[The mercury exposure of the population. III. Mercury mobilisation by DMPS (Dimaval) in subjects with and without amalgam fillings].

The urinary excretion of mercury (per 24 h) was determined in 29 subjects before and after application of DMPS (2.3-dimercapto-1-propane sulfonic acid, 300 mg per os). A 6-7 fold increase of mercury excretion was noted after application of DMPS. Subjects with amalgam fillings excreted significantly more mercury before as well as after application of DMPS than subjects without amalgam fillings. Urinary mercury excretion was significantly correlated with the number of amalgam fillings. About 50% of the variance of urinary mercury can be explained by the number of amalgam fillings. The results show that the release of mercury from amalgam fillings represents the main source of mercury exposure in subjects with amalgam fillings.