Environmental fate of combustion-generated polychlorinated dioxins and furans

Abstract

Polychlorinated dioxins and furans were found in sediments from the Saginaw River and Bay and from Lake Huron [USA, Canada]. The congener distributions of the dioxins and furans indicated that combustion may have been the major source of these compounds. The depth vs. concentration profiles in dated sediment cores showed that emission of dioxins and furans had increased greatly since 1940. This historical increase was similar to trends for the production, use and disposal of chlorinated organic compounds and suggested that chlorinated precursors of dioxins and furans, present in incinerator combustion fuels, may have been the main source of the dioxins and furans found in these sediments.