I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1680
To prohibit after 2008 the introduction into interstate commerce of mercury 
intended for use in a dental filling, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 8, 2003
Ms. WATSON (for herself and Mr. BURTON of Indiana) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To prohibit after 2008 the introduction into interstate com-
merce of mercury intended for use in a dental filling, 
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mercury in Dental Fill-
ing Disclosure and Prohibition Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) Mercury is a highly toxic element.
(2) A dental amalgam, commonly referred to as 
a ‘‘silver filling’’, consists of 43 to 54 percent mer-
cury. 
(3) Consumers may be deceived by the use of 
the term ‘‘silver’’ to describe a dental amalgam, 
which contains substantially more mercury than sil-
ver. 
(4) Dental amalgam may contain about 1⁄2 to 
3⁄4 of a gram of mercury, depending on the size of 
the filling. 
(5) The mercury in a dental amalgam contin-
ually emits mercury vapors. 
(6) Mercury toxicity is a retention toxicity that 
builds up over years of exposure. 
(7) The California Dental Association, by court 
order, is sending health warnings about mercury fill-
ings to California dental offices for posting by 
March 9, 2003. The warnings are to read ‘‘NOTICE 
TO PATIENTS: PROPOSITION 65 WARNING: 
Dental Amalgam, used in many dental fillings, 
causes exposure to mercury, a chemical known to 
the state of California to cause birth defects or other 
reproductive harm’’. 
(8) According to certain scientific studies, 
Health Canada, and the Agency for Toxic Sub-
stances and Disease Registry of the Public Health 
Service of the Department of Health and Human 
Services, children and pregnant women are at par-
ticular risk for exposure to mercury contained in 
dental amalgam. 
(9) The United States Food and Drug Adminis-
tration added Health Canada warnings regarding 
mercury in dental amalgam to a consumer update 
issued on December 31, 2002. 
(10) According to the Agency for Toxic Sub-
stances and Disease Registry, the mercury from 
amalgam goes through the placenta of pregnant 
women and through the breast milk of lactating 
women, giving rise to health risks to an unborn child 
or a baby. 
(11) The Environmental Protection Agency con-
siders removed amalgam filling and extracted teeth 
containing amalgam material to be hazardous waste. 
(12) A report issued June 5, 2002, by the Mer-
cury Policy Project, the Sierra Club, Health Care 
Without Harm, and the Toxics Action Center stated 
that because of mercury fillings dental offices are 
now the leading source of mercury in the Nation’s 
wastewater.
(13) The use of mercury in any product being 
put into the body is opposed by many health groups, 
such as the American Public Health Association, the 
California Medical Association, and Health Care 
Without Harm. 
(14) Consumers and parents have a right to 
know, in advance, the risks of placing a product con-
taining a substantial amount of mercury in their 
mouths or the mouths of their children. 
(15) Alternatives to mercury-based dental fill-
ings exist, but many publicly and privately financed 
health plans do not allow consumers to choose alter-
natives to mercury amalgam. 
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON INTRODUCTION OF DENTAL 
AMALGAM INTO INTERSTATE COMMERCE. 
(a) PROHIBITION.—Section 501 of the Federal Food, 
Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 351) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(j) Effective January 1, 2008, if it contains mercury 
intended for use in a dental filling.’’. 
(b) TRANSITIONAL PROVISION.—For purposes of the 
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 
et seq.), effective December 31, 2004, and subject to sub-
section (a), a device that contains mercury intended for 
use in a dental filling shall be considered to be mis-