Management of mercury legacy from dental amalgam in waste water

废水中牙科汞合金遗留汞的管理

• 批准号: NE/T004967/1
• 负责人: Nicolas Martin
• 金额: $ 10.6万
• 依托单位: University of Sheffield
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FT004967%2F1
• 关键词: Management; mercury; legacy; dental; amalgam

Mercury, Hg, is a potent neurotoxin that bioaccumulates in fish and shellfish, making it a global pollution concern. The United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) has stated that Hg and its compounds are serious risks to human health and the environment. This issue a major environmental priority: in 2017 UNEP brought into force the 'Minamata Convention,' a global treaty to "protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury." Through this treaty, UNEP sets out to phase down, phase out and eliminate global Hg use. Dentistry is a major source of Hg; the metal makes up 50% of the 'dental amalgam' used in traditional silver fillings. Although dental amalgam is being replaced by plastic and ceramic substitutes; this is a slow process and in the developing world it remains the principal dental filling material. Furthermore, a 'legacy problem' remains from its uncontrolled disposal over the last 150 years. In some developed countries, dental surgeries are equipped with 'dental amalgam separators'; but elsewhere discharge of this waste into municipal sewers is still common. The release of this waste into municipal facilities creates a complex pollutant legacy as heavy amalgam waste settles in sewerage pipes, becoming accreted in anaerobic sludge. UNEP estimates that thousands of tonnes of Hg from dental amalgam enter waste streams each year and that this is a significant problem in developing equatorial and tropical countries where uncontrolled waste disposal is widespread, as at the higher temperatures in these regions bacterial action increases the deleterious effects of Hg, by forming the exceptionally hazardous bio-accumulating neurotoxin, methyl mercury. This project will develop and grow a bespoke research team, with partners in the UK and India, to identify a strategy for the quantification of Hg from dental amalgam present in waste-water systems. The strengths of the team comes from a combination of highly skilled 'task-specific' scientists in the Research Institutes formed by the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) with unique knowledge and expertise in analytical systems for the detection and quantification of mercury. CSIR scientists will work and share specialist knowledge with colleagues in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Sheffield, UK. The team also has the invaluable strategic support and expressed desire for collaboration from UNEP and the World Health Organisation. Both these organisations have identified India as an area of 'environmental interest and required action' for this pollution pathway; and in this way we are combining the expertise of international collaborating partners that are operational in an 'at risk' location. The presidency of the Indian Dental Association has joined our collaborative team and will provide guidance, expertise on 'at-risk sites', essential national advice on local and national professional and political resources, and possible future funding opportunities.This application seeks to develop this powerful scientific consortium and facilitate a proof of concept study to optimise sensitive mercury detection methods developed by CSIR-CSMRI. The work packages we have developed are designed to meet specific objectives: (i) to further develop and refine this test and other sensitive methods to identify and quantify Hg content in waste water. (ii) to identify target sites where amalgam residues accrete inside waste water pipes. (iii) to develop water sensing capabilities to test 'down-stream' from a contaminant source. (iv) to electronically automate testing for the presence of mercury or methyl mercury in water or accretions in pipes.This initial programme of activities will enable us to develop the consortium and apply for more comprehensive, long-term, funding to address the challenges of this environmental pollutant pathway in an impactful way.

汞 (Hg) 是一种强效神经毒素，可在鱼类和贝类中生物累积，使其成为全球污染问题。联合国环境规划署（UNEP）表示，汞及其化合物对人类健康和环境构成严重威胁。这个问题是一个重要的环境优先事项：2017 年，环境署使《水俣公约》生效，这是一项“保护人类健康和环境免受汞不利影响”的全球条约。通过该条约，环境署着手逐步减少、淘汰和消除全球汞的使用。牙科是汞的主要来源；这种金属占传统银填充物中使用的“牙科汞合金”的 50%。尽管牙科汞合金正在被塑料和陶瓷替代品所取代；这是一个缓慢的过程，在发展中国家，它仍然是主要的牙科填充材料。此外，过去 150 年来对其不受控制的处置仍然存在一个“遗留问题”。在一些发达国家，牙科诊所配备了“牙科汞合金分离器”；但在其他地方，将这些废物排入城市下水道的情况仍然很常见。这些废物释放到市政设施中会产生复杂的污染物遗留问题，因为重汞合金废物会沉积在污水管道中，并在厌氧污泥中积聚。环境规划署估计，每年有数千吨来自牙科汞合金的汞进入废物流，这对于发展中国家的赤道和热带国家来说是一个严重问题，这些国家的废物处理不受控制十分普遍，因为这些地区的温度较高，细菌的作用增加了有害影响汞，通过形成极其危险的生物蓄积性神经毒素——甲基汞。该项目将与英国和印度的合作伙伴一起开发和发展一个定制研究团队，以确定废水系统中牙科汞合金中汞的定量策略。该团队的优势来自科学与工业研究委员会 (CSIR) 成立的研究所中技术精湛的“特定任务”科学家，他们在汞检测和定量分析系统方面拥有独特的知识和专业知识。 CSIR 的科学家将与英国谢菲尔德大学化学系的同事合作并分享专业知识。该团队还获得了环境署和世界卫生组织的宝贵战略支持，并表达了合作的愿望。这两个组织都已将印度确定为该污染途径的“环境利益和需要采取行动”的地区；通过这种方式，我们结合了在“危险”地区开展业务的国际合作伙伴的专业知识。印度牙科协会主席已加入我们的合作团队，并将提供有关“风险场所”的指导、专业知识、有关地方和国家专业和政治资源的重要国家建议以及未来可能的资助机会。此应用程序旨在开发此应用程序强大的科学联盟并促进概念验证研究，以优化由 CSIR-CSMRI 开发的灵敏汞检测方法。我们开发的工作包旨在满足特定目标：(i) 进一步开发和完善该测试和其他敏感方法，以识别和量化废水中的汞含量。 (ii) 确定汞齐残留物在废水管道内积聚的目标地点。 (iii) 开发水传感能力以测试污染源的“下游”。 (iv) 以电子方式自动检测水中是否存在汞或甲基汞或管道中的沉积物。这一初步活动计划将使我们能够发展联盟并申请更全面、长期的资金来应对以下挑战：以一种有影响力的方式形成这种环境污染物途径。

项目成果

The management of mercury from dental amalgam in wastewater effluent

废水中牙科汞合金汞的管理

• DOI: 10.1080/21622515.2021.1960642
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Environmental Technology Reviews
• 作者: Fairbanks S