City of Dayton Industrial Pretreatment Program MERCURY

Mercury is a naturally occurring element that does not break down. It occurs naturally in the ocean, rocks, and soil. It becomes airborne through natural processes such as soil decomposition and volcanic eruption, and falls back to the earth with dust, rain, or snow. Human activities that release mercury into the air /include: burning of oil, coal, wood, or natural gas; incinerating solid waste; mining or smelting; petroleum refining; cement or lime kiln production. Once released to the air, mercury makes its way back to the ground landing on soil or in water. Water bodies are directly contaminated when there is a mercury-containing discharge of municipal or industrial wastewater.

Why is the Wastewater Treatment Plant concerned about Mercury?

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency issues permits to wastewater treatment plants that discharge treated wastewater to water bodies in Ohio. The City of Dayton Wastewater Treatment Plant has one of these permits. The permit places a multitude of regulatory requirements on the City of Dayton. These requirements /include pollutant limits on the discharge to the Great Miami River, monitoring requirements, and reporting requirements. The City of Dayton's 30-day average limit for the pollutant mercury is very low - 29 parts per trillion (0.029 micrograms per liter).

What happens to Mercury in the environment?

Mercury in a water body is converted by bacteria to methylmercury. Tiny water organisms absorb the methylmercury. Fish eat the tiny organisms. The methylmercury builds up to high levels in predatory fish at the top of the aquatic food chain. Wildlife such as otters, turtles, and loons that eat contaminated fish also accumulate methylmercury. This process is known as bioaccumulation or biomagnification. This also affects people who consume contaminated fish.

How does Mercury affect people and wildlife? Methylmercury is a toxic compound that builds up in the tissues of animals and humans. Methylmercury is a neurotoxin. It affects the brain, spinal cord, kidneys and liver of a human being. It affects fetal brain and nervous system development. In wildlife, mercury poisoning can lead to neurological impairments, reproductive problems, weight loss, and early death.

How Can I Help Prevent Mercury from Getting into the Environment? Conventionally, pollution control emphasizes treating waste after it is generated. Often, waste treatment techniques, simply move the pollutants from one media (air, water, or soil) to another. Remember the goal is to eliminate mercury discharges, not transfer them from wastewater to the solid waste or air (via incineration). Pollution prevention focuses on preventing the waste from being generated in the first place. The key is to change existing processes and replace hazardous substances with alternatives to reduce the discharge of mercury to the environment.

You can help by practicing the basics of Pollution Prevention:

• Know where mercury is found. (see the lists below)
• Use mercury-free alternatives.
• Properly recover and recycle mercury and mercury-containing products.
• Know where to take mercury-containing waste for environmentally safe recycling.

Households should contact their local "Household Hazardous Waste" collection facility. Residents of Montgomery County, Ohio can contact the Montgomery County "Recycle Hotline" at 937-225-4999. Commercial and industrial facilities can receive a list of private vendors who can safely dispose of non-residential hazardous waste by contacting the Montgomery County "Recycle Hotline" at 937-225-4999.

For more information, you may contact the City of Dayton, Industrial Pretreatment Program at 937-333-1501 or the Ohio EPA Office of Pollution Prevention at 614-644-2956. Also, for more information on safe recycling of fluorescent lamps, contact the "Green Lights Program" of the USEPA - Region V at 312-886-6858.

• Older alkaline batteries
• Some button batteries (found in toys, cards, watches, calculators, gym shoes that light up or make noise)
• Thermometers with a silver bulb
• Fluorescent or high intensity discharge lights
• Older latex paints (manufactured before August 1990)
• Some oil based paints
• Thermostats (non-electronic models)
• Older pesticides / fungicides for seeds and turf
• "Silent" light switches
• Some antique clock pendulums
• Some "silvering" on antique mirrors

Commercial Mercury Sources

• Dentists - dental amalgam, bulk mercury
• Hospitals - mercury-containing lab reagents, pharmaceuticals, mercuric oxide batteries, mercury containing equipment - thermometers, thermostats, switches
• Laboratories - mercury-containing lab reagents, mercury containing equipment – thermometers, thermostats, switches
• Veterinary Clinics - mercury-containing lab reagents, pharmaceuticals, mercury containing equipment -thermometers, thermostats, switches
• Art Centers - pottery glazes, pigments
• Printing Shops - inks and special paper coatings
• Automobile Service Centers - dirt and oil
• Mortuaries and Crematoriums

Industrial Mercury Sources

• Batteries, Rectifiers
• Lights - fluorescent, high pressure sodium, mercury arc, metal halide, neon, UV disinfectant
• Instruments - thermostats, thermometers, barometers, manometers, vacuum gauges, switches, relays, sensors, hydrometers, pyrometers
• Pigments - paints, coatings, plastics (especially reds and oranges)
• Laboratory reagents (caustics, acids, bleach, mercury compounds)
• Preservatives - to prevent mildew in paints, coatings, textiles
• Pollution Control Devices - wet scrubbers
• Mining / Metals Industry
• Fireworks Production
• Incineration
• Fuel Combustion
• Petroleum Refining Industrial Chemicals

Information for Dentists