Robert M. Donnelly

Mr. Donnelly is President of Dental Recycling North America, Inc. (headquartered in Hackensack, New Jersey), the leading supplier of mercury-in-amalgam-waste capture systems for dental offices and clinics in North America. DRNA offers the only system on the market that achieves "zero discharge," or no detectable mercury found leaving the dental office, by independent laboratory analysis and testing. DRNA offers the dentist a full service for the recycling of their mercury-bearing amalgam waste.

Prior to DRNA, Mr Donnelly was CEO of El-O-Matic NA, a marketer of valve automation systems to the process control industry. Earlier in his career he held senior executive positions with EXXON, Pfizer and IBM. An author, lecturer and internationally known speaker, Mr. Donnelly frequently participates in conferences and forums on marketing and strategic planning. He also writes a column for a UK-based magazine that is targeted to growing firms. He can be reached by e-mail at rmdonnelly@aol.com.

Gerald Vermette, DDS, of Skowhegan, Maine received the Governor's Award for Environmental Consciousness for Pollution Prevention on September 23, 1998. Dr. Vermette was recognized for keeping the mercury-bearing amalgam waste generated in his practice out of his community"s air and water. He captures this toxic waste for recycling using a proven, economical amalgam capture system provided by Dental Recycling North America, Inc.(DRNA).

As part of its service, DRNA recycles the mercury-bearing amalgam waste captured in traps and amalgam separators, installed in dental offices in accordance with USEPA guidelines. Dr. Vermette is the first dentist in the country to receive this kind of award for his concern about the potential environmental damage a toxic waste generated in his practice can cause in addition to the obvious health hazards.

Little known to many, dentists generate a lot of mercury in the routine process of drilling out old mercury amalgam fillings. Approximately one gram of mercury is in each amalgam filling compound. Mercury makes up about half of every amalgam filling.

According to the USEPA, half a gram of mercury will contaminate a 10 acre lake to the extent that the government will issue a fish advisory not to eat the fish in that lake. When a dentist drills out just one old mercury amalgam filling, at least half a gram of mercury is generated in that process. Where does it go?

Between 65% and 80% of all mercury-bearing amalgam waste is captured in coarse filters at chairside. These filters need to be cleaned/replaced frequently. The balance, in very fine particulate and some mercury in solution, goes directly down the drain. Unfortunately in many dental practices, the hazardous mercury-bearing amalgam waste captured in the coarse filters gets thrown in the trash, rinsed in the sink, flushed down the toilet, or gets dumped in the biowaste containers for incineration. Most of these waste streams eventually discharge the mercury from the amalgam waste into the air, and it settles back to earth to contaminate our environment. Most of it winds up in streams, rivers and lakes from the run-off of heavy rains. The balance, as was stated earlier, gets flushed down the drain directly into the sewer or septic system.

Mercury from dentistry is discharged into the air and water every day in every community where there is a dental office. It certainly appears that dentists are not as concerned about the health of their patients outside their practices as they should be. Realizing this, Dr. Vermette decided to do something about it back in 1996, and since then has been capturing this toxic waste for recycling, keeping it out of the environment around Skowhegan, Maine.

How much mercury are we really talking about? DRNA finds about ONE POUND of mercury per year per dentist in their particle traps and separators. Given that there are over 100,000 dentists still removing old mercury amalgam fillings throughout the country, that's a lot of mercury being discharged -- every year!

So, while individual dentists may think they are only discharging trace amounts, in reality they really do not know how much mercury they generate. And when you take into consideration all dentists in the town, city, county or state, it really adds up! As a matter of fact, some cities have traced nearly 100% of the mercury entering their wastewater treatment facilities back to the dental community. And that's only what goes down the drain.

Late last year, the EPA released the MERCURY REPORT to Congress which identified mercury as the number one toxic to be dealt with throughout the US. Since then, mercury from all sources has been targeted for reduction, even mercury from dentistry. In the coming months, more and more municipalities will be considering enforcing regulations prohibiting the discharge of mercury into the air and water.

Compelling public relations and marketing value exists for dentists who are pro-active. Ignoring this issue could be perceived by municipal officials, environmentalists, and patients to be environmentally irresponsible. Pollution prevention is a powerful argument these days. Dr. Vermette is a pioneer and at the forefront of environmental consciousness for dentists throughout the country.