Crackdown urged on mercury waste from dentistry
Voluntary state drive is branded a failure
King County dentists have taken the lead statewide in reducing toxic mercury going down the drain and out into the environment.
Now a coalition of environmental groups, labeling a voluntary state program to cut dental mercury waste a failure, wants a statewide crackdown.
The voluntary two-year agreement, in which the Washington State Dental Association promised to urge its members to control mercury waste, comes to an end July 31. In exchange, the state Department of Ecology agreed to hold off on enforcing the law until then.
Mercury is contained in silver-colored amalgam fillings. Most of the waste is produced when old fillings are removed.
An Ecology Department count in early June showed that fewer than 15 percent of the state’s 2,600 dental offices had notified the agency they had installed the proper equipment to capture all the mercury.
“This rate is abysmal. Clearly, the voluntary program is not working,” the Toxic-Free Legacy Coalition, which consists of six environmental and health advocacy groups, wrote to Ecology on Friday. “It is unfortunate that dentists have chosen to continue to flout the law but it is now time for Ecology to begin enforcing the law.”
While the Ecology Department proposed a public education campaign two years ago, the dental association convinced the agency that a low-key campaign targeting dentists was preferable, the department says.
“We’ve had different philosophies on how to move forward,” said Darin Rice, manager of the Ecology Department’s program to reduce toxic wastes. “We wanted to have a more publicly visible message out there. The (dental) association has been a little more, I’m not sure if I’d call it nervous, but cautious.”
David Hemion, assistant executive director of the dental association, said his organization has beefed up efforts to get out the word over the last six to eight weeks. Hemion said he has heard from the companies that sell dentists the mercury-capturing equipment that there has been an uptick in sales in Washington.
“There’s increased interest, and the trend is going in the right direction,” Hemion said.
Continue reading this story from the Seattle P-I:
Crackdown urged on mercury waste from dentistry