A resolution from the St James Municipal Corporation seeking to have the Ministry of Health investigate the use and disposal of mercury in Jamaican dentistry was discussed at the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) council meeting on Tuesday.

The resolution is also seeking to have the Ministry of Health publish the findings of the investigation and engage the Jamaica Dental Association on discussions of alternatives for the use of mercury amalgam.

Dental amalgam, which is dental filling material containing mercury, is used to fill cavities caused by tooth decay.

People’s National Party (PNP) Councillor Neville Wright (Trench Town Division) said that the resolution was worthy of discussion at the KSAMC Parish Disaster Preparedness and Public Health Committee meeting.

The resolution, which was moved by Jamaica Labour Party Councillor Richard Vernon (South Division, Central St James constituency) at the St James Municipal Corporation’s monthly meeting on April 12, 2018, stated that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defined dental amalgam as “a mixture of metals, consisting of liquid mercury and a powdered alloy”.

“The amalgam consists of 50 per cent mercury, silver, tin, and copper. It is popularly referred to as silver filling, but the truth is, the silver is really the colour and not the content,” it stated.

The resolution pointed out that the European Commission had recently paved the way for a complete ban on the use of mercury amalgam and that Sweden had implemented the ban. The commission has also stated that mercury and most of its compounds are highly toxic to humans, animals and ecosystems, and have pointed out that even low doses can seriously affect the nervous system.

The resolution also noted that, in October 2016, Jamaica had participated in a workshop sponsored by the Pan American Health Organization, in association with the World Health Organization, which was aimed at understanding the roles of the health sector in the Minamata Convention on Mercury and facilitating the implementation of the World Health Assembly Resolution 67.11 Public health impacts of exposure to mercury and mercury compounds.

“The findings of this workshop support the many claims of the FDA, EU Commission, and many experienced physician that mercury exposure in the form of amalgam fillings can destroy the human body. In Canada, researchers recently found highly significant heavy metals in diseased breast cancer tissues done through tissue biopsy, these metals also included mercury,” the resolution stated.

— Claudienne Edwards