Download PDF DIOXINS AND HEALTH SECOND EDITION by Arnold Schecter

Sinopsis

To the general public, dioxin is the archetype of toxic chemicals, a substance that in minute amounts causes cancer and birth defects. Raised to a high level of visibility by the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam, it continues to generate environmental issues that capture public attention: Times Beach, Seveso, Love Canal, herbicide spraying in the United States, waste incineration, and food contamination.

Public fear engendered counter-reactions. Some claimed that dioxin causes no harm to humans other than chloracne, a disfiguring skin disease.1,2 Others compared the public attitude toward dioxin with witch hunts. Dioxin, they said, is a prime example of chemophobia, the irrational fear of chemicals.3,4 U.S. Assistant Surgeon General Vernon Houk claimed that the evacuation of Times Beach, Missouri had been a mistake.5,6 Administrator William Reilly of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) ordered a reassessment of the toxicity of dioxin. He stated: ‘‘I don’t want to prejudge the issue, but we are seeing new information on dioxin that suggests a lower risk assessment for dioxin should be applied.’’6

In our opinion, the public fears are largely justified. The current scientific evidence argues not only that dioxin is a potent carcinogen, but also that the noncancer health and environmental hazards of dioxin may be more serious than believed previously. Indeed, dioxin appears to act like an extremely persistent synthetic hormone, perturbing important physiological signaling systems. Such toxic mimicry leads to a host of biological changes, especially altered cell development, di¤erentiation, and regulation. Perhaps the most

Content

1. Overview: The Dioxin Debate
2. Production, Distribution, and Fate of Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p- Dioxins, Dibenzofurans, and Related Organohalogens in the Environment
3. Dioxins and Dioxinlike PCBs in Food
4. Toxicology of Dioxins and Dioxinlike Compounds
5. Health Risk Characterization of Dioxins and Related Compounds
6. Pharmacokinetics of Dioxins and Related Chemicals
7. Dose–Response Modeling for 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin
8. Immunotoxicology of Dioxins and Related Chemicals
9. Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity of Dioxins and Related Chemicals
10. E¤ects of Polychlorinated Biphenyls on Neuronal Signaling
11. Experimental Toxicology: Carcinogenesis
12. Ah Receptor: Involvement in Toxic Response
13. Biochemical Responses to Dioxins: Which Genes? Which Endpoints?
14. Evolutionary and Physiological Perspectives on Ah Receptor Function and Dioxin Toxicity
15. Dioxin Toxicity and Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Signaling in Fish
16. Exposure Assessment: Measurement of Dioxins and Related Chemicals in Human Tissues
17. Human Health E¤ects of Polychlorinated Biphenyls
18. Epidemiological Studies on Cancer and Exposure to Dioxins and Related Compounds
19. Reproductive and Developmental Epidemiology of Dioxins
20. Health Consequences of the Seveso, Italy, Accident
21. The Yusho Rice Oil Poisoning Incident
22. The Yucheng Rice Oil Poisoning Incident

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