Dioxin
Goddess Dr. Myrna-Elois WashingtonWaste disposal is one of the most daunting problems facing industrialized countries today. As a byproduct of maintaining the associated advanced infrastructure required to support its industrial processes, the United States produced more than 254 million tons of municipal solid waste in 2014 (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [EPA], 2015). In the context of waste disposal, these “solid wastes,” which are discarded or abandoned as having negative value, can be solid, liquid, semi-solid or containerized gaseous with significant potential for endangering human lives and the environment (Friis, 2012; New York State Department of Environmental Conservation [NYSDEC], 2015). Everyone here at this facility - employees, management, owners, families, and other stakeholders - should be concerned about the disposing of solid waste because there are significant health problems that can occur as the result of the ground, air, and water pollution caused by improper disposal or the disposal process itself (Friis, 2012). As informed citizens of this country, they have a right and an obligation to be informed about solid waste management and source reduction strategies (Friis, 2012). This presentation looks at “dioxin,” the most highly-researched toxic byproduct of solid waste found in industrial and hazardous waste sites (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences [NIH], 2012). Most of you will likely not remember the “Agent Orange” scare in 1982, when returning war veterans began to exhibit the symptoms of exposure to dioxin through herbicides and other byproducts of wartime combustion processes. However, here we are, almost 40 years later with dioxin emissions being reduced by 90%, and the familiar threat of dioxin is in the public’s view again and demands your – our – attention.
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