AMALGAM SEPARATORS—NO
LONGER A CHOICE
In December 2016, the U.S. Environment Protection Agency
(EPA) issued a regulation requiring dental offices across the U.S. to install
amalgam separators. Specifically, dental offices are required to “remove
mercury from waste water through relatively low-cost and readily available
amalgam separators.”
Further, providers are prohibited from flushing down a drain
waste amalgam caught by traps or filters. The third point in the regulation is
cessation of chlorine-containing cleaners for chair-side traps and vacuum lines
because such cleaners may cause dissolution of solid mercury waste.
Dental offices exempted from the new rule, which will be
noted by an officially-issued number when it is published in the Federal
Register, include: orthodontic, prosthodontic, periodontic, oral surgery, oral
pathology, and oral radiology practices. Additionally, mobile dental units and
dentists who do not place new amalgam restorations are exempt.
The American Dental Association has worked with the EPA for
several years to write this federal regulation and has declared it is a “fair
and reasonable way” for dentists to manage amalgam waste. Less than 1% of
man-made mercury waste released into the environment comes from dentistry;
however, the profession is required to eliminate even that small amount by the
probable compliance date of the end of 2019. By then, amalgam separators must
be installed in all dental offices not on the exempted list.
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