ICP Analysis of Dental Wastewater

J. L. DRUMMOND, M. D. CAILAS, V. OVSEY, M. A. BABKA, R. P. PERRY, and T. R. TOEPKE [University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL] W. C. RODDY, M. STONE, M. E. COHEN, and S. A. RALLS [Naval Dental Research Institute, Great Lakes, IL, USA] 

Dental wastewater (DWW) is likely to contain heavy metal pollutants due to the use of amalgam as a restorative material. The discharge of this waste into the sewer system from a large number of dental offices and clinics, may limit the ability of the wastewater treatment facilities to meet their effluent requirements. This paper presents the results of an ongoing DWW characterization study related to the overall heavy metal content. For this purpose, 46 samples were collected from the Great Lakes Naval Dental Clinics and private dental offices and analyzed by the inductively coupled plasma (ICP) technique. The analyzed portion was the supernatant which is the fraction of the DWW after 24 hr of settling. Mercury was not analyzed by this technique since it is less sensitive than cold vapor atomic absorption spectroscopy. The results indicate that many different elements are found in the DWW and that mercury may be only one element of concern.  [Journal of Dental Research, 75:37 #162, 1996]