Judge Delays Accord on Dental Mercury Warning
A judge has briefly delayed implementation of an agreement to post warnings about the potential dangers of mercury fillings in dentists’ offices.
San Francisco Superior Court Judge James A. Robertson II earlier this week asked both sides in a legal dispute to come up with warning language that helps patients better gauge the health risks of such fillings.
Attorneys for the environmental group As You Sow and the California Dental Assn. must submit proposed changes to the state attorney general’s office. Robertson is expected Thursday to order the revised warnings to be posted within 90 days.
As You Sow sued the state dental association two years ago under Proposition 65, a statewide initiative that requires businesses to post warning signs if they use hazardous chemicals.
As You Sow says mercury amalgam can cause reproductive and neurological damage. The American Dental Assn. says not enough is absorbed into the body through the fillings to affect health.
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