Dentist aim :Keep mercury out of drains

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Dentists' aim: Keep mercury out of drains Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 12/17/06 BY TODD B. BATESENVIRONMENTAL WRITER Dentists may eventually have to do more to reduce the amount of mercury from tooth filling wastes that enters sewage treatment plants and winds up in sludge and surface waters. Most dental facilities would have to buy devices to remove dental amalgam filling wastes and take other steps to prevent pollution to avoid having to obtain a potentially costly wastewater permit, under a state rule proposal. "We're totally on board," said Dr.

Shekitka, president of the approximately 4,700-member New Jersey Dental Association. "We're trying to do the right thing . . . and as a leader, I'm trying to promote that," said Shekitka, a dentist with offices in Freehold Township and Maplewood. The rule proposed by the state Department of Environmental Protection would cover about 3,400 dental facilities in New Jersey. It would remove about 540 pounds of mercury annually from wastewater that flows into sewage treatment plants. A significant reduction in mercury entering water bodies will eventually lead to lower mercury levels in fish, according to the proposed rule, which was unveiled in September. That, in turn, could lead to relaxed advisories on eating fish with mercury and fishing-related economic benefits. Dental facilities are the "single-largest unregulated (source) in New Jersey for mercury," said Jim , supervising environmental engineer in the DEP Bureau of

Pretreatment and Residuals. It would cost billions of dollars to remove mercury at sewage treatment plants versus the $1,000 to $2,000 it might cost to remove mercury at each dental facility, said. "We haven't seen anything in the comments (on the proposal) that would significantly alter our . . . thought to go forth with the adoption" of the rule, he said. Mercury is a toxic heavy metal, and exposure to mercury contamination can cause permanent brain damage to fetuses, infants and young children. It also poses a severe risk to wildlife, according to the rule proposal. Human exposure to methylmercury — the most toxic form of mercury — stems mainly from eating contaminated fish and shellfish. Methylmercury levels in fish are typically 100,000 times those in the water, the proposed rule says. Federal data show that about 90 to 95 percent of the mercury entering sewage plants ends up in sludge, said. An

estimated 5 to 10 percent of the mercury entering plants is discharged into waterways. About 27 percent of the sewage sludge generated in New Jersey is incinerated, releasing mercury into the air, the rule proposal says. Such mercury ultimately enters surface waters. Dental facilities, such as private dental practices, hospitals, dental schools and community health centers, are the largest source of mercury entering sewage treatment plants, the proposal says. The mercury is part of dental amalgam, which is used as a filling material to restore teeth, the proposed rule says. Amalgam is formed by the reaction of mercury with amalgam alloy containing silver, tin and copper. Dental facilities generate wastewater that flows through a chair-side trap and, in most facilities, a filter that protects the vacuum pump, the proposal says. Amalgam waste not captured by these filters, and waste captured but rinsed down the

drain, ends up at sewage plants, according to the proposal. Installing and properly operating an amalgam separator can prevent at least 96 percent of the amalgam waste from entering office wastewater, the proposal says. With possible exceptions, dental facilities would not have to get a wastewater discharge permit if they implement "best management practices" and install and properly run an amalgam separator. They also would have to certify to the DEP that they're complying with the rule. Orthodontists, periodontists, endodontists and some other specialists would be exempt from those requirements. The minimum DEP permit fee is $5,400 a year, while DEP-delegated local agencies have fees ranging from $50 to $11,000 a year, the rule proposal says. An amalgam separator would typically cost from $1,000 to $2,000 per facility, on average, according to an American Dental Association-commissioned report cited in the rule

proposal. The cost of operating a separator and recycling captured material is an estimated $700 to $1,000 a year. Best management practices would cost about $300 per facility per year, the proposal says. Many Northeast states already require amalgam separators, but the DEP would go beyond that requirement, said. R. Elmore, New Jersey Dental Association spokesman, said dentists have been using best management practices for "a long time in an unregulated way." ON THE WEB: Visit our Web site, www.app.com, for a link to the American Dental Association.Charlie Hoover <.Hoover@...> wrote: Dear CDC Where the hell are you???? We figured after the WSJ Report almost two years ago, that surely you'd be knocking on our door to find out how we recovered our son from autism. It's called chelation (keeeeeyyy-llllaaaaa-ttiiiooonnnn) and the Defeat Autism Now! (as you write this down for the boss - don't forget the ! or you'll have it wrong) Protocol. Want more proof, huh? Here's a little video from Thursday Evening of my boy earning his Green Belt in Tae Kwon Do:http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3259920335916186766Hope to see soon!CharliePS: No, an IRS

auditor won't do! __________________________________________________