|
|
| Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues >
1999
>
December
> |
|
Chemistry Everyday for Everyone
|
|
|
|
Dioxin, Not Doomsday
|
Jeffrey M. Zimpleman
Department of Chemistry, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755
|
|
December 1999
Vol. 76 No. 12
p. 1662
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Abstract |
|
TCDD, more formally 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin or often simply "dioxin", has been and continues to be a subject of controversy in the scientific community. Numerous papers present studies supporting or rejecting the hypothesis that dioxin is dangerous to humans. Some proclaim that industry is completely culpable for the dioxin that is put into the environment, and that TCDD is one of the deadliest molecules that man has ever made. However, industry is not the sole source of dioxin; it has been found in 8,000-year-old soil samples and can be produced by forest fires and enzymes in soil microorganisms. Moreover, on the basis of findings from epidemiologic cohort studies, dioxin appears not to be as potent a carcinogen or teratogen as popularly thought. In fact, through its antiestrogenic properties, dioxin may provide a weapon against breast cancer. Industry can reduce the amount of dioxin released by trapping it with fly ash and plastics. The reduction of chlorine content in incinerators has been suggested as another method to control emissions; but this may not help, because the correlation between chlorine and dioxin formation is not entirely clear.
|
|
| More Information |
 Citation |
Zimpleman, Jeffrey M. J. Chem. Educ. 1999 76 1662.
|
Keywords |
Public Understanding; Safety / Hazardous Materials; Environmental Chemistry; Chlorine; Introductory / High School Chemistry
|
History |
Created:
Last Updated: |
November 10, 1999
June 23, 2005
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Home > JCE Print > Journal of Chemical Education > Issues >
1999
>
December
> Page
1662
|
|
|
| JCE HS CLIC |
|
Our Secondary School editors work hard to distill all the JCE materials to produce a fraction of particular interest to high school teachers. We call it CLIC.
|
| Contributions Welcome |
| JCE welcomes your submission |
| Advertisers |
| In recent years we have worked hard to better match our advertisers with our readers. When shopping for chemistry education materials, visit our advertisers' WWW sites first. |
| Be An Ambassador |
| Take JCE along on your outreach missions. Copies of the Journal, guest access to JCE Online, our publications catalog, and more are available for your participants. |
|
