The
results of nationwide tests in Pakistan have raised the alarm over the high
levels of mercury pollution in dental hospitals. In some of the tested sites in
the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, the amount of the toxic metal
detected in the air was found to be up to 20 times higher than acceptable
levels.
According
to the monitoring team from the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, an
independent development and policy analysis organisation in Islamabad, dental
personal working in the affected facilities were recently informed about the
results and given recommendations about safety measures. They were also advised
on how to reduce the use of mercury in general.
Despite
the availability of alternative filling materials such as composite resins,
amalgam remains the most widely used dental restorative in Pakistan. Waste
management of the material, however, has traditionally been poor. According to
the results of a study conducted in 2007 by researchers from the Riphah
International University’s dentistry college, over 90 per cent of dentists in
the country still dispose of used amalgam through regular waste or the
waste-water system. Only 1 in 20 dentists is reported to have an amalgam
separator installed in their practice, mainly owing to financial constraints or
a lack of knowledge regarding such measures.
Although studies in Europe have indicated that regular use of amalgam and its
disposal do not pose significant health risks to dental personal, exposure to
high levels of mercury has been proven to damage kidneys, the nervous system
and the gastrointestinal tract.
“The
health of staff working under these conditions will be impaired in the same way
as that of dental nurses in Norway and New Zealand, for example, who were using
copper amalgam a few decades ago,” commented amalgam expert Lars Hylander from
Sweden. “Also, a recent EU study indicated substantial loss of IQ in European
dentists due to mercury exposure.”
Final
results from the project are expected to be published later this year after the
testing in several cities has been completed. A first in Pakistan, it seeks to
provide reliable data on indoor and outdoor mercury pollution throughout the
Western Asian country. The project is being conducted in collaboration with the
European Environmental Bureau and the Zero Mercury Working Group, a coalition
of non-governmental organisations aimed at the reduction of mercury worldwide.
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