We put it in the back of a pickup truck one Friday afternoon and drove it to the clinic. The two installed it over the weekend and were back at the institute in Bethesda in time for work on Monday. Amalgam is the alloys of mercury and silver from fillings. Wastewater suctioned during dental procedures goes into the tank at the end of each day and sits overnight. Debris travels through a long sedimentation column to settle on the bottom of the tank.
Clear water is decanted off the top and released into local sanitary sewers.
Amalgam particles are recycled. Their prototype has operated successfully for more than four years and is now patented. The concrete, wood, aluminum poles, gravel, and copper groundings from a non-functioning radio antenna were put to a variety of uses. More than 1,600 tons of concrete pillars were crushed to use as rip-rap to help stop water erosion in gullies and protect against flood damage. As an added bonus, the concrete rip-rap created new drainage patterns, generating storm water retention ponds and wetlands that attract migratory birds and other wildlife.