When preparing its policy and proposals relating to consumer safety, public health and the environment, the European Commission relies on Independent Scientific Committees to provide it with sound scientific advice. These committees have now been given new guidance. A coalition of NGO's strongly opposes the use of a method proposed by an employee of the chemical industry, Klimisch et al., (2007) and the OECD. If implemented this excludes a majority of independent, well performed, peer-reviewed scientific research and favors research performed by the industry itself, say the NGO letter. The cost of this effectively excludes most academic investigations no matter how well performed. According to the NGO: s this gives investigations performed by the industry itself an unjustified advantage."

A hold over deal from the Bush administration is allowing tons of dental mercury pollution into the environment each year that could otherwise be prevented. The December 2008 agreement between the Bush Administration's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the American Dental Association (ADA) and the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) stands in stark contrast to pollution reduction initiatives now underway for most other mercury sources both at home and abroad.

In 2006, the Journal of the American Medical Association published two articles that have been widely regarded as proving that amalgam dental fillings are safe for children: These studies were flawed in a myriad of ways, both scientifically and ethically. In the attached articles, Sandy Duffy, JD, finds that the process of informed consent in both studies fell far below recognized ethical standards. Boyd Haley, PhD, finds major scientific flaws in the study designs and conclusions. An editorial by Herbert Needleman, MD, cautioning readers not to draw "unwarranted conclusions from these limited studies," was published in the JAMA along with the two articles. These studies were designed to prove that amalgams are safe. In other words, they were designed to fail.

An editorial by Herbert Needleman, MD, in The Journal of the American Medical Association: cautions readers not to draw "unwarranted conclusions from these limited studies," was published along with the two articles. He also warns that assertions from the dental industry that mercury fillings are risk free is unfortunate and unscientific