Where can mercury and amalgam be found in a dental office?
Amalgam waste can be found in different forms, including: • Non-contact amalgam (scrap amalgam) that is excess mix leftover at the end of a dental procedure); • Contact amalgam (amalgam that has been in contact with the patient); • Chair-side traps that capture amalgam waste during amalgam placement or removal procedures; • Vacuum pump filters or traps containing amalgam sludge and water; • Amalgam sludge (the mixture of liquid and solid material cleaned from vacuum pump filters or other amalgam capture devices); • Empty amalgam capsules (leftover from precapsulated dental amalgam); and • Bulk mercury on hand if you were in practice before the pre-mixed capsules. Mercury and amalgam may also be found in sewer pipes. Mercury can settle at a low point such as as a sump or trap and remain in the pipes of a facility for many years. Often, the slow dissolution of the mercury in a sump, trap or pipe is enough to cause exceedance of mercury limits in wastewater even after best management prac
