This article reviews the state of the science regarding the health effects of polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PBDDs) and dibenzofurans (PBDFs). While thousands of articles have been published on the health effects of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin and related polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs) and dibenzofurans (PCDFs), little is know about the brominated and mixed chloro/bromo homol...

Various kinds of reproductive abnormalities have been documented among wildlife species in North America. All are associated with areas of high agricultural or industrial activity and have been shown, or are assumed to be, pollutant-induced. Selected wildlife populations may therefore serve as the best indicators of the presence in the environment of compounds which have deleterious effects on ...

The contribution of environmental biomonitoring with lichens to assess human exposure to dioxins was the main purpose of this work. For that, polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/F) were measured in 66 lichen sampling points. The obtained information significantly improved the basic knowledge on the environmental exposure to dioxins through distinction between effective control areas from areas ...

Introduction EPA Methods 1613 (Tetrathrough Octa-Chlorinated Dioxins and Furans by Isotope Dilution HRGC/HRMS) and 8290a [Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins(PCDDs) and Polychlorinated Dibenzofurans (PCDFs) By High Resolution Gas Chromatography/High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS)] specify the use of a 60m 5% diphenyl 95% dimethyl polysiloxane GC column (e.g. DB-5, Rxi-5ms) for 2378 TCDD is...

Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides asiaeorientalis), a protected endangered species, is the sole freshwater subspecies of finless porpoise, living only in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, China, and its appended lakes. Its population has decreased sharply to 1,400 because of human activities, including environmental contamination. In the present study, polychlo...

This study reports the results of the gas phase oxidation of alpha-cypermethrin, a common insecticide, elucidating the decomposition pathways and formation of toxic species such as polychlorinated dibenzo-pdioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/F) and their precursors. Conditions investigated are similar to those encountered in post combustion and cooling-down zones of forest, agricult...

This paper presents emission factors (EFs) derived for a range of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) when coal and wood were subject to controlled burning experiments, designed to simulate domestic burning for space heating. A wide range of POPs were emitted, with emissions from coal being higher than those from wood. Highest EFs were obtained for particulate matter, PM10, (approximately 10 g...

We investigated combustion in a small home waste incinerator and analyzed both flue gas and residual ash for formation of the dioxin-related compounds polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans, and coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls and their precursors polychlorinated benzenes, polychlorinated phenols, polychlorinated diphenyl ethers, and polychlorinated biphenyls. Parti...