FACTS OR FRAUD? AMID A CLOUD OF ACCUSATIONS, STUDY GROUP CLAIMS MERCURY FILLINGS NOT LINKED TO HUMAN HEALTH PROBLEMS

A private contractor hand-picked by pro-mercury amalgam officials at the National Institute of Health (NIH) has reported study results claiming that mercury amalgam fillings are safe. The subcontractor group conducting the study was selected without competitive bidding by the National Institute for Dental and Cranial Research (NIDCR), the dental division of the NIH. NIDCR has been widely seen as an agency that is closely tied to pro-mercury amalgam American Dental Association.

The private contractor, Life Sciences Research Office (LSRO) has produced a report that draws exactly the conclusions that the ADA and its NIH had pre-ordained, according to critics. "Little Evidence to Link Mercury Fillings to Human Health Problems," it claimed. Among its highlights it claimed that, based on its review of 300 of the scientific studies that had been submitted to it, "there is insufficient evidence to support a correlation between dental amalgam exposure and kidney or cognitive dysfunction, neuro-degenerative disease … or autoimmune disease, including multiple sclerosis."

Watchdog groups claim that, in picking LSRO to do the study, NIDCR officials illegally evaded a requirement to choose a competent contractor for the study under the legally required competitive bidding process. The NIDCR evaded the competitive bidding process, they note, by choosing to contact with BETAH Associates - exempted from the usual bidding rules because it is controlled by women or minorities. BETAH, lacking all relevant expertise in health science matters at hand, was a sham or "straw-man" contractor, critics say. BETAH then hand-picked LSRO as its sub-contractor to conduct the actual study. LSRO's selection of studies for review indicated its bias, critics say, and its conclusions of mercury filling safety in no way reflects the most of the scientific information submitted to it and is far from reflecting the consensus of the world's leading investigators of mercury toxicology.

Even the submissions (to LSRO) from the American Dental Association overwhelmingly document that amalgam is the largest source of mercury exposure in most people and that amalgam commonly causes chronic health problems which are often cured or significantly improved by amalgam removal," says DAMS, Inc. President Bernie Windham, who conducted an analysis of the ADA's 95 submitted studies. "Mercury from amalgam fillings causes over 30 chronic health conditions. Studies document over 50,000 clinical cases of recovery or significant improvement from all of those chronic conditions after amalgam replacement," Windham reports.

A public interest lawsuit is pending against LSRO for alleged violation of NIH contracting rules, and top NIH and NIDCR officials are also under investigation for possible collusion in an illegal contracting scheme. US Senator Frank Lautenberg has joined them in calling for an independent investigation of the disturbing allegations.

Contact: Leo Cashman, director, DAMS, Inc (Dental Amalgam Mercury Solutions)
Phone 651-644-4572

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