Minimizing Mercury In The Environment

What is Mercury?

Mercury is a naturally occurring element that is found in air, water and soil. It exists in several forms: elemental or metallic mercury, inorganic mercury compounds, and organic mercury compounds. Mercury is an element in the Earth’s crust. Humans cannot create or destroy mercury.

Pure mercury is a liquid metal, sometimes referred to as quicksilver that volatizes readily. It has traditionally been used to make products like thermometers, switches, and some light bulbs.

Why does minimizing mercury matter?

The state of North Carolina prohibits the disposal of hazardous waste into municipal solid waste landfills. Dental facilities that prepare amalgam may produce amalgam waste containing mercury.

Waste amalgam caught in the traps and screens of plumbing as well as other scraps of amalgam from dental offices must be shipped to a properly permitted facility.

WHERE SHOULD MERCURY BE DISPOSED OF?

New Hanover County residents have two options to safely dispose of household items and electronics containing mercury at no cost:

At the NHC Landfill’s household hazardous waste receiving station located at 3002 Highway 421 North. Hours of Operation are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
At the mobile household hazardous waste unit called the HazWagon. Get details on where you can find the HazWagon and all of the materials they accept here.

The state of North Carolina considers mercury a hazardous waste, prohibiting its disposal into municipal solid waste landfills. Products containing mercury should be disposed of at a hazardous waste facility.

Amalgam in wastewater is regulated either by the Sewer Use Ordinance of the local wastewater authority for dischargers to the sewer systems or by the local health department for dischargers to a septic tank. The sewer discharge limit for all users for mercury recommended in the N.C. Sewer Use Ordinance template is 0.0003 mg/l. Local limits may differ. Dischargers to a septic tank are prohibited from discharging hazardous waste and form contaminating groundwater at the compliance boundary.