What is the best way to prevent mercury contamination in the dental office?

Correct answer: A. Store scrap amalgam in a sealed container under fixer solution and recycle it through a licensed handler

• A. CORRECT. Scrap amalgam must be COLLECTED, STORED in a sealed, labelled container (traditionally under used radiographic fixer or a commercial suppressant to limit vapour release), and RECYCLED through a licensed amalgam waste handler. Combined with an ISO 11143-compliant amalgam separator on the vacuum line — mandatory under the EPA Dental Office Category rule — this is the accepted standard of practice.
• B. Amalgam is a hazardous chemical waste, not a biohazard. Placing it in a red bag sends it to an incinerator, which volatilises the mercury directly into the atmosphere — the worst possible outcome.
• C. Discharging amalgam to the sanitary sewer is precisely what the EPA amalgam separator rule was written to prevent.
• D. Modern amalgam is already supplied as pre-capsulated high-copper alloy with a fixed formulation; the clinician does not choose mercury content, and this does not address waste handling at all.

Note: Also part of good mercury hygiene: pre-capsulated alloy only, rubber dam and high-volume evacuation during removal, no heating of amalgam, and no ultrasonic cleaning of amalgam-contaminated instruments.