Dioxin

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Dioxin may refer to:

• 1,2-Dioxin or 1,4-Dioxin, two unsaturated heterocyclic 6-membered rings in which two carbon atoms have been replaced by oxygen atoms, which gives the molecular formula C₄H₄O₂
• Dibenzo-1,4-dioxin, also known as dibenzodioxin or dibenzo-p-dioxin (molecular formula C₁₂H₈O₂), in which two benzene rings are connected through two oxygen atoms. That is the parent compound of the dioxins (see next in which the dioxins comprise a key part of the class)
• Dioxins and dioxin-like compounds, a diverse class of chemical compounds that are known to exhibit "dioxin-like" toxicity
• 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzodioxin (TCDD), the prototypical example of the above class, often referred to simply as "dioxin"

History of Dioxin:

Dioxin was used as a waste oil in Times Beach, Missouri. Days after the chemicals were introduced to the community animals began dying. By the time the EPA deemed dioxins to be highly toxic in the 1980s, the CDC recommended the town be abandoned entirely due to contaminated waste products in the area. By 1985, the entire population of Times Beach had been relocated, prompting Missouri to build a new incinerator on the contaminated land. They continued to burn 265,000 tons of dioxin-contaminated waste until 1997.

Dioxins are a family of chemicals produced as a byproduct during the manufacturing of many pesticides and construction materials like carpeting and PVC. These chemicals exist in the environment attached to soil or dust particles that are invisible to the naked eye.

Dioxins break down slowly. It still threatens public health at low levels. Since industry has mostly stopped producing dioxins, one of the largest contributors releasing harmful dioxins left in the United States is waste incineration. Dioxins have been proven to cause cancer, reproductive and developmental issues, and immune system damage. Rates of cancer such as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and soft tissue sarcoma rise significantly the closer one lives to the pollutants' source.

See also

• 1,4-Dioxane, the saturated analog
• Agent Orange, of which TCDD is a component
• Digoxin
• Dioxin affair, a 1999 crisis in Belgium
• Seveso disaster, a 1976 crisis in Italy
• Times Beach, Missouri, a town contaminated by dioxin waste

Index of chemical compounds with the same name

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