On December 29, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the ADA and the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) to establish and monitor the effectiveness of a voluntary dental amalgam discharge reduction program.
This agreement will help prevent toxic pollution and track environmental progress, according to an announcement on the EPA Web site. The EPA said it will use this agreement and the cooperation of dental professionals and wastewater utilities to reduce mercury discharge into sewers and watersheds.
"The purpose of this MOU is to have dental offices install and properly maintain amalgam separators, and recycle the collected amalgam waste," the EPA Web site states. The program will also establish performance goals and track the percentage of dental offices that install and use amalgam separators.
The ADA intends to prepare a baseline report within six months estimating current levels of amalgam separator use, according to an ADA news story.
