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SW: add bit about triclosan
== Sources of Dioxins and Furans ==
According to the EPA, dioxins and furans enter the environment from the incineration of municipal waste and medical waste, secondary copper smelting, forest fires, land application of [[sewage sludge]], cement kilns, coal fired power plants, residential wood burning, chlorine bleaching of wood pulp, and perhaps backyard burning of household waste.<ref>U.S. EPA, [http://www.epa.gov/pbt/pubs/dioxins.htm Dioxins and Furans], Accessed August 6, 2010.</ref>
== Unusual Dioxins From Triclosan ==
The antibacterial agent [[triclosan]], commonly found in antibacterial soaps and other household products, can break down into a number of dioxins in the environment, including [[2,8-dichlorodibenzo-p-dioxin]] ([[2,8-DCDD]]), [[2,3,7-trichlorodibenzo-p-dioxin]] ([[2,3,7-TCDD]]), [[1,2,8-trichlorodibenzo-p-dioxin]] {[[1,2,8-TriCDD]]), and [[1,2,3,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin]] ([[1,2,3,8-TCDD]]).<ref>Jeffrey M. Buth, Peter O. Steen, Charles Sueper, Dylan Blumentritt, Peter J. Vikesland, William A. Arnold and Kristopher McNeill, [http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es1001105 "Dioxin Photoproducts of Triclosan and Its Chlorinated Derivatives in Sediment Cores"], Environmental Science & Technology, May 17, 2010, Accessed August 9, 2010.</ref> The 2010 study that revealed this found that over the last 30 years, "the levels of the four dioxins derived from triclosan have risen by 200 to 300 percent, while levels of all the other dioxins have dropped by 73 to 90 percent."<ref>[http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100518113236.htm "Rising Levels of Dioxins from Common Soap Ingredient in Mississippi River, Study Finds"], Science Daily, May 25, 2010, Accessed August 9, 2010.</ref> Researchers say these compounds “represent a previously unrecognized and increasingly important source of di-, tri-, and tetrachlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins.”<ref>Janet Raloff[http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/59333/title/A_new_source_of_dioxins_Clean_hands "A new source of dioxins: Clean hands"], Science News, May 18, 2010, Accessed August 9, 2010.</ref>
== Dioxins and Furans in San Francisco Sewage Sludge ==
