Dental Office Regulations
On June 14, 2017, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) promulgated pretreatment standards to reduce discharges of mercury from dental offices into publicly owned treatment works (POTWs). The Dental Office Category regulation is codified at 40 CFR Part 441.
All dental offices within the DELCORA service area that place or remove amalgam must operate and maintain an amalgam separator and must not discharge scrap amalgam or use certain kinds of line cleaners. Please note, this regulation applies to all dental offices that may not be direct customers of DELCORA but whose wastewater ultimately flows to DELCORA for treatment.
The amalgam separator must comply with one of the following:
The following offices are exempt from installing an amalgam separator:
Offices with installed amalgam separators are also required to comply with the following:
In addition, dental practices must retain any records of the following for a 3 year time period:
To verify compliance with this requirement, DELCORA has developed a mandatory one-time compliance reporting form that must be submitted by all new and existing dental offices. Once the form is completed and returned to DELCORA, the DELCORA pretreatment staff will evaluate its completeness to determine the need for follow-up evaluation and/or an onsite inspection. Completeness of this form is imperative and failure to submit may result in further regulatory oversight and requirements. A copy of the one-time compliance reporting form must also be retained onsite.
Dental offices existing before June 14, 2017 that are subject to this regulation must achieve compliance no later than July 14, 2020. Newly constructed or purchased dental offices established after July 14, 2017, must have achieved compliance immediately and submit a one-time compliance report no later than 90 days of operation.
For more information, please contact the DELCORA pretreatment department via email at pretreatment@delcora.org.
Additional References
The Academy of General Dentistry: Read More Here »
The American Dental Association (ADA): Read More Here »
United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA): Read More Here »
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