Dental amalgam is a mixture of mercury, silver, tin, and copper. Mercury, which makes up about 50 percent of the amalgam, binds the metals together to provide a strong, hard, durable filling. However, mercury is a potent neurotoxin that can poison the environment and create a public health concern when amalgam is placed or replaced.
Dental clinics are the main source of mercury discharges to wastewater treatment plants. The EPA estimates that in the United States, dentists discharge 5.1 tons of mercury and 5.3 tons of other metals found in waste dental amalgam to wastewater treatment plants. The Dental Amalgam Rule is designed to reduce or even eliminate this pollutant from reaching the wastewater treatment plant where it might enter the environment through sludge or through surface water discharge.
All dental facilities are required to submit a Dental Discharger’s One-Time Compliance Report indicating they are using an approved amalgam separator or equivalent device and best management practices to prevent the discharge of waste amalgam to the sewer system as well as prohibiting the use of oxidizing and acidic cleaning products in their offices. New dental offices must be in compliance and must submit a One-Time Compliance Report within 90 days of opening. Any office that undergoes a change in ownership, a facility expansion, or an upgrade to its amalgam separator must also submit a new report.
Forms must be mailed with a wet ink signature to 2900 S. Platte River Drive, Englewood, CO 80110, Attn: Industrial Pretreatment, or faxed to 303-762-2620. Electronic copies via email cannot be accepted at this time.
If you have any questions or concerns or would like to discuss this further, please contact the Industrial Pretreatment Department at SPRpretreatment@englewoodco.gov or reach out to any department member from the following page: Contact us
