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25-02-2023, 08:36 AM
By MADDIE BURAKOFF and DREW COSTLEY
yesterday
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Dioxins refer to a group of toxic chemical compounds that can persist in the environment for long periods of time, according to the World Health Organization.
They are created through combustion and attach to dust particles, which is how they begin to circulate through an ecosystem.
Residents near the burn could have been exposed to dioxins in the air that landed on their skin or were breathed into their lungs, said Frederick Guengerich, a toxicologist at Vanderbilt University.
Skin exposure to high concentrations can cause what’s known as chloracne — an intense skin inflammation, Guengerich said.
But the main pathway that dioxin gets into human bodies is not directly through something burning like the contents of the East Palestine tanker cars. It’s through consumption of meat, dairy, fish and shellfish that have become contaminated. That contamination takes time.
“That’s why it’s important for the authorities to investigate this site now,” said Ted Schettler, a physician with a public health degree who directs the Science and Environmental Health Network, a coalition of environmental organizations. “Because it’s important to determine the extent to which dioxins are present in the soil and the surrounding area.”
DOES BURNING VINYL CHLORIDE CREATE DIOXINS?
Linda Birnbaum, a leading dioxins researcher, toxicologist and former director of the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, said that burning vinyl chloride does create dioxins.
......
Once they are released, dioxins can stick around in soil for decades. They can contaminate plants including crops. They accumulate up the food chain in oils and other fats.
......
SHOULD RESIDENTS BE CONCERNED?
Birnbaum and Schettler agreed that residents have reason for concern about dioxins from this accident.
Even though they are present in small amounts from other sources, the large amount of vinyl chloride burned off from the train cars could create more than usual, McBride said.
......
It takes between 7 and 11 years for the chemical to start to break down in the body of a person or animal. And dioxins have been linked with cancer, developmental problems in children and reproductive issues and infertility in adults
https://apnews.com/article/did-dioxins-s...297a07bb7a
yesterday
......
Dioxins refer to a group of toxic chemical compounds that can persist in the environment for long periods of time, according to the World Health Organization.
They are created through combustion and attach to dust particles, which is how they begin to circulate through an ecosystem.
Residents near the burn could have been exposed to dioxins in the air that landed on their skin or were breathed into their lungs, said Frederick Guengerich, a toxicologist at Vanderbilt University.
Skin exposure to high concentrations can cause what’s known as chloracne — an intense skin inflammation, Guengerich said.
But the main pathway that dioxin gets into human bodies is not directly through something burning like the contents of the East Palestine tanker cars. It’s through consumption of meat, dairy, fish and shellfish that have become contaminated. That contamination takes time.
“That’s why it’s important for the authorities to investigate this site now,” said Ted Schettler, a physician with a public health degree who directs the Science and Environmental Health Network, a coalition of environmental organizations. “Because it’s important to determine the extent to which dioxins are present in the soil and the surrounding area.”
DOES BURNING VINYL CHLORIDE CREATE DIOXINS?
Linda Birnbaum, a leading dioxins researcher, toxicologist and former director of the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences, said that burning vinyl chloride does create dioxins.
......
Once they are released, dioxins can stick around in soil for decades. They can contaminate plants including crops. They accumulate up the food chain in oils and other fats.
......
SHOULD RESIDENTS BE CONCERNED?
Birnbaum and Schettler agreed that residents have reason for concern about dioxins from this accident.
Even though they are present in small amounts from other sources, the large amount of vinyl chloride burned off from the train cars could create more than usual, McBride said.
......
It takes between 7 and 11 years for the chemical to start to break down in the body of a person or animal. And dioxins have been linked with cancer, developmental problems in children and reproductive issues and infertility in adults
https://apnews.com/article/did-dioxins-s...297a07bb7a
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