Dental offices create a variety of wastes, which need to be pretreated or managed correctly to protect our health and the environment. This guide explains the Best Management Practices (BMPs) that will help dentists follow environmental laws and prevent pollution. Note that this guidance is only for dental offices on a POTW. Operatory waste should never go to a septic system or POTW, even with an amalgam separator.
Dental amalgam waste is a significant source of mercury received by POTWs and they can’t treat the mercury in waste, so it pollutes natural water bodies and the land the solids are applied to. For more information, consult the American Dental Association’s Dental Amalgam BMPs.
On 15 December 2016, EPA Administrator signed the final rule related to dental categorical standards, and the EPA submitted the rule for publication in the Federal Register. The official version of the rule for purposes of compliance has been presented in a Federal Register publication. The publication rule can be found at https://www.epa.gov/eg/dental‐effluent‐guidelines‐documents.
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