Assessing potential health risks of dioxin in paper products

The presence of trace quantities of dioxin in bleached paper and pulp-based products raises concern over whether exposure to these sources can affect health. To address this issue, a formal risk assessment was conducted to evaluate potential dioxin exposure through dermal contact with bleached pulp-based communication paper and personal care products. Product-specific risk-specific concentrations are orders of magnitude greater than concentrations of dioxin that actually have been measured in these products. Concentrations of dioxin in the products could be orders of magnitude larger than measured, and the upper bound risk would still remain insignificant at less than 1 x 10 super(-6). This means there is a large margin of safety for the continued use of such products.