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Department of Ecology News Release - August 1, 2005
05-195
OLYMPIA - Dental offices that have not installed equipment to remove mercury-based dental amalgam from their waste water can expect to hear from the state Department of Ecology beginning in mid-September.
The agency will begin inspecting offices and follow up with orders to comply with the law, said Darin Rice, who manages Ecology's hazardous-waste program. Dentists who do not comply will face penalties.
Rice said Ecology's inspectors will arrange times in advance for the office visits, which will be "short, straightforward and courteous." The visits are expected to take less than an hour.
July 31 marked the expiration of a two-year pact under which Ecology agreed not to enforce its regulatory authority over wastewater discharges that contain mercury dental amalgam. During that time, the Washington State Dental Association urged dental offices to voluntarily install amalgam separators and follow other best-management practices for handling hazardous waste.
"We felt the two-year window gave dentists generous time to install the equipment," Rice said. "We now need to level the playing field. A lot of dentists do a good job of managing their waste, and they expect their peers to be held to the same standard."
Reports from dentists across the state suggest that only 17 percent of offices outside King County had voluntarily installed amalgam separators as of early July. However, Rice said more dentists probably had installed separators but neglected to report it, and there were reports that many were working in the final weeks to meet the deadline.
"It's essential that dentists notify us when they install the separators," Rice said. "That's how we track compliance, and it determines our inspection schedule."
Rice also said it was important that dentists complete a statewide survey that was sent out last week.
Dentists can send their notification by mail to Department of Ecology - HWTR, P.O. Box 47600, Olympia, Wash., 98504-7600, or via the Web at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/dentalbmps/ . The Web site also provides guidance for dentists to help them comply with the law.
Within King County, where officials adopted an ordinance requiring the separators, 97 percent of offices in the county's sewer service area have installed the equipment and reduced the level of mercury entering King County's wastewater treatment system by 50 percent.
While mercury can be used safely for a number of medical purposes, according to health officials, it can be hazardous if it gets into the environment, where it can concentrate in the food chain and cause health problems. Fetuses, infants and children are especially sensitive to mercury exposure, which is believed to be a potential cause of movement and learning disabilities.
Dental amalgam is one of numerous potential sources of mercury contamination in the environment. Other sources include trunk-light switches in older cars and trucks, mercury thermometers, hospital waste, fluorescent light bulbs, sewage sludge headed for incinerators and thermostat switches.
The public can call Ecology's Hazardous Substance Information Office toll-free at (800) 633-7585 for more information about how to avoid being exposed to mercury.
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Media contacts: Caitlin Cormier, Department of Ecology, 360-407-6149
Rick Manugian, Department of Ecology, 360-407-6928
Mercury action plan: http://mercurymess.org
Hazardous Substance Information Office: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/hsieo
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
