EPA Proposes Standards to Reduce Mercury Discharges from Dental Offices. Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed standards under the Clean Water Act to reduce mercury pollution from dental offices. One of the most effective measures is installation of amalgam separator devices to protect water discharged from the dental offices from entering the waste-water system. ♦ Background ♦ When amalgam fillings are placed or removed, there is a lot of mercury waste (the fillings being 50% mercury) that goes right down the drain. It has been estimated that fifty percent (or more) of all mercury finding its way to waste-water treatment facilities is coming from dental offices. The treatment plants are not designed to handle heavy metals, they are designed primarily to process human waste. It is a big problem to keep this discharged mercury out of the environment. A simple solution is to install in each dental office a device (called an amalgam separator) that captures this mercury before it is discharged into the waste stream. It works very well, and in communities where this has been a requirement, the amount of mercury entering waste-water treatment plants has been cut drastically. Its a no-brainer. Why isnt everyone already doing it? ♦ History ♦ King County was one of the first areas in the country to implement this requirement for dental offices. It was done in the 1990s, and only after a failed attempt to get dental offices and dental societies to comply voluntarily. Later, this mandate extended to all of Washington State. Prior to this, (Dr. Paul Rubin) had one of the first amalgam separators in the whole country, and helped King County Hazardous Waste with their testing protocols that led to coming out with their mandate. The bottom line, seen in many communities across the country, is that dentists as a whole, and most local dental societies, tend to want to sweep this under the rug and not comply until forced to do so by regulations. After all, if dentists acknowledge that amalgam waste is toxic to the environment, how can they defend its continued use as a dental filling? This is a huge step to have the EPA come out with this recommendation. It has taken years of efforts and lobbying by many individuals and groups. It is still yet to be an actual regulation; We are all hopeful that this will also be coming soon. ♦ Do you still have mercury fillings in your mouth? ♦ Fillings that are silver or dark grey colored like in this photo are mercury amalgam fillings. Do you still have some in your mouth? Are you OK with that? I highly recommend learning all of the facts about mercury fillings and their potential problems. One of the best sources is the book The Poison In Your Teeth, by Dr. Tom McGuire. This is a well written, well referenced overview of the whole dental amalgam/mercury issue. If you decide to replace any or all of your mercury fillings, it is vitally important that you do this only with a dentist trained in and committed to safe removal protocols. After the removal of your amalgam fillings, it is also imperative to determine any remaining levels of toxic mercury in the body. Simply removing the source of mercury does not guarantee its removal altogether, in which case specific and appropriate steps must be followed to sequester and remove any left behind. This holds especially true when amalgam fillings are removed because, as mentioned above, the actual method of removal releases an extremely toxic dose of mercurys outgassing. At Robust Life Center we have the ability to precisely, accurately, and best of all non-invasively, determine levels of mercury, and all the additional heavy metals, in the body so that your toxic burden does not remain a mystery! Not only do we identify the types and amounts of these metals, but are able to safely and effectively - with the use of whole foods, homeopathy, and herbs - bind and remove these metals from the body. Our techniques are proven, as our satisfied, metal-free clients can attest! Call or email today to set up your initial consultation, and begin the journey to a vibrant, metal-free, ROBUST LIFE!
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 01:42:03 +0000
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