Contaminants in the Urban Environment: Dioxins

Dioxins are among the most toxic chemicals on the earth. They are by-products of a number of human activities such as combustion of fuels and wastes containing polyvinyl chloride (PVC), chlorine bleaching of paper products, and selected industrial processes. Current releases of dioxins by humans ar...

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Main Authors: Yun-Ya Yang, Gurpal S. Toor
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries 2015-08-01
Series:EDIS
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Online Access:https://journals.flvc.org/edis/article/view/132264
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author Yun-Ya Yang
Gurpal S. Toor
author_facet Yun-Ya Yang
Gurpal S. Toor
author_sort Yun-Ya Yang
collection DOAJ
description Dioxins are among the most toxic chemicals on the earth. They are by-products of a number of human activities such as combustion of fuels and wastes containing polyvinyl chloride (PVC), chlorine bleaching of paper products, and selected industrial processes. Current releases of dioxins by humans are due to the combustion of fuels and burning of household trash. The good news is that levels of dioxins in the environment have decreased in the United States throughout the past 30 years due to the improved emission controls and regulatory activities. But dioxins break down slowly, so they remain in the environment for a long time and accumulate in the food chain. Long-term exposure to dioxins can harm immune system, nervous system, endocrine system, and reproductive functions. This 7-page fact sheet discusses the sources, emission trends, and impacts of dioxins as well as the ways to minimize exposure to dioxins. Written by Yun-Ya Yang and Gurpal S. Toor, and published by the UF Department of Soil and Water Science, July 2015.
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institution Kabale University
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publisher The University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries
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spelling doaj-art-35e8447cdb4e43768609ad282fa0639b2025-02-08T05:58:47ZengThe University of Florida George A. Smathers LibrariesEDIS2576-00092015-08-0120155Contaminants in the Urban Environment: DioxinsYun-Ya Yang0Gurpal S. Toor1University of FloridaUniversity of Florida Dioxins are among the most toxic chemicals on the earth. They are by-products of a number of human activities such as combustion of fuels and wastes containing polyvinyl chloride (PVC), chlorine bleaching of paper products, and selected industrial processes. Current releases of dioxins by humans are due to the combustion of fuels and burning of household trash. The good news is that levels of dioxins in the environment have decreased in the United States throughout the past 30 years due to the improved emission controls and regulatory activities. But dioxins break down slowly, so they remain in the environment for a long time and accumulate in the food chain. Long-term exposure to dioxins can harm immune system, nervous system, endocrine system, and reproductive functions. This 7-page fact sheet discusses the sources, emission trends, and impacts of dioxins as well as the ways to minimize exposure to dioxins. Written by Yun-Ya Yang and Gurpal S. Toor, and published by the UF Department of Soil and Water Science, July 2015. https://journals.flvc.org/edis/article/view/132264SS642
spellingShingle Yun-Ya Yang
Gurpal S. Toor
Contaminants in the Urban Environment: Dioxins
EDIS
SS642
title Contaminants in the Urban Environment: Dioxins
title_full Contaminants in the Urban Environment: Dioxins
title_fullStr Contaminants in the Urban Environment: Dioxins
title_full_unstemmed Contaminants in the Urban Environment: Dioxins
title_short Contaminants in the Urban Environment: Dioxins
title_sort contaminants in the urban environment dioxins
topic SS642
url https://journals.flvc.org/edis/article/view/132264
work_keys_str_mv AT yunyayang contaminantsintheurbanenvironmentdioxins
AT gurpalstoor contaminantsintheurbanenvironmentdioxins