Congressional hearing to address mercury wastes from dental offices
Mercury Policy Project testimony and EPA whistleblower to charge that EPA underestimates toxic pollution; voluntary safeguards not working
Dental clinics are the leading source of toxic mercury pollution into wastewater, yet have escaped federal regulation due to a backroom, midnight deal in the waning days of the Bush administration, say experts on the problem. Chairman Dennis Kucinich of the Domestic Policy Subcommittee will hold a hearing at 2 pm this Wednesday to evaluate the EPA’s approach, outdated estimates, and the environmental and human health impacts of dental mercury wastes.
“During the waning days of the Bush Administration, EPA political appointees let the dental sector off the hook, allowing them to hide behind voluntary programs under the guise that dentists would eventually install pollution control equipment,” said Mercury Policy Project Director Michael Bender.“The problem with the midnight deal is that it allows significant and preventable mercury pollution releases to air and water. This sweetheart deal was based on faulty information; left the American Dental Association in charge of developing baseline data before goals could be set; is being unduly delayed; and, lacks openness, transparency and followthrough.”
A 2008 congressional study documented clear evidence of the failure of voluntary programs, which cited numerous cases in which the programs didn’t achieve significant compliance by dentists. Since then, the Quicksilver Caucus, a coalition of state organizations focusing on mercury issues, has found that the rate of installation of amalgam separators in dental offices remains low unless there is a mandatory requirement.
Included on the panel is an EPA Region 5 official who is testifying of his own accord, and who will differ with official EPA testimony on the scope of the problem, estimating that mercury emissions from cremation are ten times higher than EPA’s outdated emission inventory estimates from 2002.
A new report to be released this week by the Mercury Policy Project, “Midnight Deal on Dental Mercury: How the Bush EPA’s Agreement with the American Dental Association Undermines Pollution Prevention,” finds that the EPA is underestimating the amount of dental mercury released to the atmosphere by 4-6 times the actual amount.
Removing mercury from wastewater sludge is far more expensive than capturing it at the source, Bender said. Furthermore, mercury in wastewater is easily converted to methylmercury, which bioaccumulates in fish and animals and is toxic to humans.
Also included in the Mercury Policy Project report is striking new data that shows voluntary calls for dental regulation do not work. On the other hand, 10 states have mandated mercury removal systems in dental offices, which have been successful in preventing 95-99% of wastewater contamination.
Hearing Details:
“Assessing EPA’s Efforts to Measure and Reduce Mercury Pollution from Dentist Offices”
Hearing before the Domestic Policy Subcommittee, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
2 pm, Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Room 2154, Rayburn House Office Building
Speakers include:
Panel 1:
• Nancy Stoner, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Water, US EPA
Panel 2:
• John Reindl, Mercury Policy Project (on behalf of Mercury Policy Project Director Michael Bender)
• Steve Brown, Executive Director, The Environmental Council of the States
• Alexis Cain, EPA Region 5 Air and Radiation Division (EPA title for identification purposes only)
• Al Dube, National Sales Manager of Dental Division, SolmeteX Waste Disposal Systems, manufacturer of separators that remove mercury filling material from dental offices’ wastewater
• William Walsh, Counsel, Pepper Hamilton, LLP (representing the American Dental Association)
The Mercury Policy Project works to promote policies to eliminate mercury uses, reduce the export and trafficking of mercury, and significantly reduce mercury exposures at the local, national, and international levels. For a copy of the report and more information on solution for removing the threat of dental mercury waste, please visit http://mercurypolicy.org