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City of Palo Alto,
California
Environmental Compliance
http://www.city.palo-alto.ca.us/cleanbay/
The Regional Water Quality Control Plant (RWQCP) treats
wastewater from the East Palo Alto Sanitary District, Los
Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, Palo Alto, and
Stanford. The Environmental Compliance Division maintains
a Pretreatment Program for control of industrial
dischargers and also regulates many commercial
dischargers.
Pollution prevention information and programs are
supplied to residents as well as businesses within the
service area. Public outreach information is included as
part of the programs described in most of the pages. If
you can't find the information you need please contact us.
Phone: 650/329-2598.
Fax: 650/494-3531
e-mail: cleanbay@city.palo-alto.ca.us
Mail: PARWQP - Environmental Compliance
2501 Embarcadero Way, Palo Alto, CA 94303
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Mercury
Pollution Prevention
http://www.city.palo-alto.ca.us/cleanbay/mercury.html
Each year, about 20 pounds of mercury
arrive at the Regional Water Quality
Control Plant (RWQCP). Sources of mercury
discharge to wastewater include
laboratories, hospitals, dental offices,
human waste, food waste, household
products, and storm water inflow. Since
1997, the RWQCP has quantified the
relative importance of mercury sources
using local sampling information in
conjunction with data from other
wastewater treatment plants and the
scientific literature. The source
identification study was updated in March
2001, leading to the pie chart presented
here.
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A complete discussion of this analysis
is available in PDF form (Barron,
2001) (52k). The analysis reflects new
information from local dental surveys and
recent estimates of residential loadings
from the American
Metropolitan Sewerage Association (AMSA,
2000).Technical reviews are invited.
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More information about
mercury:
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Don't Flush Mercury Down
the Drain!
http://www.city.palo-alto.ca.us/cleanbay/pdf/dentalposter.pdf
See dentalposter.pdf
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Dental
Offices and Mercury
http://www.city.palo-alto.ca.us/cleanbay/dental.html
Recent studies show relatively
high levels of mercury
accumulating in fish, clams, and
other organisms in the San
Francisco Bay. Mercury arrives at
Bay Area wastewater treatment
plants every day. The plants then
release most of this mercury to
the environment through treated
effluent and sludge disposal. Some
of this mercury reaches the Bay
and contributes to the the overall
mercury loading.
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Studies by different wastewater
treatment agencies indicate that from 12%
to as much as 60% of the mercury in the
wastewater arriving at the treatment plant
comes from dental offices.
Residential flows are another major
source of mercury, accounting for 44% of
the mercury in the Palo Alto study. Human
waste from individuals with amalgam
fillings accounts for at least 80% of that
total residential mercury (Association
of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies,
2000). Palo Alto's findings are discussed
in the Mercury Source Identification Study
and Update found on the Mercury
Publications page.
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What Can a Dental
Office Do to Help?
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Don't Flush
Mercury-Containing Wastes Down the Drain
-6 Tips-
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1.
Never rinse traps in the sink. The
trapped mercury-containing amalgam will
go directly to the sewer and wastewater
treatment plant, which isn't equipped to
handle it.
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2.
Don't put mercury-containing waste in
medical waste containers. Incineration
and solid-waste disposal can release
mercury directly into the environment.
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3.
Empty used amalgam capsules do not
require special handling. You may put
them in the trash.
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4.
Don't place other materials in your
mercury waste or recycling containers. The
added volume will cost more and may make
disposal or recycling more difficult.
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5.
Don't mix waste streams without checking
with your waste hauler first. Mixing may
limit recycling and disposal options and
result in higher costs.
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6.
Talk to your waste hauler about specific
handling requirements for each
mercury-containing waste stream.
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Additional
Information
For more information about proper
collection and disposal of mercury and
amalgam waste (including names and phone
numbers for amalgam recyclers) see the
"Set
a Shining Example" [398k] PDF
poster for dental offices.
For information about supplementary
filters or settling devices see the Mercury
Amalgam Treatment Techniques for Dental
Offices [81k] PDF.
Dental
Mercury: A Comparison of Waste Management
Practices for the Dental Office [805k]
PDF.This
technical presentation was delivered at
the February 14, 2001 meeting of the Bay
Area Pollution Prevention Group. It
describes where mercury waste is generated
in a dental office and how this affects
the ability of treatment devices to trap
such waste. It further compares, in
hypothetical dental office situations, the
percent of dental mercury that would be
prevented from reaching the sewer using
preferred office practices ("best
management practices") versus
enhanced treatment technology.
List
of Bay Area wastewater treatment agencies
[10k] PDF
Free Posters
For a laminated color copy of "Set a
Shining Example" or the Mercury
Pollutin Prevention Poster for dentists
you can e-mail
us or call (650)329-2421.
Free
Consultation
Are you a dentist in the Regional Water
Quality Control Plant's service area?
(East Palo Alto Sanitary District, Los
Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View,
Palo Alto, and Stanford) You can have a
free in-office consultation. We can review
your operation and offer technical advice
for improving the collection of amalgam
waste. You can e-mail
us or call (650)329-2421.
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Wastewater
Discharge Requirements
Wastewater discharge requirements for
dental offices vary. Dentists are
encouraged to contact their local
wastewater treatment plant to find out
about the requirements and recommendations
specific to their area. To find the
wastewater treatment plant for your
location please refer to the list of Bay
Area wastewater treatment agencies.
You can also get this list
as a PDF.
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Links to
Other Sites
King
County, Washington: Hazardous Waste
Handling for Dentists
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The BAPPG
The Bay Area Pollution Prevention
Group (BAPPG) is a voluntary association
of municipal wastewater treatment agencies
that collaborate on pollution prevention
projects to reduce the amount of toxic
pollutants discharged into San Francisco
Bay. The BAPPG has helped to bring this
information together.
The
Mid-Peninsula Dental Society
A special thanks for their
collaboration in preparing the information
on this page.
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City of Palo
Alto Mercury Pages
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Mercury
Publications
http://www.city.palo-alto.ca.us/cleanbay/mercurypubs.html
The documents provided here are in Adobe Acrobat PDF
format. For instructions go to the PDF
page.
For an excellent review see Dental
Mercury, Pollution Prevention and Waste Management
Practices for the Dental Office from the City of Palo
Alto, CA. http://www.city.palo-alto.ca.us/cleanbay/pdf/mercurydentsl.pdf
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Dental
Information
