The amalgam separator law requires dentists, by Dec. 31, 2013, to install or have installed an amalgam separator on each wastewater drain in the dental office that is used to discharge amalgam into the sewer or septic system. Here are some additional facts about the law, who it affects, and amalgam separators in general.

• The new law does not apply to oral and maxillofacial surgeons, oral and maxillofacial radiologists, oral pathologists, orthodontists, periodontists, or dentists providing services in a dental school or through a local health department.
• The law allows a municipality to create an ordinance consistent with the law that requires dentists to install an amalgam separator before 2013.
• Dentists should begin complying with the law now by purchasing amalgam separators.
• The law requires the amalgam separator to have a removal efficiency of 95 percent or more as determined through testing in accordance with standards published by the International Organization for Standardization in ISO test 11143.
• It pre-empts local municipalities from enacting stricter requirements than the statewide standard.
• The Michigan Board of Dentistry, in consultation with the DEQ, is in the process of creating rules for the 2009 amalgam separator legislation. The rules are expected to be released later this year, and the MDA will communicate these rules to members in the Journal and on the MDA website.
• The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has awarded a $270,000 grant to the MDA to assist dentists in Michigan with the installation of amalgam separators up to $300 per installed separator. Separators must be purchased after Jan. 13, 2011. The grant program will run until September 2012 or until the funds are exhausted, whichever comes first. Hospitals and universities are not eligible. Click here to download the grant application.
• MDA Services has arranged for special pricing on amalgam separators for MDA members. Click here for information on the endorsed agreements MDA Services has with the amalgam separator providers.

For information on the MDA Services/DEQ Amalgam Separator Grant Program, contact Carol Yoshonis at 800-860-2272, ext. 465 or Darren Zwick at ext. 446.

For complete regulatory compliance information, contact the Michigan Dental Association’s Kesha Dixon at 800-589-2632, ext. 452.