOR

PUBLIC INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY.

WHEREAS, mercury is a potent neurotoxin that can affect

the brain, spinal cord, kidneys and liver; and

WHEREAS, metallic mercury is used to produce chlorine

gas and caustic soda and is also used in thermometers, dental

fillings and batteries; and

WHEREAS, the mercury in a dental amalgam continually

emits mercury vapors; and

WHEREAS, the federal environmental protection agency

considers removed amalgam filling and extracted teeth

containing amalgam filling to be hazardous waste; and

WHEREAS, mercury toxicity is a retention toxicity that

builds up over years of exposure; and

WHEREAS, according to certain scientific studies and the

agency for toxic substances and disease registry of the public

health service of the federal department of health and human

services, children and pregnant women are at particular risk

for exposure to mercury contained in dental amalgam; and

WHEREAS, according to the federal centers for disease

control and prevention, up to one in ten pregnant women in the

United States already carry enough mercury in their bodies to

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pose a threat of neurological damage to the fetus; and

WHEREAS, the use of mercury put into the body in any

form is opposed by many health groups, such as the American

public health association, the California medical association

and the health care without harm organization; and

WHEREAS, more than one thousand four hundred health care

facilities in the United States have pledged to become mercury

free; and

WHEREAS, once mercury enters water it can change to

methylmercury, and methylmercury pollution is endangering

communities by contaminating fish, an important food source;

and

WHEREAS, state laws in Maine and California now require

dentists to distribute information on the potential hazards of

the use of mercury in any dental procedure;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF

REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the department

of health be requested to conduct a study on the dangers of

mercury amalgam and to develop recommendations for public

informational materials and environmental safety; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the informational materials

address the advantages and disadvantages to oral health,

overall health and the environment of using mercury or mercury

amalgam in dental procedures; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the recommendations for

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environmental safety consider appropriate and acceptable

measures for the disposal of dental waste; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department of health use

the research of national and international experts on mercury

toxicity and the experience of other states in regulating

mercury use and disposal in conducting the study; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the findings and

recommendations of the study be presented to the legislative

health and human services committee at its October 2006

meeting; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be

transmitted to the secretary of health.