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Dioxin listed as 'known human
carcinogen'
RESEARCH TRIANGLE, N.C. -- Jan. 19, 2001--
The National Toxicology Program today added a form of Dioxin
found in some herbicides and pesticides to the list of substances
"known to be human carcinogens."
The National Toxicology Program based the
listing of the chemical called, TCDD, as a " known"
carcinogen on evidence from studies in humans, involving a combination
of public health and biologic information suggesting a link between
exposure to TCDD and human cancer.
The switch of TCDD from the "reasonably
anticipated" to the "known to be a human carcinogen"
category had been planned to occur in the agency's Ninth Report
published last May 15 , but the designation was delayed by an
industry suit blocking the designation.
The plaintiffs sought an injuction against
the listing claiming the Department of Health and Human Services
and National Toxicology Program had improperly applied the Report
on Carcinogens' listing criteria in listing TCDD as a "known
human carcinogen."
Dr. Kenneth Olden, director of the National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology
Program, which has the responsibility for preparation of the
list, said that publication of the addition follows the recent
ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Circuit dismissing the request for an injunction.
TCDD is not deliberately produced today but
has been found as a contaminant in some herbicides and pesticides
and is formed as an inadvertent by-product of incineration of
waste. TCDD levels in Americans have declined in recent years
as a result of environmental controls but is still widely detected
in the environment and can be found in very small amounts in
the general population.
The Report on Carcinogens is a cancer health
hazard identification document that discusses substances that
may pose a carcinogenic hazard to human health.
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The Report on Carcinogens is a Congressionally
mandated listing of known and reasonably anticipated human carcinogens.
The revised Ninth Report that contains all addendum materials
is available on the Internet from the National Toxicology Program's
web page at http://ntp-server.niehs.nih.gov.
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