Vacuum Line Cleansers and Bleach

There are still a number of vacuum line cleansers on the market and numerous offices that choose to use bleach or line cleaners that contain chlorinating compounds. Although bleach is cheap and an effective disinfectant when used properly it is not advisable for use in dental vacuum lines. Bleach and chlorinated line cleaners can and do dissolve mercury from the dental amalgam particles in your vacuum line. Dissolved mercury is not captured by amalgam separators.

Check your vacuum line cleaners list of ingredients and discontinue use if it contains bleach, hypochlorites, chlorinated cleansers, or is advertised as chlorinated. The following link is to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and lists some but not all vacuum line cleansers that are safe to use with amalgam separators.
http://sfwater.org/Files/FactSheets/Non%20bleach%20vacuum%20line%20cleanser%20alternatives.pdf

Northwest Mercury Issues - September 2005

On September 21, 22, and 23, the North American Hazardous Materials Management Association (NAHMMA) Expo was held in Tacoma, Washington. NAHMMA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing hazardous materials entering municipal waste streams from hospitals, businesses, industries, and household. Rebec LLC was an exhibitor at this expo for the purpose of educating the regulatory agencies about the available amalgam separator technology.

During this expo and conference were many seminars presented by business and local, state, and federal environmental and health agencies. As an exhibitor Rebec was able to present our product line to representatives from California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Tennessee, Kansas, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Florida, and even Yellowstone Park. In discussions with attendees and from expo seminars we were informed about many current and upcoming issues relevant to the pacific northwest dental community.

· The city of Wenatchee stated that the last time they inspected dental offices for industrial wastewater discharge issues only one dentist had installed an amalgam separator. At Rebec, we have since reviewed our customer database, which is more recent than their inspections, and have learned that numerous of the local dentists have since purchased and installed Rebec CatchHg amalgam separator. To date fourteen dentists have installed Rebec systems in Wenatchee and eleven dentists in East Wenatchee have a Rebec amalgam separator. Additionally Cashmere has a 100% amalgam separator compliance rate with all dentists installing Rebec systems.
· The state of Oregon is contemplating options to encourage dentists to install amalgam separators on a voluntary basis. Even with the State of Oregon Department of Environmental Quality offering a 35% tax credit for this equipment only 7 dental clinics have been approved for the tax credit to date. Oregon continues to focus on Best Management Practices that do not mention amalgam separators but may expand these recommendations soon due to mercury levels in the Willamette River drainage area.
· Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) discussed the expiration of the voluntary compliance period for dentists to install amalgam separators and the results obtained from their recent survey. Most dentists in Washington State were required to install ISO certified amalgam separators or to test their vacuum line effluent for sewer discharge compliance by August 1, 2005. Dentists were to notify the DOE of compliance by registering their amalgam separator installation. Results obtained from this registration and DOE funded surveys showed a dismal compliance rate for the state, excluding King County. As of this meeting the DOE was reviewing their legal recourse but was leaning toward issuance of citations and fines for dentists who have not complied with the requirement to install ISO certified amalgam separators. Although the DOE recognized that at least 1/3 of the dentists in the state recognized the need to protect our environment they were very disappointed in the majority of dentists who have not taken advantage of the enforcement discretion granted these past two years to allow for dentists to install amalgam separators at their leisure. Additionally, the DOE is disturbed by the lack of compliance with other best management practices for dental office waste and proper maintenance of installed amalgam separator equipment and will be warning dentists of their obligation to properly manage all of their dangerous waste and keep accurate records. DOE was clear that inspections are forthcoming statewide as well as citations and fines for noncompliance.
· King County Local Hazardous Waste Management Program will continue to issue VIP vouchers to dentists for the installation of amalgam separators and the proper management of their dangerous waste if they are deemed eligible. VIP vouchers are available to small businesses for up to $500 toward environmental compliance through the VIP Voucher program at 206-263-3050. These vouchers are not guaranteed nor are they going to be offered indefinitely. It is a great program with limited budget so target priorities may change without notice.
· King County Industrial Waste raised issues of amalgam separator maintenance compliance. The installation of an approved amalgam separator was only the first step in compliance with the counties sewer discharge regulations. To remain in compliance a dentist must properly maintain their equipment and retain documentation that their waste is managed appropriately. King County is considering stepped up inspections to ensure the dental community is continually keeping dental amalgam out of the sewer lines and disposing of the waste they collect through proper waste management techniques.

Mercury remains a very high priority topic for the environmental departments at the local, state, and federal government levels. Many regions of the EPA highly recommend that dental amalgam separators be a part of a Best Management strategy for reduction of discharge of mercury to the environment. As part of this strategy many of these regulating agencies will be directing their attention at not only the initial installation of this equipment but also the continual maintenance and proper disposal of dental

DEP Partners with Pennsylvania dental association to reduce mercury discharge

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
Dept. of Environmental Protection
Commonwealth News Bureau
Room 308, Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, PA 17120


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
7/21/2005

CONTACT:
Charlie Young
Phone: (717) 787-1323


DEP PARTNERS WITH PENNSYLVANIA DENTAL ASSOCIATION TO REDUCE MERCURY DISCHARGES
Pollution Prevention Protects Public Health, Environment


HARRISBURG: Environmental Protection Sec. Kathleen A. McGinty today announced the department has launched a new partnership with Pennsylvania dentists to review voluntary best-management practices for mercury-bearing amalgam wastes and collect obsolete supplies of elemental mercury to prevent the material from entering the environment.
“This marks a major accomplishment in efforts to ensure a cleaner, healthier environment in Pennsylvania,” McGinty said. “I applaud the dentists who have stepped up to work with DEP to tackle this public health and environmental concern. Removing elemental mercury and gathering data on dentists’ wastewater management practices will help us improve water quality and ensure public health in Pennsylvania.”

McGinty signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Pennsylvania Dental Association Chief Executive Officer Camille Kostelac-Cherry to implement a two-pronged approach to reduce mercury discharges from dental offices.

Together, the agencies will collect stored elemental mercury from dental offices statewide for recycling and conduct a review of the voluntary use of best-management practices for reducing amalgam wastes in dental offices. The program is being launched as a three-month trial in 16 eastern Pennsylvania counties before being implemented on a statewide basis.

In January 2004, DEP kicked off its Mercury Reduction Initiative, a comprehensive strategy to reduce mercury in the environment. Two components of the initiative apply to dental offices: collection of elemental mercury and best management practices for mercury-bearing amalgam wastes.

Dentistry switched from elemental mercury to amalgam capsules about 25 years ago. Previously, dentists mixed the amalgam for fillings using elemental mercury. As a result, many dental offices still have containers of excess elemental mercury stored in their offices. Through surveys conducted in 2001 and 2004, PDA has identified approximately 1,062 pounds of elemental mercury ready for collection from dental offices across the state.

Although use of elemental mercury has become obsolete, mercury compounds still are commonly used in dental practices. Mercury makes up approximately 50 percent of the amalgam used in dental offices for fillings. Amalgam particles are a potential source of mercury not only in wastewater, but also in groundwater, streams and rivers. Pennsylvania has approximately 8,000 dentists discharging to about 920 publicly owned water treatment works.

Currently, there is little hard data in Pennsylvania to determine the amount of mercury being discharged from dental offices, and the results of national studies are so variable as to be inconclusive. One study found that 60 percent of mercury in water treatment works comes from dental practices, while a study conducted by the U.S. Navy determined that only 0.006 percent of mercury leaches out of dental amalgam particulate into the wastewater stream.

While the amount of mercury discharged by dental practices is unknown, the threat of mercury contamination is understood. Methylmercury, a form of mercury that has undergone biological processes, has been well established as a neurotoxin, and chronic low-dose prenatal exposure has been associated with poor performance on neurobehavioral tests in children, including those tests that measure attention, visual-spatial ability, verbal memory, language ability, fine motor skills and intelligence. At high doses, mercury exposure can cause tremors, inability to walk, convulsions and even death.

Mercury most endangers pregnant women, children, subsistence fishermen and recreational anglers.

Beyond its dangers to public health, the accumulation of methylmercury in fish also threatens Pennsylvania’s economy. Some 2 million people fish in Pennsylvania each year, including about 500,000 youth under 16. More than 18 million fishing trips take place in the commonwealth annually. All that activity generates $1.6 billion for the state's economy, supports 15,000 jobs and brings in more than $50 million in state sales and income taxes.

The review of amalgam waste best-management practices will allow DEP to ascertain the number and percentage of dental facilities voluntarily implementing these practices. The data will be used as a basis to determine whether future regulatory action is warranted to reduce the amount of mercury entering the environment through wastewater discharges.

In addition to this action with the Pennsylvania Dental Association, the Rendell administration is calling for tougher national mercury rules. In March, Pennsylvania filed a petition challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s rollback of standards to regulate mercury emissions from coal- and oil-fired power plants as a hazardous air pollutant.

DEP currently is considering a petition for rulemaking to regulate mercury in Pennsylvania. The department expects to report back to the state Environmental Quality Board at an upcoming meeting this summer.

Additionally, DEP launched the Pennsylvania Mercury Automobile Switch Removal Program last November. This voluntary program is expected to recycle 600 pounds of mercury over the next two years from vehicles that are no longer useable.

For more information, visit DEP’s Web site at www.dep.state.pa.us.