What is Dioxin?
The name of a group of persistent very toxic chemicals Dioxin is the nastiest, most toxic man-made organic chemical; (dioxin’s toxicity is second only to radioactive waste) Dioxin Health Effects 1. Dioxin is a powerful hormone-disrupting chemical. It exhibits serious health effects when it reaches as little as a few parts per trillion in your body fat. 2. There is NO “threshold” dose – the tiniest amount can cause damage, and our bodies have no defense against it. 3. Dioxin modifies the functioning and genetic mechanism of the cell by “attaching” to a protein in the cell, much like a key fitting into a lock. 4. Dioxin accumulates in the fat cells. It is not metabolized by humans. 5. Dioxin causes a wide range of effects: a. Potent cancer causing agent b. Damages the immune system, leading to increased susceptibility to infectious disease c. Reproductive and developmental effects d. Miscarriages and birth deformity e. Nervous System Disorders Dioxin Exposure – Pottstown • When chemicals
Dioxin is the name given to a group of persistent, very toxic chemicals. The most toxic form of dioxin is 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin or TCDD. TCDD was the toxic contaminant found in Agent Orange and at Times Beach, Missouri. A number of chemicals have toxicity similar to TCDD – but are less potent – and are called “dioxin-like.” Of the 75 possible chlorinated dibenzo-dioxins, seven have TCDD-like toxicity. Of the 135 chlorinated dibenzo-furans, ten have TCDD-like toxicity. A number of the 209 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are dioxin-like. Certain brominated dioxins, dibenzofurans and biphenyls also have dioxin-like toxicity. The toxicity of dioxin-like substances is generally measured against TCDD using “toxic equivalents.” In this system, compounds are assigned a fractional potency relative to TCDD. In most cases, TCDD contributes a small fraction of the total amount of toxic equivalents found in the environment. Health Effects Most of our information about the health effe
Dioxin is the name generally given to a class of super-toxic chemicals, the chlorinated dioxins and furans, formed as a by-product of the manufacture, molding, or burning of organic chemicals and plastics that contain chlorine. It is the nastiest, most toxic man-made organic chemical; its toxicity is second only to radioactive waste. Dioxin made headlines several years ago at places such as Love Canal, where hundreds of families needed to abandon their homes due to dioxin contamination, and Times Beach, Missouri, a town that was abandoned as a result of dioxin.
Dioxin describes a small family of dangerous, toxic chemicals found sparsely in nature, but commonly manufactured as by-products of other materials. An increase in synthesized pesticides in the late 1960s first brought attention to the possible poisonous effects of dioxin on factory workers. By the time researchers linked dioxin to cancer, these chemicals had leaked out and become part of widespread environmental pollution. Chemically, a dioxin molecule has chlorine atoms attached, at specific points, to a basic structure of oxygen and carbon atoms. One could say that the chlorine binds at strategically placed intervals, since some of their locations result in a less toxic chemical than others. Still, all molecules arranged in that manner, otherwise known as trichlorophenols, are referred to as dioxin. In its raw form, dioxin looks like whitish crystals resembling granulated sugar, but unlike sugar it does not dissolve in water. It’s fat soluble, so it can dissolve and be stored in hum
Dioxin is the name given to a group of 200+ chemicals that are formed as unwanted by-products of industrial manufacturing and burning activities. The major sources of dioxins include chemical and pesticide manufacture, burning household trash, forest fires, and burning of industrial and medical waste products. In the case of the Tittabawassee River flood plain, the source is known: Dow Chemical Click here to listen to more of the Dr. Linda Birnbaum (EPA) presentation: “Dioxin, are we at risk?”. You are hearing a clip from the video when this page is opened.
