“Dioxin” refers to a group of persistent chlorinated chemical compounds that
have similar chemical structures and toxicities. Dioxins are unwanted
by-products of some natural and anthropogenic processes. Industrial sources of
dioxin include incinerators, metal smelters, cement kilns, the manufacture of
chlorinated organics, and coal burning power plants. Dioxin is also produced by
non-industrial sources, like residential wood burning, backyard burning of
household trash, oil heating, and diesel vehicle emissions. Dioxin, as a
general term, consists of two chemical groups, called polychloro-dibenzo-p-dioxins
and polychloro-dibenzofurans.
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The EPA estimated that the cancer risk associated with
dioxin exposure is between 1 in 1000 and 1 in 100. If true, this risk would
represent a significant public health concern. Routine monitoring of dioxin
levels in foods or animal feed had not been conducted until 1999 when the FDA’s
Total Diet Study added Dioxin to its Market Basket Surveys. While data has been released for each year
between 2000 and 2004, no one has evaluated the data to see if dioxin in the US
diet is increasing or decreasing.
This poster uses consumption data and dioxin estimates
from the FDA’s Total Diet Study to calculate the health risks of the US diet
for each of the years between 2000 and 2004. Using the Superfund risk assessment
methodologies, carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health effects were estimated
for several age group receptors in the general population. While five years of
data cannot be considered conclusive, the data can be used to show trends and
how significant the exposure is.
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