- Dentala material
State Department Endorses Phase-Down of Amalgam, Keeps It On UNEP List
IAOMT
On Monday, October 24, 2011, the US Department of State held a meeting of stakeholders to help define its position on the next phase of negotiations for an international treaty to control trade in mercury and its products.
REPORT FROM DOS MERCURY STAKEHOLDER MEETING 10/24/11
Presented by Freya Koss, IAOMT publicist
On Monday, October 24, 2011, the State Department held the second of two ?Mercury NGO Stakeholder Meetings? in Washington, D.C. The meetings were held in preparation for the third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to prepare a globally legally-binding instrument on mercury (INC3), which will be held by the United Nations Environmental Programme in Nairobi, Kenya from October 31-November 4.
Presiding over this U.S. Department of State (DOS) meeting was Dr. John Thompson, Deputy Special Representative for Global Partnerships, assisted by Daniel Reifsnyder, Department Assistant Secretary.
Dr. Thompson delivered the DOS decision, and it was simple and direct: Dental amalgam fillings containing approximately 50% mercury will remain in Annex C, the list of products whose trade will be limited or banned, of the UNEP Intergovernmental Committee (INC) Treaty. This decision means that dental amalgam fillings will be ?PHASED DOWN,? not PHASED OUT.
He also noted that the DOS was appreciative of the views and input presented by attendees at the Stakeholder meetings and that the decision to keep amalgam in Annex C was in part based on listening to Stakeholders at previous meetings, as well as the documentation provided.
I have always sensed respect and appreciation for our assistance from Dr. Thompson, Deputy Secretary Reifsndyer, and Andrew Clark, administrator, DOS, Office of Environmental Policy, who has been my contact person.
