[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 648 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 648

 Expressing the need for enhanced public awareness of potential health 
                       affects posed by mercury.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 14, 2009

    Ms. Watson (for herself, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. Stark, Mr. 
 Grijalva, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California, Ms. Linda T. Sanchez of 
   California, Mr. Yarmuth, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Higgins, Mr. 
 Cuellar, Mr. Kucinich, Mrs. Napolitano, Ms. Edwards of Maryland, Mr. 
 Hinchey, Mr. Baca, Ms. Woolsey, Ms. Hirono, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Doggett, 
 Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Fudge, Ms. Eddie 
      Bernice Johnson of Texas, Ms. Clarke, Mr. Poe of Texas, Mr. 
  Westmoreland, Mrs. Biggert, and Mr. Kagen) submitted the following 
 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the need for enhanced public awareness of potential health 
                       affects posed by mercury.

Whereas consumers and parents should be aware of the risks of placing a product 
        containing a substantial amount of mercury in their bodies or the bodies 
        of their children;
Whereas elemental mercury and mercury compounds are known to be toxic and 
        hazardous to human health and to the environment;
Whereas mercury is third most toxic substance on the 2007 CERCLA Priority List 
        of Hazardous Substances, behind arsenic and lead;
Whereas dental amalgam, commonly referred to as a ``silver filling'', consists 
        of 42 to 58 percent mercury;
Whereas consumers may be deceived by the use of the term ``silver'' to describe 
        a dental amalgam, which contains substantially more mercury than silver;
Whereas 78 percent of people in the United States do not know that mercury is a 
        major component of an amalgam;
Whereas the mercury contained in a dental amalgam is continually emitted in the 
        form of mercury vapor, and the total amount of mercury released depends 
        upon the total number of fillings, their age, composition, and surface 
        area, the intra-oral presence of other metals, dietary and lifestyle 
        habits, and other chemical and metabolic conditions affecting the mouth;
Whereas when mercury vapors are inhaled, most of the mercury (about 80 percent) 
        enters the bloodstream directly through the lungs and then rapidly 
        deposits preferentially in the brain and kidneys as well as other parts 
        of the body;
Whereas according to the World Health Organization, the estimated average daily 
        intake and retention of mercury from a dental amalgam ranges from 3 to 
        17 micrograms per day, and is greater than all other sources combined;
Whereas the California Dental Association, by court order, requires postings of 
        warnings about mercury fillings in California Dental Offices as of March 
        9, 2003;
Whereas the warnings read ``NOTICE TO PATIENTS: PROPOSITION 65 WARNING: Dental 
        Amalgam, used in many dental fillings, causes exposure to mercury, a 
        chemical known to the State of California to cause birth defects or 
        other reproductive harm'';
Whereas studies show that a variety of commonly found human intestinal and oral 
        bacteria can methylate mercury and the mercury vapor from fillings 
        biotransforms into the highly neurotoxic and teratogenic methylmercury;
Whereas according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the 
        mercury from amalgam passes through the placenta of pregnant women and 
        mercury may accumulate in higher concentrations in the unborn baby than 
        in the mother;
Whereas absorbed mercury can also pass into breast milk of a lactating mother 
        and be ingested by the infant;
Whereas the National Academy of Sciences estimated that ``over 600,000 children 
        are born each year at risk for adverse neurodevelopmental effects due to 
        in utero exposure to methyl mercury'';
Whereas this report urged the need to understand the relative amount of mercury 
        attributable to a dental amalgam in the body and to Thimerosal in 
        vaccines;
Whereas mercury is a 50 percent component of Thimerosal, a preservative found in 
        vaccines, and is still used in trace amounts in influenza vaccines;
Whereas influenza vaccines are recommended to pregnant woman and children;
Whereas the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection 
        Agency (EPA) are advising women who may become pregnant, pregnant women, 
        nursing mothers, and young children to avoid some types of fish and eat 
        fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury;
Whereas 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the United States Territory of 
        American Samoa have issued 15,422 fish consumption advisories to their 
        residents due to mercury contamination as found on the Environmental 
        Protection Agency's Fish Advisory website;
Whereas the Food and Drug Administration has issued fish consumption advisories 
        due to levels of mercury in commercially-caught fish and, in January 
        2001, warned pregnant woman and young children not to eat certain marine 
        fish;
Whereas mercury toxicity is a retention toxicity (total body burden) that builds 
        up over years of exposure, and is therefore dependent on all sources of 
        mercury to which an individual may be exposed;
Whereas mercury enters the environment from sewage treatment plants, dental run-
        off, vapors from crematoriums, and industrial pollution;
Whereas mercury wastewater released from dental clinics has been shown to fail 
        the Environmental Protection Agency's toxicity characteristic leaching 
        procedure and, therefore, is regulated as hazardous waste;
Whereas research from the Naval Dental Research Institute indicates that, when 
        discharged to the environment, conditions may be right for waste dental 
        mercury to methylate, become bioavailable, and subsequently biomagnify 
        in fish as methyl mercury, the most toxic form of mercury;
Whereas a report issued on June 5, 2002, by the Mercury Policy Project, the 
        Sierra Club, Health Care Without Harm, Clean Water Action, and the 
        Toxics Action Center stated that, because of mercury fillings, dental 
        offices are now the leading source of mercury in the Nation's 
        wastewater;
Whereas mercury from a dental amalgam can enter the environment during any point 
        of the product's life-cycle;
Whereas this includes placement or removal of fillings, through bodily 
        excretions, when sewage sludge is incinerated, spread on crops, or 
        dumped in land fills, when vapor is released or land filled, when vapor 
        is released directly from the filling (which increases with brushing, 
        chewing, and consuming hot foods or salt), and during cremation;
Whereas currently there are no requirements for mercury capture before or during 
        cremation;
Whereas the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies reported human wastes 
        from individuals with dental amalgam fillings to be the most significant 
        source of domestic mercury entering publicly owned treatment works, 
        greater than 80 percent of the total contributing factors;
Whereas mercury use by the dental industry increased from 2 percent in 1980 to 
        22 percent of the total use of mercury in the United States in 2001, 
        because of drastic declines in mercury use by other industries over that 
        period;
Whereas amalgam restorations were estimated to be 55 percent of the total 
        mercury product reservoir in 2004 by the Environmental Protection 
        Agency, and will therefore be a source of environmental contamination 
        into the future;
Whereas cremation is chosen in approximately 30 percent of all deaths, and this 
        percentage is expected to increase every year;
Whereas according to industrial hygiene surveys, 6 to 16 percent of dental 
        offices exceed the exposure levels for air mercury permitted by 
        Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards;
Whereas the National Institutes of Health has concluded that when inorganic 
        mercury is located in brain tissue, researchers are unable to 
        demonstrate an appreciable half-life, or decrease, of mercury over time 
        (more than 120 days);
Whereas the implications of this conclusion are that dental amalgam exposure 
        will permanently increase mercury body burden;
Whereas the use of mercury in any product being put into the body is opposed by 
        many health groups, such as the American Public Health Association, the 
        California Medical Association, and Health Care Without Harm; and
Whereas as the result of Moms Against Mercury v. von Eschenbach, the court ruled 
        that the FDA must classify mercury amalgam as a device by July 28, 2009: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives encourages the 
dissemination of information regarding mercury, its uses, and its 
effects to allow consumers to make informed decisions.
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