Date: 4 June 2007 Contribution in accordance with the call for information about "The safety of dental amalgam and alternative dental restoration materials for patients and users" 1. Mercury is extremely neurotoxic. Evidence: this statement is one of the basics of the EU mercury strategy (and even the UNEP mercury strategy) and therefore does not have to be proven once more. 2. Mercury is persistent (long-lived, long half-life period) in all biologic organisms including humans. Evidence: this statement is one of the basics of the EU mercury strategy (and even the UNEP mercury strategy) and therefore does not have to be proven once more. 3. Amalgam provides the highest contribution to the daily mercury exposure of humans. Evidence on WHO documents: a) Environmental Health Criteria 118, Inorganic Mercury (issue: 1991); see document in appendix. See table of daily mercury exposure on page 20. b) Concise International Chemical Assessment Document 50: "Elemental Mercury and Inorganic Mercury Compounds: Human Health Aspects" (issue: 2003); see document in appendix. See table of daily mercury exposure on page 10. 4. Established Medicine in Germany (and presumably in other EU member countries) offers no concept for diagnosis of the neurotoxic impact of mercury poisoning. Thus there is no therapeutic conception. In accordance with this there is a high risk, that chronic mercury poisoning will be kept untreated until death. Evidence: The non-existence of documents cannot be proven. Result: Due to the high risk associated with amalgam (see points 1 to 4) and due to the missing options to reduce the high risk (see point 4), the use of amalgam has to be stopped as soon as possible. Submission by: -------------- name: Reinhard Lauer