What are dioxins and furans?
The term “dioxin” is commonly used to refer to a family of chemicals that share chemical structures and characteristics. These compounds include polychlorinated dibenzo dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzo furans (PCDFs) which are unwanted by-products of industrial and natural processes, usually involving combustion. Of the 210 dioxin and furan compounds, 17 are the focus of regulatory action.
“Dioxins and furans” refer to a group of chemical compounds that share certain similar chemical structures and biological characteristics. Dioxins and furans are an unwanted byproduct of combustion, both from natural sources like forest fires and from man-made sources like power plants, backyard burn barrels and industrial processes. According to the EPA, dioxins and furans released into the air during combustion can be carried long distances before settling to the earth’s surface. As a result, they are found almost everywhere at low levels. Dioxins and furans are produced by both natural and man-made processes and have therefore existed for centuries. The term “current background” is used to refer to the levels of dioxins and furans in the environment today. Dioxins and furans falling to land from air emissions tend to bind tightly to vegetation and soil. When dioxins and furans are released into water, they tend to settle into sediments where they can become trapped and stationary, o
Dioxins are one of the most toxic synthetic substances known. They have no known commercial or industrial uses. They are simply pollutants, the waste formed when substances containing chlorine or bromine and carbon are burned, or otherwise processed – as in the burning of medical or municipal waste in incinerators, various metallurgical processes or in chlorine bleaching of pulp and paper. They can reach theenvironment as emissions in air, water or as solid industrial waste. They are easily ingested by animals through polluted food, water and air. They accumulate in fatty tissue, and are passed along the food chain to other animals and humans. Some dioxins are linked to cancer, endometriosis and other diseases; they can disrupt immune systems, reproductive systems and diminish intellectual capacity. They are widespread in human milk and can cross the placenta, so mothers pass them on to their offspring, who are more vulnerable than adults to their toxic effects. WHERE DO DIOXINS COME F
