Oregon Dentist Partnership

Rick VolpelOregon Department of Environmental Quality(503) 229-6753

Partners in Outreach

• Oregon Dental Association – ODA

• Oregon Association of Clean Water Agencies -- ACWA

• Oregon Department of Environmental Quality -- DEQ

Best Management Practices

• Developed in 1998

• Original focus on silver fixer waste

• BMPs last updated in 2004

• Now covers Ag, Hg & Pb wastes

• Amalgam separators not in BMPs

Role of Partners

• BMP development

• Training

• Outreach

• Certification

• Surveys

Additional Activities

• Participate in Oregon Dental Conference

• Collection of mercury waste at dental conference

• Oregon tax credit for pollution control equipment

Mercury Waste Collection

• Held at 2004 and 2005 Oregon dental conferences

• 600 pounds mercury-containing dental waste during the conferences

• DEQ and ACWA provided funding for waste collection

Waste Collected

0

50

100

150

200

250

2004 2005

Mercury

Amalgam

Traps & Filters

Pollution Control Tax Credit

• Developed amalgam separator tax credit form

• Provides up to 35% of installation cost as a tax credit

• Approved 7 applications to date

• Tax credit total $8,352

Survey Results

• Clean Water Services– 75% of dentists certified as meeting BMPs

• Portland– >85% of dentists certified as meeting BMPs

• DEQ – Random visits show compliance to BMPs

What’s Next

• Increase number of cities/counties surveyed

• Address TMDL concerns

• Continue with surveys/certification

• Gather separator information