Dioxins refer to a group of toxic chemical compounds that share certain chemical structures and characteristics. Dioxins can be released into the environment through forest fires, backyard burning of trash, certain industrial activities and residue from past commercial burning of waste.
Dioxins break down very slowly and past releases of dioxins from both man-made and natural sources still exist in the environment. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “Almost every living creature has been exposed to dioxins.”
Exposure can occur through the diet with small amounts of exposure coming from breathing air containing trace amounts of dioxins and from inadvertent ingestion of soils containing the compounds. Workplace exposures are also possible in certain industries. The health effects associated with dioxins depend on a variety of factors including the level of exposure, when someone was exposed, and for how long and how often the person is exposed.
Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), or simply dioxins, were added to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment’s (OEHHA) list of chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity for purposes of Proposition 65 in 1992.
“Studies have shown that exposure to dioxins at high levels may cause a number of adverse health effects, including cancer,” said Michael Chapman, Laboratory Manager of LA Testing’s Garden Grove facility. “The most obvious non-cancer health effect in people exposed to large amounts of dioxin is chloracne, a severe skin disease with acne-like lesions that occur mainly on the face and upper body. Other non-cancer effects of exposure to large amounts of dioxin include developmental and reproductive effects, damage to the immune system, interference with hormones, skin rashes, skin discoloration, excessive body hair and possible liver damage.”
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