# Mr. Alan Wilds — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation - **operation:** document - **citation:** 01-0217 - **title:** Mr. Alan Wilds — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation - **source type:** guidance - **agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration - **status:** guidance - **official:** true - **published on:** 2001-09-07 - **effective on:** Not available - **summary:** 01-0217 concerning 173.22. - **machine formats:** - **json:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-01-0217.json - **markdown:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-01-0217.md - **app url:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-01-0217 - **source url:** https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2001/010217.pdf **body:** <<>> J.S. Department of Transportatior Washington, D.C. 20590 400 Seventh St., S.W SEP 7 2001 Mr. Alan Wilds Ref. No: 01-0217 8135 Donna Place Williamsville, NY 14221 Dear Mr. Wilds: This responds to your August 8, 2001, letter regarding the applicability of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) to the transportation of dental amalgam. You state that the dental amalgam consists of 50% mercury, 25% silver and small quantities of tin, copper and zinc. You also state that the material is not subject to the Environmental Protection Agency's manifest requirements and none of the materials exceed their reportable quantities. Based on the information you have provided we agree that the dental amalgam described above is not subject to the HMR. I hope this information is helpful. Sincerely, Transportation Regulations Specialist Office of Hazardous Materials Standards 173,22 010217 <<>> SolmeteX™ 6172.101 App. A Hazardous Substance 08 August 2001 01-0217 MI. Delmer F. Billings Chief, Standards Development Office of Hazardous Materials Standards 400 Seventh Street, S. W. U. S. Department of Transportation Washington, District of Columbia 20590 Dear Mr. Billings: Re: Dental Amalgam Recycling Program This letter is to confirm the conclusion that a program to recycle dental amalgam (described more fully below) is not regulated pursuant to the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49CFR Parts 171 - 180). SolmeteX, United Parcels Service of America (UPS) and recycling facilities [including, but not limited to Mercury Waste Solutions, Inc. (MWSI)] wish to undertake a national recycling program in which dentists will be asked to participate by recycling dental amalgam. The amalgar will be from at least two sources: a. unused excess amalgam prepared for restoration work (referred to as non-contact amalgam) b. amalgam removed from a patient's teeth during repair work (referred to as contact amalgam) he amalgam consists of mercury (50%), silver (25%), and smaller quantities of tin, copper and inc. Thes ercentages are approximate and the amalgam is a solic The ces in sed analegin as sure his contact violeted, as created, an accumulated emil te lentist is ready to send it to the recycler. The contact amalgam will be contained within a hard plastic trap (in common terminology these traps may e referred to as Traps or Separators) that has been used to screen and collect the solids (consisting of smal pieces of tooth, gum and primarily amalgam resulting from the dental rinsing process). There are severa varietics of traps on the market and the one in particular is as follows full and containing less than 2 pounds of amalgam (and therefore less than one pound of mercury) a totally enclosed cylinder approximately 11" high × 5" diameter, weighing about 7 pounds when to nine months). A technician arranges with the dentist for a replacement and the removed Separator is The protocol requires that these devices be removed and sent for recycling periodically (usually every six prepared for transportation via UPS to the recycler. The contact amalgam has been in contact with body fluids and while the Separator has been installed, based proprietary preparations or sodium hypochlorite solution (bleach). on the published Best Management Practices (BMP), is routinely disinfected (usually daily) using cither and. MACAO.. Dares. E00 002.5115 For: 508.293-1295. F-mail: www.solmetex.com - <<>> The Separator full of amalgam and solution has been designed to be watertight. It is used as the primary the contents in any way other than as normal mail. approved procedures. By a retorting process, the mercury will be recovered and refined and then sold into The devices upon receipt by the recycler will be properly processed in accordance with their permits and normal commerce. The residual material, after further processing, will be sent to a precious metals refiner for silver and other precious materials recovery. to disposal, since it is both protective of the environment and extends natural resources. By removing the amalgam from the waste water systems, this program will provide a valuable altemative During discussions with the Environmental Protection Agency Region VII it was determined that this I appreciate your consultation and representation that you are authorized to provide the regulatory interpretation. Please let me know if this dental amalgam recycling program will be regulated under 49CFR Parts 171 - 1802 Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter. If you have any questions, please contact me at the address below. Yours sincerely, avanilotts Consultant to SolmeteX Alan Wilds Enc: SolmeteX Hg5 Mercury Removal System Leaflet 09 July 2001 letter from USEPA Region VII to Alan Wilds 8135 Donna Place Williamsville, New York 14221 Fax: 716 565 1733 Tel: 716 635 9670 E-mail: alanwilds@worldnet.att.net <<>> UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 901 NORTH 5TH STREET REGION VII KANSAS CITY, KANSAS 66101 JUL 09 2001 Mr. Alan Wilds Consultant to SolmeteX Williamsville, New York 14221 8135 Donna Place Dear Mr. Wilds: I have reviewed your letter dated June 28, 2001. In it you referenced a telephone conversation that generate more that 100 kilograms of hazardous waste per month nor accumulate more than 1000 kilograms we had regarding the recycling of dental amalgam. If a dentist wishing to. recycle dental amalgam does not of hazardous waste, then such dentist and recycling of dental amalgam would fall under the regulatory requirements of Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations (40 C.F.R.) 261.5. Your letter also asks if this Iowa. For Kansas, the generation and storage amounts are 25 kilograms and 1000 kilograms respectively…. would be the same for all 4 states in EPA Region VII. This interpretation is correct for Nebraska and For Missouri, the generation and storage amounts are 100 kilograms. Please be aware that transportation of dental amalgam is covered by the Department of Transportation regulations and this letter is only for EPA requirements. I encourage you to contact the following state agencies in Region VII and obtain a copy of their hazardous waste regulations or to ask any questions that you may have regarding this issue: Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) at (785) 296-1600 Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) at (573) 751-3176 Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) at (402) 471-7217 If you have any questions regarding this letter, please feel free to contact me at (913) 551-7633 or by Email at mitchell.brian@epa.gov. Sincerely, Dull Brian Mitchell RCRA Compliance Officer RCRA Enforcement and State Programs Branch Air, RCRA, and Toxics Division Cc: Mary Bitney, KDHE Kathy Flippin, MDNR Bill Gidley, NDEQ RECYCLE C PAREA COMLA NECIESED BEST - **truncated:** false - **body characters:** 6849