Dioxins, some of the most deadly chemicals

Dioxins are some of the most deadly chemicals created. Classified as carcinogenic, (cause cancer) dioxins are found in pesticides, plastics, solvents, detergents and cosmetics. For over a decade, concerns have been raised about the impact of dioxins on our health with respect to heart and liver disease, hormonal disruption and cancer, to name but a few.

Dioxins, furans and PCB’s, which are generally referred to as dioxin-like compounds, are highly toxic organochlorines. These compounds are extremely fat seeking. There are some natural organochlorines in the atmosphere, but considerably greater amounts of artificially produced ones. Minute traces of dioxins may have existed before industrialisation, but a huge rise occurred in the late 1940’s along with the expansion of organochlorine manufacture, which started at this time, and the extensive use of pesticides in agriculture worldwide.

The production of dioxins in the manufacture of paper pulp products such as tampons and sanitary pads, are not only harmful to the environment, but also unnecessarily expose women to low levels of dioxins every time they use these products. Dioxin settles in the fat cells of our bodies and stay there for the rest of our lives, building up cumulatively over time from birth, so increased exposure means increased risk.

Organochlorines (OP’s) are contained in many of the familiar products we find in our shops such as solvents, pesticides, plastics, disinfectants, plastic packaging and chlorine-bleached pulp and paper products such as toilet paper, kitchen roll and some feminine hygiene products. We all have to take responsibility for the products we use that contribute to the release of dioxins into the environment, and make sure that we do not use products that expose us to dioxins.

How many people will be using wood preservatives in their gardens every spring? If the label shows Pentachlorophenol (PCP), it contains dioxin impurities, and so too do 2,4,5-T and some other pesticides gardeners will happily spread amongst their plants, and how do they dispose of the old tins of pesticides sitting on the shelf in the garden shed?

Any ingredient that starts with the letters “chloro” suggests the presence of an organochlorine. In making organochlorine products, highly toxic by-products such as dioxins are inadvertently made at the same time and accumulate in the same way as PCBs. Similar, major pollution problems also arise when these chlorinated products, such as plastics and solvents, are burned or incinerated as rubbish resulting in environmental fallout of dioxin that accumulates in the food chain.