§ 7110. Mercury-added products used in dental procedures

(a) Dental amalgam, a formulated mercury-added product, shall not be regulated by any other sections of this chapter.

(b) Vermont dental offices and vocational dental education programs shall use and instruct on the use of best management practices to minimize the presence of elemental mercury, unused amalgam, and waste amalgam in their wastewater discharge and in their solid waste. The Agency shall develop best management practices that include a requirement for an amalgam removal efficiency of at least 95 percent. The required best management practices shall be defined by a procedure of the Agency by January 1, 2006, including reporting requirements to verify compliance with best management practices. The Agency shall consult with the Vermont State Dental Society and other interested parties during the development of best management practices. Dental offices shall comply with best management practices.

(c) No later than January 1, 2007, a dental office that in the course of treating its patients places or removes dental amalgam must install an amalgam separator system in the wastewater discharge line. For the purposes of this section, an amalgam separator system means a device that removes dental amalgam from the waste stream prior to discharge into either the local public wastewater system or a private septic system located at the dental facility and that has been certified as conforming to the standards of ISO 11143, Dental Equipment-Amalgam Separators. A dental office must demonstrate proper installation, operation, maintenance, and amalgam waste recycling or disposal in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations by maintaining annual records on waste shipment and maintenance of the system and any other reporting required in subsection (b) of this section. Records of the previous three years shall be maintained at all times. Methods or technologies other than amalgam separators that achieve equivalent or greater dental amalgam discharge reductions and that are approved by the Agency shall be deemed to comply with the requirements of this subsection.

(d) Exemptions.

(1) The following categories of dental offices are exempt from the requirement to install an amalgam separator:

(A) Orthodontists;

(B) Periodontists;

(C) Endodontists;

(D) Oral and maxillofacial surgeons;

(E) A dental office that is scheduled to no longer be used as a dental office after July 1, 2007;

(F) Any other dental office that does not place or remove amalgam.

(2) A dental office in subdivision (1) of this subsection shall be exempt only if all dentists practicing at the site using a shared vacuum system qualify for an exemption.

(e) The Agency shall conduct a survey of dental offices once every five years, beginning July 1, 2006, to ascertain the use of dental amalgam. The survey results shall be provided to the Advisory Committee on Mercury Pollution for inclusion in their report to the General Assembly. The Agency shall consult with the Vermont State Dental Society for assistance in conducting the survey.

(f) For the purposes of this section:

(1) "Dental amalgam" or "amalgam" means a mixture of mercury and silver alloy that forms a hard solid metal dental restorative material. For purposes of this section, dental amalgam or amalgam shall include mercury and silver alloy precapsulated and ready for mixing.

(2) "Dental office" means any dental clinic, dental office, or dental practice. (Added 2005, No. 13, § 1.)