Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 24, December 18, 2024
(a)
This section establishes best management practices and regulatory requirements
for owners of dental facilities that generate amalgam waste through the removal
or placement of amalgams. The requirements of this section do not apply to a
dental facility at which no dentistry is practiced other than any of the
following specialties:
1.
Orthodontics;
2.
Periodontics;
3.
Endodontics;
4. Oral and
Maxillofacial Surgery;
5. Oral and
Maxillofacial Radiology; and
6.
Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology.
(b) Except as provided under (c) below, an
owner of any dental facility that generates amalgam waste shall be exempt from
the requirement to obtain a NJPDES-SIU permit from the Department or the
delegated local agency for the discharge of wastewater into a local agency's
treatment works, provided the owner complies with following requirements:
1. The owner of a dental facility shall
implement the best management practice described in (d) below no later than
October 1, 2008;
2. The owner of
the dental facility shall install an amalgam separator to serve every dental
chair in the facility where amalgam waste is generated. The amalgam separator
must be adequately sized for the maximum expected flow rate. The amalgam
separator shall be installed no later than October 1, 2009. The separator shall
conform with the ISO 11143 protocol. Each dental facility constructed on or
after October 1, 2007 shall include an installed amalgam separator that
conforms with the ISO 11143 protocol. A separator shall be deemed to meet to
the required ISO protocol if it conforms to the ISO 11143 protocol issued in
1999 or later; and
3. The owner of
a dental facility subject to this section shall register and certify compliance
with the requirements of (b)1 and 2 above. This registration and certification
shall be submitted annually to the Department on forms or in the format
provided by the Department.
(c) If a local agency conducts a headworks
analysis pursuant to
N.J.A.C.
7:14A-19.7(a) and
determines that additional mercury control measures are necessary to ensure
compliance with its NJPDES permit, then the control authority shall impose
additional mercury control measures on dischargers to the local agency's
treatment works, including, as appropriate, dental facilities subject to this
section. Where additional mercury control measures are necessary, all dental
facilities discharging to such local agency shall apply for a NJPDES-SIU
permit.
(d) Best management
practices require a dental facility to, at a minimum:
1. Use mercury-free material when
appropriate;
2. Eliminate all use
of bulk elemental mercury;
3. Use
precapsulated alloys only;
4.
Recycle used disposable capsules containing amalgam;
5. Maintain and operate the amalgam separator
when installed according to its manufacturer's specifications;
6. Install chair-side traps in both the
vacuum system and cuspidor of each operatory where restoration work is
done;
7. Change and clean
chair-side traps frequently;
8. Not
rinse traps or vacuum pump filters over drains or in the sinks;
9. Not throw or place the disposable trap,
sludge from reusable trap, or vacuum pump filter or contents with regular
garbage;
10. Not throw or place the
disposable trap, sludge from reusable trap, or vacuum pump filter or contents
into sharps containers or biohazard bag;
11. Not flush amalgam waste down the
drain;
12. Use only non-bleach,
non-chlorine cleaners to clean vacuum system lines;
13. Appropriately disinfect and store amalgam
pieces from removal and restoration with amalgam waste;
14. Store amalgam waste in airtight
containers;
15. Have a licensed
recycling contractor, mail-in service or hazardous waste hauler remove amalgam
waste;
16. Recycle all amalgam
waste containing mercury;
17. Train
staff in the proper handling, management, and disposal of mercury containing
material; and
18. Keep records to
document that the BMP requirements are being met.
(e) Those dental facilities that generate
amalgam waste and do not comply with the requirements of (b)1 and 2 above shall
apply for a NJPDES-SIU permit from the Department or the DLA in accordance with
the following:
1. No later than October 1,
2008, when a dental facility fails to comply with (b)1 above; or
2. No later than October 1, 2009, when a
dental facility fails to comply with (b)2 above.
