Silver and mercury from fillings, fats and oils, cleaning chemicals. All of these contaminants could end up in the stormwater and potentially in Issaquah rivers and lakes. But not if Dana Zlateff has anything to do with it.

Zlateff was hired by the city of Issaquah earlier this year as part of a grant put together by the Washington State Department of Ecology, to help local business make their workplaces as safe for the environment as possible.

Already she has visited 72 Issaquah businesses, including 38 dentists.

Each business that Zlateff goes to receives a letter in the mail requesting a meeting in the next 30 days. The program is entirely voluntary, and Zlateff does not issue any citations, only advice.

“It’s not a regulatory visit,” Zlateff said. “It’s just to provide them with education. I send a follow-up letter with my recommendations.”

Many business require a secondary containment. Dry cleaners use the solvent PERT, and any barrels of the chemical need to have a second tub under the barrel, to keep it from spreading in spills.

“Most didn’t have that,” Zlateff said.

Most sites also needed a spill kit with the proper absorbents, as well a place to store all the records on site.

“They were really eager to do it,” Zlateff said of the businesses that made the improvements. “They couldn’t wait to show me.”

The biggest concern with dentists was mercury containment. Many old fillings have mercury or silver in them and, as such, can’t be disposed of along with regular bio-hazard wastes. The fillings have to be run through an amalgam separator, and then stored. Oftentimes the remains would be stored either improperly or for too long — several years, in fact. Instead they should be disposed of every few years.

The city was one of 12 groups to receive the grant, although it was the smallest city selected. Most recipients were larger entities such as King County. However, out of all the site visits done so far, 230, Issaquah has a good chuck of them at 78.

“The community has been wonderful,” Zlateff said.

Up next is perhaps the most difficult — restaurants.

“It might get messier,” said Surface Water Manager Kerry Ritland, who is Zlateff’s supervisor.

Restaurants deal with a lot of waste that can make it into the stormwater if not properly watched, including fats, oils, grease, food and soap. Any or all of those can all ooze down the stormwater drains, many of which are located near a dumpster, and straight into any of Issaquah creeks or the lake.

“There is this misconception that (stormwater) is treated,” Ritland said.

Restaurants are difficult because they have such a high turnover rate, oftentimes workers are not native speakers, and ownership changes quickly.

Zlateff’s job isn’t permanent – yet. Ritland plans on asking the council to continue funding Zlateff position once the grant expires.

“The only way this is going to happen is on a local level,” Ritland said. “Ecology only monitors about 10 percent.”