## East Bay Municipal Utility District’s Dental Mercury Permit Program

Mercury is one of the 12 toxic po lluta nts iden tif ie d by the Federal Environm ental P r otection Agency that
is im pairing Central San Francisco B a y, and is listed in Section 303 (d) of the Clean W a ter Act. Mercury persis ts in th e environm ent and bioaccum ulates in the
food chain in the form of m e thyl m e rcury. Currently, fish consumption advisories are issued in 41 States. The San Francisco Bay is includ ed o n the fish

consum ption advisory list.

Wastewater treatm ent plants, in cluding East Ba y Municip a l U tility Dis t r i c t ’s (EBMU D ), are designed to treat wastew ater containing conventional pollutant s such as hum a n waste and food waste. Heavy m e tals, including m e rcury, are not readily rem oved by the treatm e nt for conventional pollutants. As a result, the fate of mercury is to end up in the wastewater discharged to the San Francisco Bay or m o re t ypically in the biosolids, which are used for land applica tion and lan d f ill cove r. In addition to its Nationa l Pollu tant D i scharg e Elim ination System Perm it (NPDES) requirem e nt s, EBMUD has to co mply with f e deral, state and local biosolids regulations f o r heavy m e tals, including m e rcury. These regulations ensure that biosolids can be safely reus ed f o r land applic ati on and landfill cover.

Through its NPDES Perm it, EBMUD is required to develop a source control and pollution prevention program to maxim i ze control over the District’s mercury sources. In addition to dental practices, EBMUD is developing m e rcur y pollution prevention program s for hospitals,

m e dical facilities, edu cational institutions, indus trial sou r ces, and resid e ntial ou treach.

Since the in ception of its Dental Mercury Program (Novem b er 2001) EBMUD has worked with representatives from the Ca lifornia Dental Association
and loca l de ntal so cie tie s in determ ining how to m a nage this sou r ce.

Although the am ount of m e rcur y used by dentists has decreased significantly d u ring th e pa st ten y ears, there is
still a sub s ta ntia l lega cy of am algam f illings that will

rem a in in the environm ent for the next several decades.
Studies have dem onstrated that am algam separator technology can rem ove ≥ 95% of the m e rcury amalgam particulates in the dental process wastewater.

In addition to including dental am algam best m a nagem e nt pr actices, EBMUD is revising its Dental Mercury Pollution Prevention Perm it Progr am to require dental practices that handle

am alga m as part of their core busin es s to ins t all a m algam separa tors. (Note: There is no fee
associated w ith the perm it or this revision).EBMUD’s criteria are th at the in stalled am algam separator m eets the International Organization of Standardization (ISO) 11143 Standard and be properly m a intained.

EBMUD is working with repres enta tives f r om the Calif ornia
Dental Association and local de n t al s o cieties to d e velop th e

perm it term s and conditions.

In February 2004 a local am alga m se parator vendor fair will be held, so that general dentists m a y m a ke an informed decision on what type of technology is best su ited for their practice. Based on
the District’s recen t rev i ew, the cost of certif ied am alga m separato rs can range from $500 to $1,900 for the first year (unit purchase and inst allation). Subsequent years would be at a
much lesser cost for m a intenance and am alga m disposal.

If you have any questions regarding EBMUD’s Dental Mercury Pollution Prevention Perm it Program , please contact Deirdr e Mena at (510) 287-1559.