The UK has updated mercury enforcement for Northern Ireland, confirming how new EU rules on dental amalgam will be applied. The Control of Mercury (Enforcement) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 were signed on 12 November 2025 and take effect on 3 December 2025, with Minister Emma Hardy’s name on the instrument.

In practice, the instrument empowers customs to help enforce an EU-wide export ban on dental amalgam and lists the new EU measures as provisions UK bodies can act on. At the same time, it allows dentists in Northern Ireland to continue using and importing amalgam for the treatment of UK-resident patients until 31 December 2034; from 1 January 2035, the import prohibition applies.

These steps implement the EU’s 2024 amendment to its Mercury Regulation under the Windsor Framework. Across the EU, the use of dental amalgam is prohibited from 1 January 2025 except when a dentist judges it strictly necessary, exports are banned from 1 January 2025, and imports and manufacturing are banned from 1 July 2026 (with a narrow medical-need exception). The Commission’s notice confirms these rules apply to and in the UK in respect of Northern Ireland.

The direction of travel is global. On 7 November 2025, governments agreed at the Minamata Convention’s COP‑6 to end the use of dental amalgam by 2034, with trade to cease the following year-bringing the world in line with mercury-free dentistry.

Why it matters for health is well established. The World Health Organization lists mercury among the top ten chemicals of major public health concern; exposure can damage the nervous system, kidneys and other organs, with unborn and young children especially at risk. Most human exposure is via methylmercury in seafood, which bioaccumulates up food chains.

Dentistry already operates tighter controls on waste. EU rules-carried over in UK law-require dental facilities that place or remove amalgam to fit separators capturing at least 95% of amalgam particles and to ensure amalgam waste is collected by authorised operators, never released to the environment.

Air emissions remain a missing piece. Environment Agency data show crematoria released about 310 kg of mercury to air in England in 2022, while larger industrial sites released about 1,244 kg; together, these sources account for roughly 85% of UK mercury emissions captured in this indicator. The government has consulted on updating crematoria guidance to extend mercury abatement to all sites.

Service capacity still matters. Dentists’ groups have warned that a rapid end to amalgam without support could hit access-especially in Northern Ireland, where NHS waiting lists are long and amalgam has been widely used. Today’s instrument aims to manage that risk via a time‑limited transition while aligning with EU export and reporting rules.

For clinics and suppliers, the signals are clear: plan now for mercury‑free materials as the default, invest in training on adhesive techniques, keep separators maintained, and ensure compliant waste collection. The EU amendment also adds new reporting duties for importers and manufacturers, reinforcing traceability across the supply chain.

What to watch next: enforcement and emissions. The SI lists the EU measures as ‘relevant provisions’ so UK regulators can act, and Defra recorded the change as carrying only a de minimis business cost. Updated crematoria guidance and progress against the Minamata 2034 timeline will show whether policy is cutting mercury at source and at end‑of‑life.