EPA Reinstates Regulation of Amalgam Waste
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In December 2016, the agency originally issued its finalized standards, which were scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on January 24, 2017. However, on January 20, the Trump administration issued a memo that directed federal agencies to "immediately withdraw" final rules that had been sent to the Office of the Federal Register but were not yet published. The EPA complied and withdrew the regulation at that time.
Any proposed regulation from the EPA and other agencies does not become official until it is published by the Office of the Federal Register in the Federal Register.
Now the agency announced that the 94-page "Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for the Dental Category" will be published in the Federal Register on June 14. A prepublication copy of the guidelines is available here.
The ADA believes that the regulations represent a fair and reasonable approach to the issue, according to President Gary Roberts, DDS.
"We believe this new rule -- which is a federal standard -- is preferable to a patchwork of rules and regulations across various states and localities," Dr. Roberts stated in a press release.
Amalgam separators
The final rule requires dental offices to use amalgam separators and two best management practices recommended by the ADA. The EPA noted that this final rule includes a provision to significantly reduce and streamline the oversight and reporting requirements that would otherwise apply.
The regulations will require that a facility that places or removes amalgam will be subject to the following best management practices:
- Collect and recycle scrap amalgam.
- Clean the chairside traps with nonbleach or nonchlorine cleanser so as not to release mercury.
In a previous statement, the EPA noted that compliance with this final rule will annually reduce the discharge of mercury by 5.1 tons and also 5.3 tons of other metals found in dental amalgam waste into municipal sewage treatment plants.
The ADA agreed on the goal of capturing dental amalgam waste.
"The ADA shares the EPA's goal of ensuring that dental amalgam waste is captured so that it may be recycled," Dr. Roberts stated.