The
dioxin shown in the write-up above,
2,3,7,8-tetrachloro-dibenzo-p-dioxin (dioxin TCDD) is one of the most
potent synthetic
toxins known. It is
fatal to
rats) in doses of 22
micrograms per
kilogram of bodyweight. (It takes 15,100 or more micrograms of
arsenic oxide per kilogram body weight to kill a rat). Also studies in animals have shown it to be very
carcinogenic.
In 1976 an explosion at a chemical factory in Seveso Italy released about 2 kilograms of TCDD into the environment, contaminating 10 square miles of land. Although no immediate deaths occured, 2,000 people had to be treated for dioxin poisoning, and 600 were evacuated from their homes.
TCDD has a half-life in soil of 2-9 years, and up to 32 days in air, leading to stringent guidelines on it's usage.