Great Lakes Dental Mercury Reduction Project

Year Awarded: 1997
Awarded: $114,000
Team Leader:  Western Lake Superior Sanitary District

This team worked with dental professionals and waste management experts among others, in order to minimize the release of mercury to the Great Lakes environment due to the dental industry. Team members employed simple and cost-effective techniques including substituting alternatives for mercury-containing amalgam (a common material used in dental offices), collection and recycling of mercury from dental offices, chairside amalgam collection units, and the installation of dental wastewater treatment systems.