Dioxins are environmental pollutants, with a highly toxic potential, which belong to a group of dange- rous chemicals known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). They are found throughout the world in the environment and they accumulate in the food chain, mainly in the fatty tissue of animals.
The name “dioxins” is often used for the family of structurally and chemically related polychlorinated dibenzo para dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs). The most studied and most toxic of all dioxins is 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dio- xin. Moreover, 419 types of dioxin-related compounds have been identified but only about 30 of these are considered to have significant toxicity, with TCDD being the most toxic.
PCDDs and PCDFs are the result of human activities, like the burning of trash or processes like forest fires.
Pure dioxin looks like white crystalline needles. In the environment, however, it generally is dispersed and attached to soil and dust particles and is invisible to the eye.
Why are dioxins a hazardous substance?
Dioxins are highly toxic and can cause cancer, reproductive and developmental problems, damage to the immune system, and interfere with hormones.
Short-term exposure of humans to high levels of dioxins may result in skin lesions, such as chloracne and patchy darkening of the skin, and altered liver function. Long-term exposure is linked to impairment of the immune system, the developing nervous system, the endocrine system and reproductive functions.
However, dioxin exposure is especially dangerous for pregnant women, as fetuses are most sensitive to this substance, such as newborns, with rapidly developing organ systems, who may also be more vulnerable to certain effects
More than 90% of human dioxin exposure is through food, mainly meat and dairy products, fish and shellfish. Due to the omnipresence of dioxins, all people have background exposure and a certain level of dioxins in the body, leading to the so-called body burden. Current normal background exposure is not expected to affect human health on average.
Once dioxins enter the body, they last a long time because of their chemical stability and their ability to be absorbed by fat tissue, where they are then stored in the body. Their half-life in the body is estimated to be 7 to 11 years.
Where can dioxins be found?
Dioxins can be found throughout the world in the environment and they accumulate in the food chain, mainly in the fatty tissue of animals.
They are not produced intentionally, but they are the result of the development of various human activities, such as:
- Industrial activities: Dioxin is not produced or used commercially, but it is a contaminant formed during the production of some chlorinated organic compounds, including a few herbicides.
- Burning: Combustion processes such as waste incineration (commercial or municipal) or burning fuels (like wood, coal or oil) form dioxins.
- Bleaching: Chlorine bleaching of pulp and paper and other industrial processes can create small quantities of dioxins in the environment.
- Smoking: Cigarette smoke contains small amounts of dioxins.
Furthermore, it is important to note that it is very common to find dioxins in drinking water. In this regard, dioxin can get into drinking water from:
- Air emissions from waste incineration and other combustion, with subsequent deposition to lakes and reservoirs
- Deposition from air to soils that erode into surface waters used for drinking water
- Discharges into water from chemical factories
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This article can be found in the 2021 edition of the document. Find the full publication here:
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