Dioxin Debacle

by

Professor Allan SpringerDepartment of Paper Science & Engineering

Miami University Oxford, Oh 45056

513-529-2208

SPRINGAM@MUOHIO.EDU

International Toxicity Equivalency Factors (I-TEFs) (1988)

NUMBER OF NUMBER OFCONGENER PCDD ISOMERS PCDF ISOMERS

2378-Tetra 1.0 1 0.10 112378-Penta 0.50 1 0.05 223478-Penta --- --- 0.50 ---2378-Hexa 0.10 3 0.10 42378-Hepta 0.01 1 0.01 2 Octa 0.001 1 0.001 1

TABLE 2One Time Doses of TCDD That Kill Half the

Animals Exposed

Micrograms/kilograms body

Guinea Pig 0.6 - 2.1Rat 22 - 500Rabbit 115Dog 30 - 300Hamster 3,000Monkey <70

The dose shown is the amount that kills about half of the animals exposed to is. This is called the LD 50 (lethal dose 50).

TABLE 1Sources Releasing Dioxins Into the American

EnvironmentSources are listed in order of the total amounts of dioxins produced by all units.

Municipal solid waste incineratorsSmelters that recycle copperResidences and public utilities burning coal and oilFuel wood burningForest firesProduction of the metal magnesiumMunicipal sewageHospital waste incineratorsPulp & Paper operationsIndustrial & hazardous waste incineratorsPetroleum industry operationsMotor vehicle driving - mostly burning unleaded fuelMiscellaneous sourcesCigarette smoke

What Are Some Dioxin Levels Found in the Environment?

Soil, Background Levels in American soil Up to 1 ppt

Soil, Highly contaminated (Times Beach, MO) Up to 340 ppm

Wood stove (chimney soot) 7500 ppt

Fish Up to 100 ppt

Whole cow milk Up to 3 ppt

Human fat tissue 1 - 20 pptHuman milk fat 1 - 10 ppt

Sewage Sludge 3 - 327 pptBleached paper mill wastewater sludge 48 - 550 pptBleached paper mill effluent 0 - 3000 ppq rangeBleached Kraft pulps 0 - 100 ppt

How Do We Describe Levels of Dioxins In the Environment?

ppm = parts per millionppb = parts per billion (one thousand times smaller than ppm)ppt = parts per trillion (one million times smaller than ppm)ppq = parts per quadrillion (one billion times smaller than ppm)ppquintillion (one trillion times smaller than ppm)

These terms refer to parts by weight. For example, one pound would equal 1 ppm in 500 tons. A ton contains 2,000 pounds. One pound in 500,000 tons would equal 1 ppb. One pound in 500,000,000 tons equals 1 ppt.

Another way of looking at these quantities is to compare them to periods of time:

1 ppm is equivalent to 1 sec in 11.6 days1 ppb is equivalent to 1 sec in 32 years1 ppt is equivalent to 1 sec in 32,000 years1 ppq is equivalent to 1 sec in 32,000,000 years

RISK ASSESSMENT

Paper Daily Use TCDD Required forProduct One in a Million Risk, ppt

Diapers 6 540,000Tissues 7 230,000Towels 10 7,900,000Notepaper 60 4,200Toilet Paper 60 27,000,000

Paper Dust 10mg/M3 670

One in a Million Risk

400 miles of air travel

60 miles of travel by car

3/4 of a cigarette

1 1/2 minutes of rock climbing

20 minutes of being a man aged 60

Sources of DBD & DBF In Brownstock

Certain Oil-Based Defoamers

Wood Chips

DBF = 3 to 11 ppb

Mill

Water

BROWNSTOCK

DBF = 3 - 23 ppb

DBF Concentration Determined for Various Wood Species

Wood Species DBF, ppb

Western Hemlock 3.1Black spruce 11.2Balsam Fir 6.0Jack Pine 6.1Beech 4.4Maple 4.2Poplar 7.9

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Options to Reduce Dioxin Levels

Decrease the chlorine multiple

Increase the chlorine dioxide substitution

Decrease the precursor level: Use clean Defoamer and good pulp washing

Have good C-stage mixing and control

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Are We at Risk From Dioxin?

U. S. EPA - YES

Most other agencies and countries - NO

Table 3Standards Set by U.S. Agencies and Other Countries for

Virtually Safe Lifetime Daily Doses of Dioxin

 

Picograms/kilogram body weight/

day

U.S. AgenciesEnvironmental Protection Agency 0 . 006State of Connecticut 0 . 04Food and Drug Administration 0 . 06Centers for Disease Control 0.03 - 1.4Other CountriesNetherlands 4 . 0Canada 10 . 0West Germany 1 - 10

A picograom is one trillion times smaller than a gram.

 

PROBABLE LEVEL OF EXPOSURE

U.S. EPA 1900 RISK ASSESSMENT LIKELY EXPOSURE TO 0.01 PG/KG/DAY

NCAI - 1992 MONTE CARLO ANALYSIS LIKELY EXPOSURE 0/0015 TP 0.05 PG/KG/DAY

 

• 1970 ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCAITON PROGRAMS

IMPLEMENTED IN U.S.SCHOOL SYSTEM• 1973 MILL DISCHARGES CHECKED FOR DIOXIN

AND NON DETECTED• 1978 ROYAL SWEDISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCE

CONFERENCE ON “CHLORINATED PHENOXY ACIDS

AND THEIR DOXINS: MODE OF ACTION, HEALTH

RISKS AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS”

STOCKHOLM

EVENTS WHICH INFLUENCED P&P INDUSTRY RESPONSE TO DIOXIN

 

•1985 MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY AND

CRADBOAK INSTITUTE OF SCIENCES CONFERENCE

ON “DIOXINS IN THE ENVIRONMENT ANARBOR, MI•1985 ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUE EMPROVED 3

ORDERS O9F MAGNITUDE AND DIOXIN DISCOVERED

IN EFFLUENT AND SLUDGES FORM P&P MILLS - 105

MILL STUDY NCASI - EPA STUDY•1987 PRESENCE OF CHLORINATED DIOXIN

CONFIRMED IN U.S. MILLS - 5 MILL STUDY EPA- NCSI•1987 GREEN PEACE PUBLISHERS “NO MARGIN OF

SAFETY”

 

• 1987 SWEDISH GOVERNMENT MARINE ACTION

PLAN•1987 CPPA/PPRIC & NCASI STUDIES CONTINUE•1990 INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH EVOLVES WAYS

TO MINIMIZE DIOXIN FORMAITON•1997-93 RESEARCH STRATEGIES IMPLEMENTED

AND DIOZIN BELOW NONDETECT LEVEL AT MOST

MILLS

RESOURCES SPENT VRS LIVES LOST

• 3000 + PAPERS IN LITERATURE

• 1.2 BILLION U.S. DOLLARS

• LIVES LOST?

• MORE LOST FORM STRESS OVER

PROBLEM THAN FORM EXPOSURE

LESSONS LEARNED FORM DIOXIN DEBACLE

1. NONPROBLEMS CAN BECOME ISSUES AS ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES IMPROVE

2. SCIENCE ISONLY A PART OF THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS WHEN FEAR OF LOSS OF HUMAN LIFE IS INVOLVED

3. THREEE IS NOT A CONSENSUS IN THE REGULATORY COMMUNITY ON HOW TO DO RISK ASSESSMENT AND SET SAFE LEVELS

4. COMPLEX MULTI VARIABLE MODELS HAVE A HIGH DEGREE OF UNCERTAINTY ASOCIATED WITH THEIR RESULTS AND MUST BE INTERPRETED WITH CARE

5. ONCE AN INDUSTRY DEVELOPS AREOND A POLLUTANT IT IS DIFFICUST TO ACHIEVE OBJECTIVITY

6. ENVIRONMENTAL DESCISION MAKING MAY BE CHANGING FORM A SCIENCE BASED PROCESS TO A PRECAUTIONARY EMOTIONAL BASED PROCESS