1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to health; requiring removal of dental
1.3 	mercury before cremation; requiring dentists to
1.4 	install amalgam separators; amending Minnesota
1.5 	Statutes 2004, section 149A.95, subdivision 7;
1.6 	proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
1.7 	chapter 150A.
1.8 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.9 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 149A.95,
1.10 	subdivision 7, is amended to read:
1.11 		Subd. 7.Handling of dead human bodies. (a) All
1.12 	crematory employees handling dead human bodies shall use
1.13 	universal precautions and otherwise exercise all reasonable
1.14 	precautions to minimize the risk of transmitting any
1.15 	communicable disease from the body.  No dead human body shall be
1.16 	removed from the container in which it is delivered to the
1.17 	crematory without express written authorization of the person
1.18 	with legal right to control the disposition.  If, after
1.19 	accepting delivery of a body for cremation, it is discovered
1.20 	that the body contains an implanted mechanical or radioactive
1.21 	device, that device must be removed from the body by a licensed
1.22 	mortician or physician prior to cremation.
1.23 	(b) If, after accepting delivery of a body for cremation,
1.24 	it is discovered that the body contains dental mercury, the
1.25 	mercury or amalgam must be removed from the body by a licensed
1.26 	mortician or dentist before cremation.

2.1 	Sec. 2. [150A.23] AMALGAM SEPARATOR REQUIREMENT AND
2.2 	EXEMPTIONS.
2.3 	(a) By July 1, 2007, every dental office located in the
2.4 	state must have installed an amalgam separator approved by the
2.5 	Minnesota Dental Association to capture amalgam waste generated
2.6 	in the dental office.
2.7 	(b) A dental office listed in this paragraph may apply for
2.8 	an exemption from this section:
2.9 	(1) a clinical site where all of the dentists are
2.10 	specialists who do not place or remove amalgam.  Those
2.11 	specialists are:
2.12 	(i) orthodontists;
2.13 	(ii) periodontists;
2.14 	(iii) endodontists;
2.15 	(iv) oral and maxillofacial surgeons;
2.16 	(v) oral and maxillofacial radiologists; and 
2.17 	(vi) oral and maxillofacial pathologists;
2.18 	(2) a clinical site where the dentist or dentists attest on
2.19 	a signed form that they do not place or remove amalgam;
2.20 	(3) a site that is scheduled to no longer be used as a
2.21 	dental office after January 1, 2007;
2.22 	(4) a site owned and operated by a nonprofit organization,
2.23 	where dentists provide dental care on a voluntary basis; and 
2.24 	(5) a mobile or portable dental office that can show it is
2.25 	minimally engaged in amalgam placement or removal or there are
2.26 	reasons why it is not practical for the mobile or portable
2.27 	dental office to install an amalgam separator.