14.60.378 Amalgam separators.
The director may specify additional requirements for dental facilities that remove or place amalgam fillings.
A. All users of and dischargers from dental facilities that remove or place amalgam fillings shall comply with the following waste management practices:
1. No person shall rinse chair-side traps, vacuum screens, or amalgam separator equipment in a sink or other connection to the sanitary sewer.
2. Users of and dischargers from dental facilities shall ensure that all staff members who handle amalgam waste are trained in the proper handling, management, and disposal of mercury-containing material and fixer-containing solutions, and shall maintain training records that shall be available for inspection by the director during normal business hours.
3. Amalgam waste shall be stored and managed in accordance with the instructions of the recycler or hauler of such materials.
4. Bleach and other chlorine-containing disinfectants shall not be used to disinfect the vacuum line system.
5. The use of bulk mercury is prohibited. Only pre-capsulated dental amalgam is permitted.
B. All users of and dischargers from dental vacuum suction systems, except as set forth in subsection (C) of this section, shall comply with the following:
1. An ISO 11143 certified amalgam separator or comparable device shall be installed for each dental vacuum suction system on or before one year of the effective date of this title; provided, however, that all dental facilities that are newly constructed on and after the effective date of this title shall include an installed ISO 11143 certified amalgam separator or comparable device. The installed device must be ISO 11143 certified or comparable as capable of removing a minimum of 99 percent of total mercury. The amalgam separator system shall be certified at flow rates comparable to the flow rate of the actual vacuum suction system operation. Neither the separator device nor the related plumbing shall include an automatic flow bypass. For facilities that require an amalgam separator that exceeds the practical capacity of ISO 11143 test methodology, a noncertified separator may be accepted; provided, that smaller units from the same manufacturer and of the same technology are ISO-certified or comparable. Alternative materials and methods shall be proposed to the director for approval.
2. Proof of certification and installation records shall be submitted to the director within 30 days of installation.
3. Amalgam separators shall be maintained in accordance with manufacturer’s recommendations. Installation, certification, and maintenance records shall be available for immediate inspection upon request by the director during normal business hours.
4. All service and maintenance activities performed on the amalgam separator shall be documented on the city of Lynnwood’s dental facility maintenance record. This record shall be posted on site and submitted to the city as documented in the mercury removal control plan.
C. The following types of dental practice are exempt from this section; provided, that removal or placement of amalgam fillings occurs at the facility no more than three days per year: dental clinics, orthodontics, periodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, radiology, oral pathology or oral medicine, and endodontistry and prosthodontistry. Exemption from this section requires an annually signed document from the discharger stating removal or placement of amalgam fillings occurs at the facility no more than three days per year. (Ord. 3220 § 2, 2016)