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Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy

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Dioxin / Furans

Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy Report for PCCD (Dioxins) and PCDF (Furans): Reduction Options

We are seeking comments on this draft report.  Please address all comments to:

Mr. Nan Gowda
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
77 West Jackson Blvd. (SRF-5J)
Chicago, Illinois 60604
Email: gowda.nanjunda@epa.gov

Thank you for your interest in the Binational Toxics Strategy!
This Report is available as a Portable Document File ONLY!
(PDF 129Kb, 45pps)

INTRODUCTION AND REPORT OVERVIEW

Dioxins (polychlorinated dibenzo-para-dioxins, or PCDDs) and furans (polychlorinated dibenzofurans, or PCDFs) are a group of toxic chemical compounds which are inadvertently generated and released into the environment as by-products of various combustion and chemical processes. Due to their toxicity, tendency to bioaccumulate, and persistence in the environment, dioxins and furans have been the subject of ongoing public health and environmental concern. Despite existing controls, they are distributed widely in the environment, sometimes at levels which may pose risk. For example, dioxins/furans have been the cause of numerous fish consumption advisories in the Great Lakes region, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently estimated that the risks for the general population based on dioxin exposure could be as high as the range of a 1 in 100 to 1 in 1,000 increased chance of experiencing cancer related to dioxin exposure (USEPA, 2000b). In response, various local, state, regional, and national efforts are focusing on achieving further reductions in dioxin contamination. One of these efforts is the Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy (Binational Toxics Strategy or GLBTS), which encompasses various activities and strategies being considered under the guidance of a multi-stakeholder GLBTS dioxin/furan workgroup.

On April 7, 1997, Canada and the United States signed the Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy: Canada-United States Strategy for the Virtual Elimination of Persistent Toxic Substances in the Great Lakes. The Binational Toxics Strategy identified twelve bioaccumulative substances having sufficient toxicity and presence in water, sediments, and/or aquatic biota of the Great Lakes system to warrant concerted action to eliminate their input to the Great Lakes. They are called "Level 1 substances". Dioxins/furans are one of the classes of Level 1 substances, and are the subject of this report, which was prepared in response to the U.S. challenge goal for dioxins and furans written in the GLBTS:

U.S. Challenge: Seek by 2006, a 75 percent reduction in total releases of dioxins and furans (2,3,7,8-TCDD toxicity equivalents) from sources resulting from human activity. This challenge will apply to the aggregate of releases to the air nationwide and of releases to the water within the Great Lakes Basin, using the September 1994 draft Dioxin Reassessment as an interim baseline. Once U.S. EPA has completed and released its final Dioxin Reassessment, the Reassessment's 1987 emissions inventory will be used as the challenge baseline.

To guide Environment Canada (EC) and the U.S. EPA, along with their partners, as they work toward virtual elimination of the strategy substances, the GLBTS outlined a four-step analytical framework:

  1. Gather information
  2. Analyze current regulations, initiatives, and programs which manage or control substances
  3. Identify cost-effective options to achieve further reductions
  4. Implement actions to work toward the goal of virtual elimination

In accordance with Step 3 of the four-step process, this report (the Step 3 report) documents the analysis of available information on dioxin sources and regulations with the goal of identifying the best options for further reductions. Specific goals of this report include the identification of opportunities for new or modified approaches, pollution prevention programs, or other alternative measures, which may accelerate the pace or increase the level of dioxin/furan reduction, while taking into account cost-effectiveness.

First, this report provides a brief overview of dioxins for new readers, including major sources, regulatory control, and non-regulatory programs and incentives. Additional information on dioxin/furan sources and regulations used in this analysis was previously compiled (May 26, 2000) in the GLBTS Step 1 & 2 report for dioxins, PCDD (Dioxins) and PCDF (Furans): Sources and Regulations (Draft Report) (USEPA, 2000a). The draft Step 1 & 2 report relied on EPA's 1998 peer reviewed Draft Inventory of Sources of Dioxin in the United States (USEPA, 1998). Subsequently, a public release of EPA's updated draft Dioxin Reassessment for external scientific review was provided on EPA's website in June, 2000 (USEPA, 2000b). In addition, at the time of this report preparation, EPA was in the process of implementing further revisions to the updated draft Dioxin Reassessment for submission to EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) (USEPA, 2000c). Where applicable, information from these updated draft Dioxin Reassessment documents, which includes revised inventory estimates and information related to estimates of dioxins and furans releases that is not included in, or is different from, that presented in the GLBTS Dioxin Step 1 & 2 report, is also reflected in this Step 3 report.

The remainder of this report discusses potential reduction opportunities for dioxins and furans, with a primary focus on presenting the findings of the multi-stakeholder GLBTS dioxins/furans workgroup. In 1999-2000, this workgroup, which included representatives from states, industry, and environmental and other non-governmental organizations, evaluated the major sources of dioxin to determine which pose the best opportunities for further reductions in the Great Lakes basin. As an "options" paper, this document only explores potential ways to achieve additional dioxin/furan reductions, with a primary focus on the Great Lakes region. It does not recommend a specific path of action for EPA or EC on a national basis, or imply a commitment on the part of EPA or EC. In addition, GLBTS goals do not address exposure issues. To address exposure issues, as well as dioxin emissions, on a national basis, the Agency is in the process of developing the EPA Cross-Media Dioxin Strategy. The national Dioxin Strategy will integrate EPA's diverse set of dioxin activities into a comprehensive national program that is consistent with and responsive to the findings of the final Dioxin Reassessment, once it is completed. This Step 3 report serves to identify options for achieving further reductions in dioxin releases, with a primary focus on the Great Lakes region.

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