Dioxins

Environmental behavior

Persistence and movement

They bind to soil and sediment, persist for long periods, and accumulate in animal fat and food webs.

Pathways

How exposure may occur

• Eating contaminated animal foods or fish is an important general-population pathway
• Occupational or community contact with contaminated dust, soil, ash, or sediment

People

Potential long-term human effects

• Long-term exposure can affect reproduction, development, immunity, hormones, and the liver.
• The most toxic dioxin is recognized as a human carcinogen.

Other living systems

Potential ecological effects

• Dioxins can cause reproductive, developmental, immune, and population-level effects in wildlife.
• Fish-eating birds and mammals can receive elevated doses through biomagnification.

Limits

Important uncertainty

Dioxin toxicity is commonly expressed using toxic-equivalency methods because congeners differ greatly in potency.