Dioxin exposure and health

What are the sources of dioxins?

Dioxins are mainly produced as unwanted by-products of industrial processes and there is no intentional production or use. They can also to a small extent be formed naturally in forest fires or volcanic activity. Examples of activities resulting in dioxin emissions are waste incineration, burning fuels (wood, coal or oil), chlorine bleaching of pulp and paper and chlorinated pesticides manufacturing. Burning of many materials containing chlorine, such as plastics and wood treated with pentachlorophenol also produce dioxins. According to a study in the context of the Stockholm Convention, the main sources for emissions of dioxins to air in EU-25 are

• Residential combustion (~ 30%)
• Open burning of waste (backyard burning) (~15%)
• Wood preservation (~15%)
• Iron and steel industry (~ 8%)
• Power production, non-ferrous metals, chemical industry (~ 5% each)

There are important differences between the EU Member States and the uncertainties are large in relation to the contribution to total emissions from the various source sectors. Any estimate can therefore only be very approximate. There are even bigger data gaps and uncertainties for releases to water, but these releases are expected to be less important than emissions to air. Waste, on the other hand, is an important pathway for dioxins, and is addressed specifically by Regulation (EC) No 850/2004 on persistent organic pollutants.

Other Commission studies in the area of dioxin emissions are:

• Dioxin emissions from domestic sources – review of current knowledge on formation, quantification of releases and measures of emission reduction (pdf ~3MB), published in April 2009. A brochure (pdf ~1MB) summarises major findings.
• Dioxin measurement in the European metals industry – investigation of ways of improving the monitoring of emissions from the metals industry, published in October 2005. The study report can be found here .
• The European Dioxin Inventory - starting in 1995, Stage one of the project ended in November 1997 with the release of a report that
  • describes the information on dioxin emissions which is available from 17 European Countries;
  • provides an evaluation of these data;
  • estimates the annual emissions of these countries on a comparable basis.
• Stage two of the inventory comprises a written study, Releases of Dioxins and Furans to Land and Water in Europe, as well as emission measurement programmes at relevant plants in various countries. The final report on stage two of the project is called The European Dioxin Emission Inventory Stage II. An inventory of releases to air, water and land has also been made for the new EU Member States, see below "The enlarged EU".