EBME Forums Forums Maintenance Technical Assistance Dental Amalgam Separation

Hi all
I wondered if any of you chaps that look after dental departments had any experience with amalgam separation?
I have been tasked with getting our clinics to comply with the latest regulations on separation of amalgam from waste water and have spoken to a number of dental suppliers about what equipment to fit etc.
I wondered how many of you have already done this in your clinics and am interested to hear of any problems you have encountered with the equipment you have fitted.
I have about 50 clinics to do so I want to make sure I check out any potential pitfalls before I recommend particular solutions.
Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Angie,
We have completed 20+ installations at various sites in the UK and have settled on Durr kit as it is as reliable in operation as it gets (improper maintenance aside). We use their spitton valve kits linked to the VS600 or 900 suction units with amalgam serperation. The spitton valve removes all waste from the normal water drainage system (and seperates larger amalgam waste into a cleanable filter) and the suction unit strips the smaller particles and deposits them in a handy pot for easy disposal. The remaining "clean" water can then exit into the normal waste system. The only installation problem we have is access to an external wall for waste air venting although you can vent this air into the drain as well if nessary.
I hope this is helpful
Ed Bennett
Southwest Medical Ltd