Evaluation of Metal Concentration (Hg, Zn, Cu, Co, Sn, Ag, Cr and Ni) in Influent & Effluent water of Dental Clinics' units

Many contaminants can enter the environment via dentistry. Some of the materials including heavy metals may present some problems to the environment. Amalgam waste in dental clinics is the main source of mercury pollution in the environment. Apart from mercury, other amalgam constituents such as Ag, Sn, Co, Cu, and Zn in dental clinics’ wastewater have just been reported in a few previous kinds of literature. This study aimed to measure the concentrations of mercury, cobalt, zinc, copper, tin, silver, chromium, and nickel in the influent and effluent of dental units of some dental clinics. Samples were collected over 6-month period from 5 dental clinics and three samples were collected from each clinic at the end of the working day, within a week as the effluent sample. Metal concentration was also detected in the influent of the dental units and samples were analysed for metals using the atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) technique for statistical analysis. Data were analysed with Wilcoxon and Kruskal – Wallis tests within SPSS 18 software. The concentration of all the metals in influent water was at the level of the national standard in all samples. In comparing influent and effluent values, the P-values for Hg, Zn, Cu, and Sn (0.001), Cu (0.003), Ag (0.028), Cr (0.007), and Ni (0.016) as shown significant differences between influent and effluent values for all the sample. Based on the obtained findings from the study, wastewater has an undesirable level in terms of heavy metals. Thus, dental clinic wastewater might be considered hazardous waste that should be properly treated before it discharges into the environment.