WHO urged to remove mercury from fillings

GENEVA, Switzerland, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- More than 70 non-governmental organizations from around the world are urging the World Health Organization to phase out the use of mercury in dental fillings.

The recommendations were included in a letter that was presented to WHO officials Monday in Geneva during a meeting on the future use of dental fillings.

"We strongly urge the WHO to foster the innovative use of mercury-free alternatives in parallel with its commendable goal of bringing affordable dental healthcare to the global population," said Michael Bender of the U.S.-based Mercury Policy Project. "This is entirely consistent with the vast number of similar initiatives going on worldwide to phase out the use of mercury in products and processes."

The organizations issuing the recommendation say mercury from dental use can drift long distances through the atmosphere and contamination from the dangerous neurotoxin poses a major worldwide threat to both human health and the environment.

"It is generally accepted that effective global control of these releases would be not only impossible, but also inordinately expensive," said Elena Lymberidi, coordinator of the European Environmental Bureau's Zero Mercury Campaign; "Therefore, over time, the more cost effective solution is that mercury-free fillings become the rule and not the exception to dental treatment."