Dental Information  
 



 

Hundreds of Toronto Dentists to be in violation of Toronto's new Sewer Use By-law effective January 1, 2002

Dentists routinely releasing dangerous amounts of mercury into city's sewer system.

From River Sides, Where Water Quality Begins http://www.riversides.org/

http://www.riversides.org/review/riversides/dental_mercury_press.html

Dental Mercury Initiative

For immediate release
December 18, 2001

TORONTO: New Year's eve could find hundreds of Toronto dentists in violation of a new By-law that restricts their ability to discharge dangerous amounts of mercury into the sewer system, according to a local water quality protection group, RiverSides Stewardship Alliance. Mercury has long been identified as a dangerous nerve toxin.

At a Tuesday media conference, RiverSides reported that nearly 80% of Toronto dentists have failed to take the most basic steps to comply with the City of Toronto's new Sewer Use By-law, which takes effect on January 1, 2002. The information was obtained by RiverSides under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

"We are concerned that, with just two weeks left before the By-law comes into force, only 350 dentists out of 1,500 have filed the required Pollution Prevention Plans with the City outlining the actions they have taken to reduce their mercury discharges," said Jason Thorne, Communications Director, RiverSides Stewardship Alliance.

The Sewer Use By-law, passed by City Council in July of 2000, regulates discharges of specific pollutants by various industries into the City's sewer system. The By-law represents Toronto's fulfillment of a commitment to eliminate toxic pollutants in its waste water and sewage sludge, some of which is incinerated at the Ashbridges Bay sewage treatment Plant. The By-law is widely supported by environmental and health protection professionals as a major step forward in reducing local air and water pollution.

The By-law identifies dental practices as a major source of mercury discharge. "Silver" amalgam fillings contain approximately 50% mercury. The average dental office produces between one and two pounds of waste mercury each year. Overall, Environment Canada has estimated that more than two metric tonnes (2,000 kilograms) of waste mercury enters our environment every year from dental amalgam discharge. This is roughly equal to the amount of mercury emitted into the atmosphere each year by Canada's fossil fuel-based electricity generators. More than 1/3 of the mercury "loadings" to sewage systems in Canada come from dental practices.

Under the By-law, dentists are required to install dental amalgam separators to capture mercury before it enters the sewer system. RiverSides also raised the concern that some dentists may be purchasing and installing amalgam separators sold by companies claiming that they meet the By-law but without any independent verification.

"There are a lot of discount amalgam separator systems on the market which will capture the large mercury particles but not the finer particles that are dissolved in water. That's not good enough for meeting the By-law's discharge limits and it is certainly not good enough to protect the environment," said Thorne.

Thorne cited an informal study of three dental amalgam separators conducted by the City in the summer of 2000. Results showed that one of the systems failed by a wide margin and only one met the By-law's discharge limits for mercury.

"A lot of dentists are going to be surprised when the City's enforcement officers come knocking on their doors to tell them that they have violated the By-law because their discount amalgam separator failed to achieve the required mercury reductions," said Thorne.

Attached is a list of legal options available if the City's enforcement officers fail to take action. The By-law allows private citizens and environmental groups to launch private prosecutions against dentists and landlords.

For more information:
Jason Thorne, Communications Director
RiverSides Stewardship Alliance
Office: (416) 392-1983
Cell: (416) 892-4861
Web: www.dentalmercury.org

The U.S. National Academy of Sciences estimates that 60,000 babies yearly in the United States are born learning disabled due to mercury levels in the fetus and that over 2,000,000 pregnant woman in the United States are exposed to high levels of mercury from the consumption of fish. Mercury contamination is the number one reason for the collapse of a once thriving commercial Great Lakes fishery. 96% of all government fish consumption advisories in Canadian waters are a result of mercury contamination of fish tissues. It takes just 1/70 of a teaspoon of mercury to make all of the fish in a 25 acre lake unsafe to eat.

More dentists ordered to stop dumping mercury

Last Updated Sat, 05 Jan 2002 19:51:31

http://cbc.ca/storyview/CBC/2002/01/05/mercury_020105

TORONTO - Canada's largest city has joined an environmental campaign to stop dentists from letting bits of mercury fillings go down the drain.

Starting this month, Toronto has outlawed the practice in order to prevent potentially hazardous material from getting into rivers and lakes.

Some other communities, including Montreal, Calgary and Victoria, already have similar bylaws in place.

The average dentist's office produces up to a kilogram of mercury waste every year, according to estimates. Environment Canada says it all adds up to about two tonnes of toxic material – the same amount that coal-fired power plants spew into the air.

Although many members of the profession have stopped using the silvery-grey amalgam that contains mercury, small chunks of old fillings are still washed out of many patients' mouths every week.

Most of it ends up going through sewer systems into Canada's rivers and lakes, contaminating fish and other wildlife, according to experts. Some of it eventually ends up back in people's bodies, attacking brain tissue as well as kidney and livers.

"I think it was an unrecognized problem for many, many years," says Jason Thorne of the RiverSides Stewardship Alliance, an organization that promotes keeping water clean.

"I think more and more municipalities are starting to look at Toronto's lead, and to take dentists seriously as a … polluting industry."

The Ontario Dental Association says that all of its members are aware of the environmental concerns, and have been working on ways to reduce the amount of mercury that is flushed into sewers.

Effective Jan. 1, there is a new incentive for Toronto's 1,500 dentists. Anyone caught dumping mercury faces a fine of up to $5,000 a day.

In recent months, hundreds of dental offices have rushed out to purchase new filtering systems, which cost several thousand dollars a year to maintain. The units trap the heavy metal waste before it reaches the main sewer pipe.

Canada's environment ministers have urged dentists to voluntarily cut mercury emissions by 95 per cent over the next three years.

Written by CBC News Online staff