Dental amalgam usage destroys ecosystem, environment groups raise alarm

The release of dental amalgam used in children under-16, pregnant and breastfeeding women has been described harmful and a cause of environmental pollution in the country.

This was disclosed during the stakeholders briefing on the need to phase out dental amalgam in Edo State, themed ‘Towards mercury free dentistry in Edo State,’ held in Benin City, on Saturday.

The one day event put together by the Executive Director, Sustainable Environment Development Initiatives (SEDI), Nigeria, Dr Tom Aneni, also had the President, World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry, Charles Brown from USA; Edo State Commissioners for Health and Environment represented by Pastor Alex Enunwaoyi, and Ehon Godfrey, respectively.

Others are Executive Director, Sustainable Research and Action for Environmental Development (SRADEV), Dr Leslie Adogame; Chairman, Nigeria Dental Association (NDA), Edo State chapter, represented by his secretary, Dr Franklin Abhulimen, as well as many other NGOs and stakeholders.

Representative of the Commissioner for Environment, Mr Godfrey noted that the effect of amalgam on the body was harmful, adding the state government was doing all it could do to ensure that the environment is safe and not hazardous to the citizens.

In the same vein, Aneni remarked that mercury was a chemical of global concern owing to its long range atmospheric transport. “It I persistent in the environment once anthropogenically introduced and it has ability to bio-accumulate in the ecosystem.

“Dental amalgam, a filling for cavities is about 50 per cent mercury, a neurotoxin and a pollutant that knows no border.”