Amalgam (chemistry) term pollution. Today, mercury amalgamation has been replaced by other methods to recuperate gold and silver from ore in developed nations. Hazards of mercurial toxic waste have played a major role in the phasing out of the mercury amalgamation processes. However mercury amalgamation is still regularly used by small-scale gold placer miners (often illegally) & particularly in developing countries. Mercury salts are, compared to mercury metal and amalgams, highly toxic due to their solubility in water. The presence of these salts in water can be detected with a probe that uses the readiness of mercury ions to form an amalgam
Dental amalgam controversy ADA asserts the best scientific evidence supports the safety of dental amalgam. Clinical studies have not established an occasional connection between dental amalgam and adverse health effects in the general population. In 2002, Dr. Maths Berlin of The Dental Material Commission published an overview and assessment of the scientific literature published between November 1997 – 2002 for the Swedish Government on amalgam and its possible environmental and health risks. A final report was submitted to the Swedish Government in 2003 and included his report as an annex to the full report. In the final report from 2003, Berlin states that