June 3, 2005
BY HUGH McDIARMID JR.
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
QUESTION: What is dioxin and why is it bad?
ANSWER: Dioxin is a family of chemical compounds created by combustion and chemical manufacturing that bind to soil and work their way up the food chain. The most toxic of the dioxins can cause cancer, and more than a dozen others are suspected carcinogens. Studies on animals link dioxin to hormone disruption, damaged fetal development, suppressed immune systems and diabetes. Humans are at risk for similar damage, but it is unclear how much dioxin it takes to create a significant threat to a person.
Q: How did it get into the Tittabawassee river system?
A: Decades ago, even before the compound was identified, Dow Chemical Co. released lots of dioxin into the air. It settled onto land in and near Midland. The company also released the chemical directly into the Tittabawassee River. Because the chemical degrades very slowly, those deposits are likely to stay in the river sediment and floodplain areas for decades to come. Some residential soils outside the floodplain also have significant levels.
Q: How does it get into people?
A: Primarily from eating fish, meat, dairy products, eggs and other animal products with significant fat, where dioxin is stored.
Q: And the animals?
A: Dioxin has contaminated fish throughout the river system. High concentrations in mammals in the Tittabawassee valley prompted state officials to issue a consumption advisory for certain game-animal meat. A study on the area's wildlife is under way to help determine how significant the level of disruption is in the ecosystem.
Q: What's being done to clean it up?
A: Dow is providing cleanup for several hundred homes where soil concentrations are highest. The company also has done work in several public parks to reduce exposure to soil. More extensive cleanup efforts, which could include soil removal and river dredging, may occur later as part of a long-range remediation plan being developed by Dow and the state.
Q: Where do I learn more?
A: Go to http://www.michigan.gov/deq/cqhm and click on Dioxin Information under the Issues to Watch header. To see past Free Press stories on the issue, go to http://www.freep.com/news/mich/dioxin29e_20040929.htm.
Contact HUGH McDIARMID JR. at 248-351-3295 or mcdiarmid@freepress.com.
For additional articles like this one, go to the Tittabawassee River Watch web site www.trwnews.net for complete coverage of the Tittabawassee River Dow Chemical dioxin contamination saga. . The Newspaper / Media page of our site contains an extensive archive of media articles dating back to January 2002. The source organization's web site link is listed to the right of the article, visit often for other news in our area. The Newspaper / Media page may be accessed by scrolling down to the bottom of the CONTENTS section and clicking on the Newspaper/Media link.