"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today proposed
standards under the Clean Water Act to help cut discharges of dental
amalgam to the environment. Amalgam is a mixture of mercury and other
metals that dentists use to fill cavities. Mercury is discharged when
dentists remove old fillings or remove excess amalgam when placing a new
filling.
Studies show about half the mercury that enters Publicly Owned
Treatment Works (POTWs) comes from dental offices. Mercury from amalgam
can then make its way into the environment in a number of ways,
including through discharge to water bodies. Contact with some
microorganisms can help create methylmercury, a highly toxic form of
mercury that builds up in fish, shellfish and fish-eating animals. Fish
and shellfish are the main sources of human exposure to methylmercury..."
Mercuty discharges from dental offices
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