Amalgam phase-out retains an exception
Dental supply rules require implementation.
- Event / announcement date
- 2025-11-07
At its November 2025 meeting, Minamata Convention parties agreed to phase out dental-amalgam manufacture, imports and exports after 2034. The amended annex retains cases a dentist considers necessary for a patient. [2]
This is a lifecycle pollution treaty, named after Japan’s Minamata Bay. UNEP’s November 7 account links the agreement to countries’ capacity to reduce mercury supplies, emissions and waste; it is not evidence those reductions had already occurred. [1]
The decision also requires four-yearly national progress plans or reports from parties still using amalgam. Earlier measures cover professional training, preventive care and dental waste management. Entry into force and treaty exemptions remain distinct from adoption. [2]
The source
- UNEP: Mercury negotiations ↗
Source date 2025-11-07 · reviewed October 30, 2026 - Minamata Convention Secretariat: Dental provisions ↗
Source date 2025-11-24 · reviewed October 30, 2026 · Circulated November 24, 2025; the meeting concluded November 7.
About this item: Retrospective report. No first-hand reporting or independent testing is claimed. Corrections policy.
