Dioxins and Dioxin-like Compounds - Common Uses

Common Uses

According to the Agency of Toxic Substances & Disease Registry:

Dioxins are not intentionally produced and have no known use. They are the by-products of various industrial processes (i.e., bleaching paper pulp, and chemical and pesticide manufacture) and combustion activities (i.e., burning household trash, forest fires, and waste incineration). The defoliant Agent Orange, used during the Vietnam War, contained dioxins. Dioxins are found at low levels throughout the world in air, soil, water, sediment, and in foods such as meats, dairy, fish, and shellfish. The highest levels of dioxins are usually found in soil, sediment, and in the fatty tissues of animals. Much lower levels are found in air and water.

CDDs are not manufactured commercially in the United States except on a small scale for use in chemical and toxicological research. They are unique among the large number of organochlorine compounds of environmental interest in that they were never produced intentionally as desired commercial products.

Dioxins belong to the persistent organic chemicals ("dirty dozen") the production and use of which was banned by the Stockholm Convention in 2001.