Dental Amalgam Program

What's New

Dental Wastewater Discharge Permit Application packets have been mailed to all dentists located in the City of San José. Applications must be submitted no later than August 6, 2009.

The Dental Program affects practices in the following cities: San José, Santa Clara, Campbell, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Saratoga and adjacent unincorporated areas.

Dentists located in the remaining Water Pollution Control Plant service area will receive permit application packets in early January 2010.

Program Overview

Dental practices that place or remove amalgam fillings are a controllable source of mercury impacting sanitary sewer systems. Consequently, all dental practices located in the eight cities and unincorporated areas served by the San José/Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant are required to obtain and comply with a 5-year Dental Wastewater Discharge Permit. This permit requires dental practices to implement mercury reduction Best Management Practices (BMPs) and to install an approved amalgam separator.

How to Comply

Apply for a Dental Wastewater Discharge Permit. Submit a Dental Wastewater Discharge Permit Application.

Implement Required Best Management Practices, which include:

Do not rinse chairside traps, vacuum screens, or amalgam separator equipment in a sink or other sanitary sewer connection.
Train staff to properly handle and dispose of amalgam materials and fixer-containing solutions; training records must be available for inspection.
Do not use bulk liquid mercury; use only precapsulated dental amalgam.
Store amalgam waste in air tight containers.
Properly discard amalgam waste. Recycling is the preferred method for discarding amalgam waste.

For the full list of required BMPs, see the Dental Amalgam Brochure.

Install an ISO 11143 Certified Amalgam Separator.
An approved amalgam separator must be installed within 180 days of the effective date of the discharge permit. Approved separators are those that meet the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard 11143 to remove at least 95% of amalgam.

Certify Compliance.
BMP Certification
This form is due within 90 days from the effective date of the dental practice’s Discharge Permit and certifies that your practice is following the designated BMPs.
Amalgam Separator Installation Certification
This form must be submitted by the dental practice with appropriate attachments within 30 days of installation of the amalgam separator.

Keep Records.
Keep training, disposal, and equipment records on site for five years, and make these records available for inspection. All records must be provided to Environmental Inspectors upon request.

Submit a Dental Wastewater Discharge Permit Annual Report.