Dioxin is formed as a by-product of the manufacture, molding, or burning of organic chemicals and plastics that contain chlorine. It has been released to the environment as a low-level impurity in various pesticides.ĭioxin has a very great tendency to accumulate in aquatic life, from algae to fish. Dioxin is generally resistant to microbial breakdown.ĭioxin is released to the environment in emissions from the incineration of municipal refuse and certain chemical wastes, in exhaust from automobiles powered by leaded gasoline, in emissions from wood burning in the presence of chlorine, in accidental fires involving transformers containing PCBs and chlorinated benzenes, and from the improper disposal of certain chlorinated chemical wastes. Two processes which may be able to remove dioxin from water and soil are evaporation and breakdown by sunlight. Similarly, it tends to adhere to soil if released to land, and is not likely to leach to groundwater. Due to its very low water solubility, most of the dioxin occurring in water will adhere to sediments and suspended silts. Dioxin is one of the most toxic and environmentally stable tricyclic aromatic compounds of its structural class.

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