# What are your purchasing options?

• Purchasing the unit and maintaining it yourself.

• Purchasing the unit and contracting with a company to maintain it.

• Leasing the unit with maintenance service inclusive in the fee.



# Consider the total life-cycle costs:

• Purchase or lease cost – Cost can vary significantly, ba sed on many opera tional factors.

• Installation cost – Most installations take an hour, but some can take several hours.

• Additional equipment costs – This can include optional holding or surge tanks, flow restrictors, a

buffer container, and high-p erformance scrubber modules.

• Maintenance costs – Some systems require minimal labor time and maintenance cost, while other

systems can require daily or weekly maintenance by dental staff, which can include application of

cleaners to maintain good operation of the separator system.

• Replacement cost – Canisters or entire separators for so me systems have to be replaced when full

(anywhere from 3-18 months, system dependent) or on an annual basis at a significant cost.

• Shipping costs – Suppliers may offer free shipping of the wa ste collector as a part of the replacement

cost.

• Recycling costs – Suppliers may offer free recy cling service of the collector as part of the replacement

cost.



# Table of estimated annual cost:

System Costs Small

(1-4 Chairs/1-2 Doctors) Medium

(5-12 Chairs/3-6 Doctors) Large

(12+ Chairs/6+ Doctors)

Purchase $200 - $1200 $665 - $2200 $2500 - $8800

Installation $100 - $200 $125 - $260 $200 - $1000

Maintenance $0 - $200 $0 - $200 $0 - $200

Replacement $50 - $750 $75 - $750 $500 - $2100

Estimated Annual Cost $185 - $940 $255 - $975 $1740 - $4060

• Prices listed on this table and the list on the following page are not quotes,

but rather are prices based on info rmation from manufacturers and referenced reports.

• Maintenance cost does not include labor cost; just the cost of cleaners, and is averaged to annual estimates.

• Replacement cost includes the cost of recycling se rvice and shipping and is aver aged to annual estimates.

• Estimated annual cost, based on 5-year aver age life-cycle costs, excluding repairs.



# References:

[1] Amalgam Separators Approved by King County, Washington; Ki ng County Department of Natural Resources and Parks: Industrial W aste

Program, May 2004. http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/indwaste/sep_table.pdf

[2] San Francisco City and County List of Amalgam Separators

. http://sfwater.org/Files/FactSheets/Approved_Separators_List_031705.pdf

[3] Vermont Dental Amalgam Separator Pilot Project . Vermont Department of Environm ental Conservation, August 2004.

http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/ead/mercury/PDF/AmalgamSeparatorReport.pdf 

# Partners for A Clean Environment Spring 2007



# Amalgam Separator Buyer’s GuideThis listing is for informational purposes only and it is not an endorsement of any product or dental supplier by PACE. If youare a vendor or manufacturer and would like to be added or to update this list, pleasecall PACE at 303-441-1183.SeparatorCompanyContact DetailsMake &ModelSeparationTechnologyRemoval Efficiency@ Tested Flow RateVacPump# ofChairsSize (In)(h x l x w)InstallLocationInitialCostCost of MaintenanceAdditional InfoAB DentalTrendsRoger Weiss(800) 817-6704Rasch890-1000Rasch890-6000SettlementFiltrationIonExchange99.3% at 2 liters/min&96.7% at 4 liters/minWetDry1-121-1228.5 x 10.3 x12.85 x 9 x 12.25CentralVacuum$1,190$666Replacement canister cost is$596, includes recycling fees.Canister replaced every 18months for 1 chair usage.Scrubber moduleavailable.AirTechniques(800) 247-8324GuardianAmalgamCollectorSettlement99.3% at 2.5liters/minWet &DryVariable7.5 x 10.5 x6.25CentralVacuum$750 forunitClean daily, collectors needreplacing every 9-12 monthsfor 1-2 chairs, and are approx.$750 each, includes recycling.The system must beinstalled below anair/water separator.AsdexAS-9SettlementFiltration97.3% at 1 liter/minWet &Dry111.5 x 3 x 3ChairsideorCentral V$200Dental office replaces the filterevery 3 months at cost of $79,includes waste filter disposal.Amalgam disposalservice.AmericanDentalAccessories(Also sells theSolmeteXHg5, detailsbelow)Rick Zeiska(800) 331-7993Rasch890 AD1000SettlementFiltrationIon Exch.99.3% at 2 liters/min&96.7% at 4 liters/minWet &Dry108 x 10.5 x 14CentralVacuum$825Canister is replaced every 18months and is $496 each.Bio-SynmMedicalAssociationTim Thompson.800-947-7550604-476-1741Merc IISettlementFiltrationIon Exch.95.2% at 2 liters/minWet &Dry88 x 13 x 7ChairsideorCentral V$845Replacement collector costs$595 annually, includesshipping + recycling.DRNA WasteManagementMarc Sussman800-360-1001x11Bu10Bu30Settlement99.9%N/A, (Batch Process)Wet &Dry1-67-1221 x 9 x 8.525 x 12.5 x12.5CentralVacuum$695$1395Annual replacement, recycling,and shipping costs $450 forBu10 and $650 for Bu3o.Electricity required.Hygenitek, Inc.Katie Lubin866-494-3648ARU-10SettlementFiltrationIon Exch.> 99% at 0.75liters/minWet &Dry623 x 12 x 12ChairsideorCentral V$689Change canister every 6months at $99. Settlementtank every 1-2 years at $59.Install cost of $160 +extra parts & labor.METASYS-Pure WaterDevelopmentWalter Ruffini305-663-2989ECO IIEconomyType 2Settlement96.7 at 2 liters/minWet &Dry614 x 9 x 8.7CentralVacuum$650Separator exchange kit $288.Apply cleaner regularly. Unitexchanged annually for $75per chair including recycling.R & DServices(The AmalgamCollector)Deanna Fraker800-816-4995CH9/12CE12CE15CE18CE24Settlement99.9% (Batch Proc.)Capacity is 2.3 litersfor CH9, 3.7 l for theCH12, 6.5 l for CE18and 9.3 l for CE24.Wet &Dry112-33-56-1212-18 x 8 x 615-18 x 8 x 619-23 x 8 x 622-26 x 8 x 634 x 8 x 10ChairsideCentral VCentral VCentral VCentral V$575$680$785$785$1195Install Cost of ~ $100 - $125.Maintenance requiresadjusting external valvesweekly and monitor the liquidlevel and decant as needed.Select height of unit tobe purchased based onflow rate. Autodecantation modelavailable.RAMVACRobert A Meyer800-572-6822Hg5SettlementFiltrationIon Exch.99.82% at 0.05liters/min & 97.4% at0.75 liters/minWet &Dry1029 x 14 x 8CentralVacuum$695Canister replaced biannually.Replacement cartridge w/recycling $250.Modified SolmeteX Hg5Separator for use w/RAMVAC vacuum.Rebec, LLC(RME 2000-Catch Hg)Mike Jeffers800-569-108840010001000 Plus90009000 PlusSettlementFiltration99.67% at 1 liter/minWet &Dry1-45-105-1010-3030+18 x 14 x 823.5 x 20 x 824 x 20 x 1648 x 24 x 2248 x 24 x 22CentralVacuum$1185$1995$2198$3620$445 for 400 & 1000 annually,$645 for 1000 Plus and 9000,$795 for 9000 Plus. Includesreplacement, shipping,recycling, and certificate.Plus system adds abuffer container tocapture particles toextend the life of thecollector.Solmetex, Inc.Al Dube508-393-5115508-397-9725Hg 5Hg 5MiniHg 5HVHg 10SettlementFiltrationIonExchange99.82% at 0.05 l/min& 97.4% at 0.75 l/min99.82% at 0.1 l/min &97.4% at 1.5 l/min99.99% (Batch Pro.)Wet &Dry1042010+30 x 13 x 1021.5 x 11 x 828 x 18 x 2348 x 72 x 24CentralVacuum$695$695$2500$7400Filter replaced approx. biannually. The $250 filterreplacement includesrecycling. Replace filter + resincartridge quarterly in Hg10.Scrap amalgamprogram.Electricity required onHg10. Weekly oxidizertablet.SultanHealthcare800-637-8582PurevacHgAmalgamSeparatorSettlementFiltration99% at 0.75 liters/minWet &DrySeparator is bundledwith Purevac Hgevacuation line cleanersolution.Dental office is responsible forrecycling amalgam waste fromseparator.$1080with linecleanerfor year.CentralVacuum8 x 261-67-12