Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to measure the amount of mercury vapor from one pre-capsulated dental amalgam ac cording to the storage temperature and to investigate whether the storage temperature suggested by the manufacturer or ISO is appropriate for the storage. Materials and Methods: GK Amalgam and Ultracaps+ were used in this study. One pre-capsulated dental amalgam was placed in a Tedlar Bag and the Tedlar Bag was filled with 2 L of (4±2) ℃ air. The Tedler Bag was stored at one of the three different temperature conditions; (4±2) ℃, (23±2) ℃ and (30±2) ℃ for 24 hours. By applying Ontario hydro method, mercury vapor in the Tedlar Bag was oxidized in KMnO4-H2SO4 solvent and pre-treated, followed by analyses using the Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. Five measurements were obtained from each group. Results: The average mercury vapor from GK Amalgam was (0.068±0.024), (0.300±0.100) and (0.544±0.133) mg/m3 , and Ul tracaps+ was (0.026±0.008), (0.088±0.013) and (0.146±0.023) mg/m3 at (4±2) ℃, (23±2) ℃ and (30±2), respectively. There was a significant difference between GK Amalgam and Ultracaps+ at each temperature, and depending on the storage temperature in each material (p<0.05). Conclusions: It was evident that storage at (23±2) ℃ result in exposure of mercury vapor exceeding 340 to 1,170% of the expo sure amount compare to the standard set by the Ministry of Labor in Korea. In order to reduce the amount of mercury vapor leaking from pre-capsulated dental amalgam, it is considered an effective method for users to periodically ventilate storage places, store them in refrigerators or keepin sealed container, and manufacturers to produce them in individual packaging.