DAMS,Inc.
(Dental Amalgam Mercury Syndrome,Support Group) 
has published :

     SUMMARY OF SCIENTIFIC FACTS

1.    MERCURY IS VERY TOXIC, MORE SO THAN LEAD, CADMIUM, OR
ARSENIC.Methylmercury and mercury vapor are the most toxic
forms.

2.    There is no known toxic threshold for mercury vapor.
Some authorities
say that no amount of exposure to mercury vapor can be
considered totally
harmless.

3.    Dental amalgam fillings are approximately 50% mercury.
One average
sized amalgam filling contains about 780 milligrams of
mercury, which is
enough to exceed the USEPA Mercury Intake Standard for over
100 years.

4.    Mercury is NOT "locked" into the amalgam. Subjects with
amalgams are
constantly exposed to mercury everyday. The amount of
exposure is greatly
increased when the fillings are exposed to chewing, brushing
or heat.  It
takes at least 90 minutes for these increases to "cool down"
to
pre-stimulated levels.

5.     Mercury vapor very easily enters the human body and
its cells. It
also easily penetrates the blood-brain barrier and the
placental membrane.
On an average, humans inhale at least 17,280 times each day.
It takes the
body 30-70 days to eliminate one half of each dose of
mercury.

6.    Human autopsy studies prove that dental amalgam mercury
enters the
patient's body and builds up with time.

7.    Mercury is known to damage the brain and nervous
system, the thyroid,
pituitary and adrenal glands, the heart and lungs, as well as
hormones and
enzymes.  Mercury is a very potent suppressor of the immune
system and is
known to damage the brain and nervous system of unborn
babies.

8.    It has been scientifically proven that even one amalgam
filling will
generate electrical currents when placed in the teeth.  The
health effects
of these currnets are as yet unknown.

9.    There is no published research connecting mercury
exposure from dental
amalgam fillings to any human disease state.  On the other
hand, there is no
published research proving such connections do not exist.  In
over 160 years
of use of dental amalgam,  no controlled biocompatibility
studies have been
done, even though patient exposure to mercury from these
fillings has been
known  for years.

10.    The American Dental Association, OSHA, and the USEPA,
have declared
leftover scrap dental amalgam to be a toxic hazard to dental
personnel, to
the dental office, and to the environment.

Marilyn -MI Dams Coordinator

This info has been available for 8 years (AISN)