| Chlorine Bleached Paper-Products
The bleaching process used to make pure white and colored papers creates a toxic
substance called dioxin that is polluting our air, soil, and water. Naturally occurring
dioxin precursors in wood pulp react with chlorine to form dioxin. Dioxins are highly
fat-soluble and therefore accumulate in foods that contain fat such as meat, dairy
products, and mother’s milk. Note to parents of infants: Due to the high fat content
of breast milk, nursing infants may be exposed to 50 times an adult’s average dose of dioxin every day.
Health Effects: Exposure to even small amounts of dioxins can be harmful to both adults and children.
Dioxins have been designated as known human carcinogens by the government’s National Toxicology Program and have been found
to cause cancers of the lung, liver, and stomach. Even at low levels, dioxins are known to interfere with the action of hormones
in humans and wildlife and to disrupt reproductive, developmental, and immune systems. Birth defects have been linked to dioxin
exposure.
How to Avoid or Minimize Exposure: By limiting your intake of fatty foods, milk products, and meat you can somewhat decrease your
intake of dioxins through food. Bleached cardboard and paper can leach dioxins into products such as milk. However, the only real way
to reduce overall dioxin exposure is to decrease the level of dioxin in the environment.
How to Take Action: By using as many unbleached paper products as we
can find in our stores and asking storeowners to carry more of these products,
we can take a step toward reducing this serious health risk to us all.
Americans are the only people in the world who use white and brightly colored
toilet paper.
- Buy unbleached products: Ask your local stores to
carry unbleached recycled-content paper products, and use
them in your homes, churches, offices, and shops.
- Look for PCF labeling: When buying computer or typing paper, look for paper that’s labeled Processed Chlorine Free (PCF).
- Avoid burning waste: Don’t burn household waste in open barrels, which can release large amounts of dioxins into the air.
Links to Related Resources
ERF Dioxin Fact Sheet
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