
Read: an
article about dioxin research in Agricultural Research Scientists
Learning To Keep Tabs on DioxinBy Ben Hardin January 23, 2001Monitoring a group of toxic
chemicals called dioxins in food, livestock feeds and other materials should be
less expensive, thanks to new technologies developed by scientists with the
Agricultural Research Service. Dioxins, produced by natural or industrial processes, are chlorinated
aromatic compounds that can build up in the fat of humans and animals. They may
increase the risk of tumors and possibly cause other undesirable health
effects. The dioxin family of about 210 compounds includes 17 that are
considered toxic. The new ARS technologies can detect dioxins in concentrations as low as 0.1
parts per trillion in fat samples. When ARS scientists at Fargo, N.D., began dioxin research in 1994, analysis
cost nearly $2,000 per sample. That cost is now down to about $600-$800 per
sample, and ARS researchers are developing an even more efficient procedure
that requires minimal use of chemical solvents and is expected to reduce costs
of analysis by half. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agencybegan seven years ago to consider the possible importance of air pollution in
the dioxin contamination of forage and other livestock feeds. In a USDA
fact-finding mission to investigate the extent of dioxin contamination in
livestock from all sources, a team of ARS scientists at Fargo researched
dioxins in beef produced in 13 states, including Hawaii. The scientists found
that most of the samples were clean, with some exceptions in the
kidney fat of some individual carcasses. The beef samples that had high dioxin levels were found to have come from
animals raised in barns or pens containing posts that had been treated with
dioxin-containing pentachlorophenol (penta) to prevent rotting. Now, according
to EPA regulations, wood preservatives used for fence posts or feeding troughs
in barns can no longer contain penta. An article about dioxin research appears in the January issue of ARS' Agricultural Research magazine.
ARS is the chief scientific research agency of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture. Scientific contact: Janice K. Huwe,
Animal
Metabolism-Agricultural Chemicals Research Unit,
ARS Red River Valley Agricultural
Research Center, Fargo, N.D, phone (701) 239-1288, fax (701) 239-1430,
[email protected]. U.S. Department of Agriculture |