Paper mill wastes show low dioxin levels

A cooperative industry-government study has begun to yield data about the extent of emissions of 2,3,7,8- tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD, or "dioxin") from U.S. pulp and paper plants. Amounts are small, and adverse effects of dioxin on humans are unproven. But paper products are ubiquitous in American life and dioxin in plant wastewaters could lead to accumulation of dioxin in fish. The pulp and paper industry is thus vulnerable to any legislation or regulations that might result from a dioxin scare. In spring 1988, the Environmental Protection Agency, American Paper Institute, and National Council of the Paper Industry for Air & Stream Improvement (NCASI, the industry research organization) began a survey of all 104 U.S. plants using chlorine to bleach wood pulp. Median amounts of dioxin found in hardwood pulp were 6 ppt, softwood pulp 3.5 ppt, sludge 17 ppt, and wastewater 24 parts per quadrillion. NCASI has gone on to study bleaching lines at 25 mills ...