Dioxin Toxic Chemical Project

Samuel DrewDilan Preciado

Dioxin description

• Dioxin is a chemical contaminant that is formed during combustion processes such as waste incineration and backyard trash burning.

• Although most of it is caused by humans, natural events such as forest fires and volcanic eruptions.

Dioxin Use

• Dioxin has no use, it is a by-product of manufacturing processes, including bleaching of paper pulp, and natural disasters, such as forest fires and volcanic eruptions.

Entering the environment

• The highest environmental concentrations of dioxin are usually found in soil and sediment.

• Uncontrolled waste incinerators, solid waste and hospital waste, are often the worst culprits of dioxin release into the environment.

Exposure

• Humans are primarily exposed to dioxins by eating food contaminated by these chemicals.

• Dioxin accumulates in the fatty tissues, where they may stay for months or years.

• They stay in the environment for a long time because of their chemical stability.

Affects

• People who have been exposed to high levels of dioxin have developed severe acne-like pimples, reproductive and developmental problems, heart disease and diabetes.

• Studies have also shown that chemical workers who are exposed to high levels of dioxins have an increased risk of cancer.

Med. Tests

• Blood testing to measure the level of dioxins and similar chemicals in a person’s blood.

• Not readily available to the public.

• Tests are very costly.

Gvt. Recommendations

• Government agencies, such as the EPA, have been looking into the affects of dioxin levels in the US since the early 80’s.•Despite the enormous amounts of evidence about the affects of dioxin, many gvt. agencies have done nothing to adopt new regulations.•Recently, more states have began to enact and regulate dioxin emissions.•The Clean Air Act is an example of one piece of government legislation passed in the U.S.

Case Study

• Dioxin is one of the most studied chemicals on the planet.

• A famous case study is Belgian Dioxin Crisis case study of 1999.

• In the beginning, they had poor management of the toxin and it got into the food supply.

• At the end of the study, the government started to regulate the dioxin levels.