A very interesting article on Dioxins by the Oxford Academic sheds light on the impact this chemical has on human health. It is a detailed article talking about the effects Dioxins have after human exposure. The article first talks about how cancer mortality has been noticed to increase invariably in humans exposed to this chemical as opposed to those who have not. In particular, it is observed that humans exposed to the chemical 2 to 3 times more than the general population show the strongest evidence for this cause. Other interesting effects are Thyroid function and effects on reproductive system where signs like low testosterone and increased gonadotrophin concentrations would be observed. It is important to know that the size of the sample used in the study was niche, and that many more effects may occur to this chemical not observed in the sample studied.

Today, Dioxins are mainly just a by- product of industrial waste. They are also released in the environment through improper waste management. Every living being has been exposed to this chemical at some point. One of the uses of this Chemical was in production of Agent Orange, a defoliant used in the Vietnam War. Dioxins are known to cause chloracne, which is now strongly linked to Dioxin exposure. It is interesting to see that Dioxin not only impacts humans, but every vertebrate species, at every stage of development.

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