Aberer W, Gerstner G, Pehamberger H: Ammoniated mercury ointment: outdated but still in use. Contact Dermatitis. 1990 Sep; 23(3): 168-71 ISSN: 0105-1873.
On a source of exposure for mercury often not thought about.

Abraham J E, Svare C W, Frank C W: The Effect of Dental Amalgam Restorations on Blood Mercury Levels. J Dent Res 63(1):71-73 (1984)

Anderson M H, McCoy R B: Dental amalgam. The state of the art and science. Dent Clin North Am 37(3):419-431 (1993)

Bajaj J S, Misra A, et al.: Environmental release of chemicals and reproductive ecology. Environ Health Perspect 101 Suppl 2: 125-30, 1993.
A subject attracting increasing interest.

Barregård L: Biological monitoring of exposure to mercury vapor. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1993; 19 Suppl 1: 45-9.
States: "Monitoring U-Hg is useful for assessing the risk of adverse effects and the need for preventive measures. At average U-Hg levels of about 50 micrograms.g creatinine-1 (28 nmol.mmol creatinine-1) the prevalence of symptoms and slight objective changes in the central nervous system and the excretion of certain urinary proteins are increased."

Batista J, Schuhmacher M, et al.: Mercury in Hair for a Child Population from Tarragona Province, Spain. Sci Tot Envir, DEC 20 1996; 193 (2): 143-148. ISSN: 0048-9697.

Boyd N D, Benediktsson H, et al.: Mercury from dental "silver" tooth fillings impairs sheep kidney function. Am J Physiol 261: R1010-R1014 (1991).
This article is about what happens if you place a lot of amalgam in the teeth of heavily chewing animals. The result shows kidney damage on all animals. Such an experiment would be considered unethical if performed on humans. A couple of years later an article was published in the same journal as a polemic. Amalgam was removed from 10 healthy people, and there were no signs of kidney damage. However, in the full article you can read about one of the healthy persons on trial that he/she got ill from the removal procedure. This is interesting, because the removal was carried out with the presumption that amalgam fillings pose no risk to health. The clinical knowledge from professionals working with the opposite presumption (that dental amalgam is an health hazard) tells the importance of protective measures when removing amalgam to avoid side effects from the extra exposure from mercury by the work done. In almost any other instance this clinical ignorance would have been considered a serious malpractice. Not so in the case of amalgam.

Bruhn C G, Rodriguez A A, et al.: Determination of total mercury in scalp hair of pregnant and nursing women resident in fishing villages in the Eighth Region of Chile. Trace Elem Electrolytes Health Dis 8(2):79-86 (1994). ISSN 0931-2838.

Brune D, Nordberg G F, et al.: A review of normal concentrations of mercury in human blood. Sci total Environ 100:235-282 (1991).

Chan H M, Berti P R, et al.: Evaluation of the population distribution of dietary contaminant exposure in an Arctic population using Monte Carlo statistics. Environ Health Perspect 1997 Mar 105:3 316-21

Danersund A, Lindvall A, Lindh U: Metal Profiles in 25 Patients with Long-Term Illness. Presented at Eurotox 93 Congress

Davidson P W, Myers G J, et al.: Longitudinal neurodevelopmental study of Seychellois children following in utero exposure to methylmercury from maternal fish ingestion: outcomes at 19 and 29 months. Neurotoxicology. 1995 Winter; 16(4): 677-88 ISSN: 0161-813X.

Dencker L, Danielsson B, Fredriksson A: Effects of Pre-and Postnatal Exposure to Metallic Mercury on the development of Behaviour. Project Catalogue 1993/1994. The Swedish Medical Council, 1994. ISBN 91-85546-90-9. States: "The results show that, at the doses used, methyl mercury alone did not affect the animals, while metallic mercury caused a hyperactive behaviour and a slower learning..."

Drasch G, Müller R K, et al.: [Comparison of the body burden of the population of Leipzig and Munich with the heavy metals cadmium, lead and mercury--a study of human organ samples.] cadmium, lead and mercury--a study of human organ samples.] Gesundheitswesen 56(5):263-267 (1994)

[Editorial]: This is only a test... J Calif Dent Assoc 12:37 (1984) If someone could provide a reprint of this editorial it would be much appreciated. Click on the envelope at the foot of this page to read the postal address!

Evans H L, Laties V G, Weiss B: Behavorial effects of mercury and methylmercury. Fed Proc 34:1858-1867 (1975).

Fitzgerald W F, Clarkson T W: Mercury and monomethylmercury: present and future concerns. Environ Health Perspect 96:159-166 (1991).

Gerhard I, Waldbrenner P, et al: (Diagnosis of heavy metal loading by the oral DMPS and chewing gum tests). Klinisches Labor 38:404-411 (1992).

Gerhardsson L, Oskarsson A, Skerfving S: Acid precipitation--effects on trace elements and human health. Sci Total Environ. 1994 Aug 22; 153(3): 237-45

Gerstenberger S L, Tavris D R, et al.: Concentrations of blood and hair mercury and serum PCBs in an Ojibwa population that consumes Great Lakes region fish. J Toxicol Clin Toxicol 1997 35:4 377-86

Grandjean P, Jørgensen P J, Weihe P: Human Milk as a Source of Methylmercury Exposure in Infants. Environmental Health Perspectives 102(1):74-77 (1994). ISSN 0091-6765.

Herrmann M, Schweinsberg F: [Biomonitoring for the evaluation of a mercury burden from amalgam fillings. Mercury determination in urine before and after oral doses of 2,3-dimercapto-1-propanesulfonic acid (DMPS) and in hair]. Zentralbl Hyg Umweltmed 194(3):271-291 (1993).

Hylander L D, Silva E C, et al.: Mercury levels in Alto Pantanal: a screening study. Ambio. 1994. 23(8), pp 478-484.

Josbi A, Douglass C W, et al.: Nail mercury levels in dentists and non-dental health professionals. J Dent Res 73 IADR ABSTRACT 603 (1994).

Kosatsky T, Foran P: Do historic studies of fish consumers support the widely accepted LOEL for methylmercury in adults. Neurotoxicology. Spr 1996; 17 (1) : 177-186. ISSN: 0161-813X.
States: "We conclude that the oft cited LOEL for (methyl)mercury of 200 ppb in blood is not supported by these studies."

Landrigan P J, Graham D G, Thomas R D: Environmental neurotoxic illness - research for prevention. Environmental Health Perspectives. 102(Suppl 2):117-120, 1994 Jun. ISSN 0091-6765

Landrigan P J, Graham D G, Thomas R D: Strategies for the prevention of environmental neurotoxic illness. Environ Res. 1993 Apr; 61(1): 157-63 ISSN: 0013-9351

Langworth S, Elinder C G, et al.: Biological monitoring of environmental and occupational exposure to mercury. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 63(3):161-167 (1991).
States: "The results strongly suggest that fish is an important source of methylmercury exposure and that amalgam fillings are probably the most important source of inorganic mercury exposure among occupationally unexposed individuals."

Lebel J, Mergler D, et al.: Evidence of early nervous system dysfunction in Amazonian populations exposed to low levels of methylmercury. Neurotoxicology . Spr 1996; 17 (1) : 157-167. ISSN: 0161-813X.

Lipfert F W, Moskowitz P D, et al.: Probabilistic assessment of health risks of methylmercury from burning coal. Neurotoxicology . Spr 1996; 17 (1) : 197-211. ISSN: 0161-813X.

Malm O, Pfeiffer W C, et al.: Mercury Pollution Due to Gold Mining in the Madeira River Basin, Brazil. AMBIO 19(1):11-15 (1990).

[MFR-panel (Swedish Medical Research Council)]: Potential Biological Consequences of Mercury Released from Dental Amalgam. A State of the Art Document. A State of the Art Conference in Stockholm 9-10 April 1992.

Molin M, Bergman B, et al.: Mercury, selenium, and glutathione peroxidase before and after amalgam removal in man. Acta Odontol Scand. 1990 Jun; 48(3): 189-202 ISSN: 0001-6357
States: "Amalgam fillings considerably contributed to the plasma and urinary mercury levels."

Myers G J, Davidson P W, et al.: Neurodevelopmental outcomes of Seychellois children sixty-six months after in utero exposure to methylmercury from a maternal fish diet: pilot study. Neurotoxicology. 1995 Winter; 16(4): 639-52 ISSN: 0161-813X.

Mykkänen H, Räsänen L, et al.: Dietary intakes of mercury, lead, cadmium and arsenic by Finnish children. Hum Nutr Appl Nutr 40(1):32-39 (1986).

Nakagawa R: Concentration of mercury in hair of diseased people in Japan. Chemosphere. 1995 Jan; 30(1): 135-40 ISSN: 0045-6535.
States: "The total mercury concentrations in the hair of ordinary diseased people (atopic dermatitis, asthma, dementia, cerebral infarct, osteoporosis, hypertension and diabetes) were from 2.08 ppm to 36.5 ppm. Those values were considerably higher than that of healthy people of the same age groups."

Ninomiya T, Ohmori H, et al.: Expansion of methylmercury poisoning outside of Minamata: an epidemiological study on chronic methylmercury poisoning outside of Minamata. Environ Res. 1995 Jul; 70(1): 47-50 ISSN: 0013-9351.

Oskarsson A, Lagerkvist B J, et al.: Mercury levels in the hair of pregnant women in a polluted area in Sweden. Sci Total Environ 151(1):29-35 (1994)

"abs abs/oskarsson95a": Exposure to toxic elements via breast milk. Analyst 120(3):765-770 (1995).
States: "Inorganic mercury exposure from amalgam was reflected in blood and milk mercury levels. Recent exposure to methylmercury from consumption of fish was reflected in mercury levels in the blood but not in milk."

Oskarsson A, Schutz A, et al.: Total and Inorganic Mercury in Breast Milk and Blood in Relation to Fish Consumption and Amalgam Fillings in Lactating Women. Archives of Environmental Health. May-Jun 1996; 51 (3) : 234-241. ISSN: 0003-9896.
States: "The results indicated that there was an efficient transfer of inorganic mercury from blood to milk and that, in this population, mercury from amalgam fillings was the main source of mercury in milk. Exposure of the infant to mercury from breast milk was calculated to range up to 0.3 mu g/kg d, of which approximately one half was inorganic mercury. This exposure, however, corresponds to approximately one half the tolerable daily intake for adults recommended by the World Health Organization. We concluded that efforts should be made to decrease mercury burden in fertile women."

Ott K H R, Loh F, et al.: (Mercury burden due to amalgam fillings.) Dtsch Zahnarztl Z 39:199-205 (1984)

Paccagnella B, Riolfatti M: (Total mercury levels in human milk from Italian mothers having not been particularly exposed to methyl-mercury). Ann Ig 1(3-4):661-71 (1989).

Paulson G W: Environmental effects on the central nervous system. Environ Health Perspect 20: 75-96, 1977

Peterson D E, Kanarek M S, et al.: Fish Consumption Patterns and Blood Mercury Levels in Wisconsin Chippewa Indians. Arch Environl Health 49(1):53-58 (1994). ISSN 0003-9896.

Pleva J: Corrosion and Mercury Release from Dental Amalgam. J Orthomolecular Med 4(3):141-157 (1989).

Pleva J: Dental mercury - a public health hazard. Rev Environ Health 10(1):1-27 (1994).

Pleva J: Mercury from dental amalgams: exposure and effects. Int J Risk, Safety in Medicine 3:1-22 (1992).

Queiroz M L S, Perlingerio R C R, et al.: Blast Lymphocyte Transformation and Immunglobulin Levels in Persons Exposed to the Action of Mercury During Work. Toxicol Lett Suppl 1992: Abstr nr P8/P6 "Abstracts of the sixth international Congress of Toxicology Rome 28june-3july 1992"
States: "These results provide evidence which shows that "safe" level mercury exposure may lead to humoral immunological stimulation."

Ratcliffe H E, Swanson G M, Fischer L J: Human Exposure to Mercury: A Critical Assessment of the Evidence of Adverse Health Effects. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health. Oct 25 1996; 49 (3) : 221-270. ISSN: 0098-4108

Saeki K, Fujimoto M, et al.: Mercury concentrations in hair from populations in Wau Bulolo area, Papua New Guinea. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. Mar 1996; 30 (3) : 412-417. ISSN: 0090-4341.

Schulte A, Stoll R, et al.: Urinary Mercury Concentrations in Children with and without Amalgam Restorations. Schweiz Monatsschr Zahnmed. 1994; 104(11): 1336-40. Or, J Dent Res 73(4):980 A-334.
States: "These examinations show that amalgam restorations contribute in children, too, mainly to the origins of mercury in the organism. However, this does not permit any conclusions concerning the toxicity, especially as no clinical symptoms for mercury intoxication were found in children participateing in this study."

Srisukho S, Prathnadi P, et al: Mercury content in the gallstones and bile of Thai people (Chiang Mai and Bangkok) and Japanese. J Med Assoc Thai. 1996 May; 79(5): 299-308 ISSN: 0125-2208

Sullivan F M: Impact of the environment on reproduction from conception to parturition. Environ Health Perspect 101 Suppl 2: 13-8, 1993

Svare C W, Peterson L C, et al.:: The effect of dental amalgams on mercury levels in expired air. J Dent Res 60:1668-1671 (1981)

Svensson B G, et al.: Fish as a source of exposure to mercury and selenium. Sci Total Envir 126:61-74 (1992).

Svensson B G, Nilsson A, et al.: Fish consumption and exposure to persistent organochlorine compounds, mercury, selenium and methylamines among Swedish fishermen. Scand J Work Environ Health 21:96-105 (1995).

Vimy M J, Hooper D E, et al.: Mercury from maternal "silver" tooth fillings in sheep and human breast milk. A source of neonatal exposure. Biol Trace Elem Res 1997 Feb 56:2 143-52

Vimy M J, Lorscheider F L>: Intra-oral mercury released from dental amalgams. J Dent Res 64:1069-1071 (1985).

Vimy M J, Takahashi Y, Lorscheider F L: Maternal-fetal distribution of mercury (203Hg) released from dental amalgam fillings. Am J Physiol 258:R939-R945 (1990)
States: It is concluded that accunulation of amalgam Hg progresses in maternal and fetal tissues to a steady state with advancing gestation and is maintained. Dental amalgam usage as a tooth restorative material in pregnant women and children should be reconsidered.

Weiner J A, Nylander M: The relationship between mercury concentration in human organs and different predictor variables. Sci Total Environ 138(1-3):101-115 (1993).
States: "Explanations discussed include: that a significant fraction of the mercury retained from amalgam fillings has a very long biological half-life; a decreasing capacity of mercury excretion with age; or higher fish consumption in the older individuals."

Wheatley B, Barbeau A, et al.: Methylmercury poisoning in Canadian Indians--the elusive diagnosis. Can J Neurol Sci 6(4):417-422 (1979).

Zaichick V Y, Tsyb A F, Vtyurin B M: Trace elements and thyroid cancer. Analyst. 1995 Mar; 120(3): 817-21 ISSN: 0003-2654.
States: "This result supports the hypothesis that the direct toxic heavy metal influence on thyrocytes plays a major role in thyroid cancer etiology, provided that an adequate level of the defence mechanisms is absent. Iodine concentrations are 15 times lower, on average, in malignant compared with benign nodules. It is also shown that the radio between the iodine concentration in nodular and paranodular tissue can be used for in vivo thyroid cancer diagnostics."

Written by: Bo Walhjalt

Also make sure to read these books: Poison in Your Teeth: Mercury Amalgam (Silver) Fillings...Hazardous to Your Health! and Mercury Detoxification by Tom McGuire