US people are at serious risk from the daily intake of dioxin, according to a report released Monday by the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice. The exposure to this chemical comes in a manner many may not even suspect: it’s in the food we eat.
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The risk of getting cancer from exposure to dioxin exceeds federal guidelines, standing at one in 10,000 for the general US population and one in 1,000 for highly exposed members of the population. These risks are 100 and 1,000 times higher, respectively, than the one in a million “acceptable” cancer risk.
Dioxin is the common name for the chemical 2,3,7,8-etrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). All US children are born with dioxin in their bodies. The greatest impact appears to be on the growth and development of children: possibly resulting in disrupted sexual development, birth defects and damage to the immune system.
It has also been associated with low IQ, withdrawn and depressed behavior, adverse effects on the ability to concentrate and focus attention, and an increase in hyperactive behavior in children.
To date, mostly meat and dairy products, even ice cream, have been shown to be key sources of dioxin. An independent laboratory found unacceptable levels of dioxin in a sample of the vanilla flavour of one of the US’ most popular ice cream brands.
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By GlobalDataDairy cows and beef cattle absorb dioxin by eating contaminated crops. Dioxins are in the air and settle on the crops, entering the air from thousands of sources, including incinerators that burn medical, municipal and hazardous waste.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) believes that any exposure, no matter how small, increases the risk of cancer. The EPA has calculated a “virtually safe dose” for dioxin – generally regarded as an acceptably low exposure. However, the dioxin levels in the serving of the tested ice cream exceeded that dose.
The discovery calls for companies to establish a commercial diagnostic product to aid population awareness of dioxin levels. With the current increase in general lifestyle awareness, it is likely that such a diagnostic would promote strong commercial uptake and enable physicians to monitor high risk populations for any obvious trends relating the onset of cancer to the levels of dioxin.
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