Dioxin in the Environment
| Organization(s) |
Massachusetts Dept. of Environmental Protection
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| Project Description |
On October 29, 1999, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) added the category "dioxin and dioxin-like compounds" to the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to Know Act (EPCRA) Section 313 chemicals list and set a threshold for Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) reporting. The Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Act adopted these requirements beginning in reporting year 2000.
Dioxins are byproducts of chemical and combustion processes, often involving chlorine. Dioxins have poor solubility in water and thus accumulate in body fat and concentrate in the food chain. Because dioxin is considered extremely toxic, EPA established a very low reporting threshold of 0.1 gram.
For 2000, eight facilities in Massachusetts reported the use of dioxin and dioxin-like compounds, seven due to the coincidental manufacture of dioxin from combustion (97 percent of total use) and one due to the bleaching of paper. |
| More Info |
www.state.ma.us/dep/bwp/dhm/tura |
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| Project Contact |
| Name |
Paul Walsh |
| Phone |
(617) 556-1011 |
| E-mail |
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| Project Keywords |
| Industrial Sectors |
Pulp & Paper |
| Activity Keywords |
Policy/Legislative |
| |
| Source |
| Newsletter |
Northeast States Pollution Prevention News - Vol. 13 No. 2, Summer 2003 [PDF] |
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