Disposable Evacuation Traps

About disposable evacuation traps

A disposable evacuation trap sits at the chair and is thrown away with what it has caught, rather than emptied and put back like a reusable trap. The practice the ADA lists is to place disposable chair-side traps, and the contents of reusable ones, in a silver or gray storage container, or a container with a silver or gray label, kept sealed at all times. Disposable traps from dental units dedicated strictly to hygiene may be placed in with the regular garbage.

Discarded with its contents instead of emptied. In the EPA’s comparison of state rules, one listed practice is that, where appropriate, disposable amalgam traps are preferable to reusable traps.

Sources: EPA 821-R-16-005, Technical and Economic Development Document for the Dental Office Category (Dec 2016)