POTWS EYE NEW DATA TO FORCE EPA COST ANALYSIS OF MERCURY WATER LIMITS

Wastewater treatment industry officials say new data showing that separators used to remove mercury from dental fillings are not effective in preventing mercury from reaching wastewater streams could force EPA to reconsider whether publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) can afford to comply with strict mercury discharge limits. Sources say the first year of data from a three-year study by the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies (AMSA) on the effectiveness of these so-called dental amalgam separators in reducing the amount of...