Pollution Prevention

In 2003, the City of Los Angeles took action against pollution by targeting the nation’s largest single source of mercury in wastewater: Dental offices. Dental amalgam, a mercury-based product used to fill cavities, can make its way into waterways and harm wildlife when not disposed of properly. The City of Los Angeles partnered with the California Dental Association to create and implement a mercury pollution prevention program. As a result, between 2002 and 2013, mercury contamination dropped 33 percent, and continues to decline. Read more