The Council of Ministers, at the proposal of President Mario Draghi and Minister of Justice Marta Cartabia, approved, in final examination, the penalty discipline for the violation of the provisions of Regulation (EU) no. 2017/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of May 17, 2017 on mercury.
The text provides, among other:
- the imprisonment from three to nine months or a fine from 50,000 to 150,000 euros for violations of export and import restrictions on mercury, mercury compounds and mixtures of mercury;
- the administrative fine from 20,000 euros to 100,000 euros for violations of the rules on the use of mercury and its compounds in manufacturing processes, temporary storage of mercury and its compounds or mixtures, placing on the market of products with added mercury or artisanal and small-scale gold mining and processing activities that require the use of mercury;
- the administrative fine of 10,000 to 100,000 euros for dentists who use dental amalgam in violation of the regulation and the fine of 4,000 to 20,000 euros for those who do not ensure that the management and collection of their amalgam waste and the same penalty, as well as the temporary closure of the activity, for those who use dental amalgam or remove fillings containing dental amalgam in violation of the rules, until the installation of appropriate amalgam separators.
Comunicato stampa del Consiglio dei Ministri n. 43, 27 Ottobre 2021
Italy had decided in February 2021 to generally phase out the use of amalgam by December 31, 2024. Read more about it here.
