Dioxin is a kind of POPs and 90% of dioxin in the atmospheric environment comes from urban and industrial waste incineration. Wood, oil products and all kinds of wastes, especially the medical waste which contain gasoline and coal, are easy to produce dioxins in the burning temperature. Polyvinyl chloride plastic, paper, chlorine and some pesticide production, and steel smelting can release dioxins to the environment. There are three main ways of causing dioxins, first, in the burning process of vinyl chloride, when the burning temperature is lower than 800 ℃, chlorine garbage cannot completely burn, which is easy to generate dioxins. Secondly, other materials containing chlorine and carbon such as paper, wood products, and food scraps generate dioxins with catalyst action of copper, cobalt and other metal ions. Thirdly, dioxin is derivatized in manufacturing chemicals, including pesticides, especially chlorine chemical substances, like pesticides, herbicides, wood preservative, deciduous agent, polychlorinated biphenyls, and other products. In addition, if the TV is not cleaned in time, dust piled up in the TV is usually detected bromide dioxins. And the content is higher, with the average 4.1 micrograms of brominated dioxins per gram. Although dioxin comes from local, its environmental distribution is global. Almost all the media in the world have been found with dioxins. The place where these compounds accumulate worst is in the soil, sediments and food, especially dairy products, meat, fish and shellfish (Griffin, 1986). Its content is very low in plants, water and air.
Dioxins mainly pollute the air, soil and water, and then pollute animals, plants and aquatic organisms. People are hurt mainly through the air, water, an...
... middle of paper ...
... pg, and many national standards were 10 pg, U.S. environmental protection agency’s standard was 0.01 pg, and some countries set other goal standard besides this standard. Several suggestions mentioned above are inseparable from the monitoring, which suggests that dioxin analysis is the basic link of dioxin pollution prevention.
Works Cited
Andersen, M. E., Mills, J. J., Gargas, M. L., Kedderis, L., Birnbaum, L. S., Neubert, D., & Greenlee, W. F. (1993). Modeling Receptor‐Mediated Processes with Dioxin: Implications for Pharmacokinetics and Risk Assessment. Risk analysis, 13(1), 25-36.
Griffin, R. D. (1986). A new theory of dioxin formation in municipal solid waste combustion. Chemosphere, 15(9), 1987-1990.
Mocarelli, P., Brambilla, P., Gerthoux, P. M., & Needham, L. L. (1997). Change in sex ratio with exposure to dioxin. The Lancet, 348(9024), 409.
This last process is significant not only because it brought dioxin the current notoriety but it also is a chemical process used to make products that were used and are still been used in many applications. These applications include pesticide, herbicide, defoliating agent such as Agent Orange, cleaning agent and electrical insulation. Consequently, human exposure to dioxin is not a recent phenomenon and the dangers of dioxin are not unknown. Only in recent years, especially after the Vietnam War, has the media concentrated on the dangers and impact of dioxin.
Two case-control 4,5, two nested case-control2,6 and two cohort1,7 studies reported estimates for the association between Tetrachloroethylene (TCE) exposure and primary liver cancer. A non-significant association was found between occupational solvent exposure and primary liver cancer among one case-control study, while the other observed a significant association. Hemberg et al. found the odds ratio (OR) for heavy/moderate exposure compared with little/no exposure was 2.3 (95% CI: 0.8, 7.0). The association was confined to women (exact Fisher’s chi-square p=0.007) with the men having a non-significant odds ratio of 0.5. Stemhagen et al. found that among men, the OR for working laundry or dry cleaning compared to not working in that occupation was 2.50 (95% CI: 1.02,...
The premise of Theo Colborns’ research was to find the connection between the rising incidences of cancer and environmental contamination in the Great Lakes region. However, during field and laboratory studies, Colborn discovered that there was no direct link between the contamination and cancer. However, Colborn did find reoccurring patterns of abnormal behavior and deformed offspring amongst the wildlife populations in the Great Lakes region. Elevated levels of polychlorinated biphenls (PCBs), pesticides dieldrin, DDT, lindane and chlordane were found during tissue analysis of the wildlife in the Great Lakes region (Colborn et. Al 1996). These elevated levels were found in offspring of the wildlife who appeared to be healthy. This supported Colborns’ hypothesis that these contaminations disrupt hormones produced by the endocrine system during growth and development, which will then cause physical and behavioral abnormalities in the fetus.
Mathematical models and computer simulations generate the most unqualified enthusiasm among campaigners. One of their underlying principles is that the biological effects of a chemical will depend on the size, shape, and other characteristics of its molecules, making it possible to predict toxicity without actual testing. The database on which such systems rely will, of course, have come from animal experiments. But once the relation between molecular structure and activity is understood, the toxicity of any new substance can be predicted with a computer instead of measured in a mouse.
The reason that this dioxin is so dangerous is that the “dioxin is persistent organic pollutant that is toxic over many decades, is not water-soluble and does not degrade easily. Clinging to soil particles carried by water runoff from spills or sprayed areas downstream into the sediments of lakes or streams; it is consumed by mollusks, fish and waterfowl, easily entering the human food chain.” It is chemically stable and is retained in the human fatty tissue. If it is detected early it can be treated by surgery or medication but usually if it is found to late then it can’t be treated (make agent orange
Environmental Hormone Mimics and Their Serious Health Threats Chemicals affecting human health have been a problem for the past years and have still been a growing problem for our society. Issue 10 is concerned about this problem. It is pointing out the major harms and the reasons for this problem. First, it is talking about the argument that is against these chemicals. After this, an argument that says these specific chemicals do not necessarily have an affect in human health is discussed.
Disinfection is applied in water as well as wastewater treatment as a finishing step so as to destroy pathogens but the cause of concern regarding the disinfection process is the formation of disinfection byproducts (DBPs). Natural organic matter (NOM) in water has been considered as the predominant DBP precursors. Disinfectants are powerful oxidants that oxidize the organic matter present in water forming DBPs. Chlorine, ozone, chlorine dioxide, and chloramines are the most common disinfectants used nowadays and each produces its own suite of chemical DBPs in finished drinking water (Richardson, 2003). DBPs so formed pose a threat to human health because of their potential to cause cancer and reproductive/developmental effects. Most developed nations have regulated concentration of DBPs so as to minimize exposure to potentially harmful DBPs while maintaining adequate disinfection and control of targeted
Chemical pollution into the environment can cause both genotypic and phenotypic changes in many organisms, including humans. More specifically, environmental pollutants like BPA can act as xenoestrogens (estrogen imitators), ultimately affecting hormonal activity and production in an organism. This alteration in activity and production can be termed as endocrine disruption. The endocrine system regulates a variety of processes responsible for growth and development, including gonadal formation and function, digestion, metabolism, sex differentiation, and embryonic development (reviewed by Flint et al., 2012). Chemicals that interfere with the function or structure of the endocrine system can be defined as endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) (US Environmental Protection Agency, 2007).
The sulfur dioxide in environment mainly mainly comes from the direct combustion of fossil fuels including coal, petroleum, and so on. Meanwhile, the combustion of fossil fuels were the main sources of the sulfur dioxide in atmosphere. Generally speaking, the content of sulfur in cola was around 3%~5%. Unde the high temperature, most of the sulfur in fuels would be decomposed through being affected by the heat, and then the sulfur was oxidized to the sulfur dioxide, being released into the atmosphere. Based on data, billion of tones of fossil fuels were consumed in the world every year. These fossil fuels were burnt for electrical energy and heat thermal energy, but the sulfur content was oxidized to the sul...
A lot of evidence have linked breast cancer to the environmental chemicals. Since WWII, a great deal of endocrine disrupters (synthetic chemicals) have entered the environment, accumulated through the food chain, and finally accessed into human bodies (Brody et al.) . According to Gray et al., environmental chemicals are carcinogenic because they often interrupt hormone-regulated pathways, especially that of the estrogen, and thus cause negative genetic variations. Experiments carried out by Gray et al. indicate that breast tissue synthesize estrogen from local hormone (androgenic hormones) using aromatase, whose activity rate is abnormally higher in breast cancer tissue than that of normal breast tissue. Theoretically, “estrogen promotes the growth cancer cells in vivo” (Mitra et al); the fact that women are more likely to ...
Case Study - Corporate Obstacles to Pollution Prevention. Overview This case focuses on corporate obstacles to pollution prevention. Pollution prevention can be complex, especially for large corporations. There are many different forms of pollution prevention, including emissions control devices and incremental changes in existing technology.
Dioxins accumulate in the body throughout the lifetime of victims. Dioxin exposure as a child will impede the immune system of the individual forever. It means that they will never be as strong as they should have been. Dioxins are responsible for a range of reproductive and developmental problems,
Lambert, E. G., Paoline III, E. A., Hogan, N. L., & Baker, D. N. (2007). Gender
One of the most dangerous environment issues Southern California is facing today is air pollution. This includes the burning of fossil fuels and natural disasters. Los Angeles is one of the most polluted cities in the world, and the most polluted city in the United States. I will research information about the causes, the effects, and the history of air pollution in the Los Angeles. For my research, I have relied mostly on, the school’s database and library, as well as current events.
Environmental pollution produces bacteria which results as diseases and disorders in humans, animals, agricultural plantations. The process of pollution occurs when toxins are released into the ground water from landfill sites, this pollution stays in the environment for hundreds of years, while they break dow...