What is EPA Doing to Reduce Mercury Pollution from Dental Waste?
EPA regulates the discharge of pollutants to wastewater by establishing national regulations known as “effluent guidelines” and “pretreatment standards.” These regulations reduce pollutant discharges from specific industries that discharge either directly to surface waters or indirectly through POTWs. EPA announced in September 2010 the start of regulatory development (called an effluent guideline rulemaking) to reduce discharges of mercury from dental offices. The new regulation will establish requirements for the discharge of dental amalgam and mercury, based on the application of the best technology capable of removing the amalgam. EPA intends to focus its technology assessment on amalgam separators.
