The Environmental Protection Agency has reinstated the nationwide amalgam separator rule which will go into effect July 14, 2017 with a compliance date of July 14, 2020.
All dental offices, including dental schools and clinics, will need to abide by this rule. The rule does not apply to mobile units or offices that only practice oral pathology, oral and maxillofacial radiology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics, periodontics or prosthodontics. Offices that do not remove or place amalgam except for in emergency situations (estimated at 5 percent or less of removals) can also file for exemption. Offices that already have separators installed are grandfathered in for 10 years.
Review the complete unofficial rule here: https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2017-12338.pdf
The American Dental Association is developing resources to assist members with compliance. They have already partnered with HealthFirst (http://www.healthfirst.com/ada/) that offers members special pricing on amalgam separators that will meet federal regulatory requirements with recycling services.
Find additional info at http://success.ada.org/en/regulatory-legal/amalgam?source=VanityURL
