The Dioxin Wars

The environmental protection Agency had alarming cancer news of its own last week. The industrial contaminant dioxin--one of the most common pollutants known--may pack a far greater carcinogenic punch than anyone knew.

A by-product of factory combustion, pulp- and papermaking and backyard trash burning, dioxin accumulates in the fatty tissue of animals and fish and is passed to humans when they consume meat and dairy foods. The EPA believes people who eat especially rich diets may face a 1-in-100 risk of developing some form of cancer--a tenfold increase over previous estimates. They may also be in danger of developing diabetes and immune-system disorders. The risks may be greater for children and babies because of their higher consumption of milk, including breast milk, and other dairy products.

Despite the EPA alarm bell, not everyone is certain that dioxin is so deadly. Six years ago, the agency prepared a similar report and submitted it to an internal review board for approval. The board was unconvinced and recommended that the research be repeated. The new report, based on more recent evidence, has yet to win review-board approval. Even if dioxin is as carcinogenic as the EPA believes, there is less of it around than there used to be. Strict new regulations have slashed emissions as much as 80% since the 1980s. Less dioxin in the environment means less in the food supply.

For now, the EPA is taking a go-slow approach. It suggests people eat a well-balanced, low-fat diet and mothers not consider discontinuing breast feeding, since the benefits of eating well at all ages outweigh the risks. Determining the true dangers of dioxin, however, will continue to occupy scientists--and worry consumers.