Environmental response to decreased dioxin and furan loadings from British Columbia coastal pulp mills

Dioxin/furan contamination resulted in shellfish harvesting restrictions covering up to 1200 km 2 of the British Columbia coast between 1988 and 1995. Process changes made by pulp mills discharging to marine waters reduced their dioxin and furan loadings by over 97% between 1989 and 1994. A dioxin and furan trend monitoring program conducted at sites adjacent to pulp mill outfalls documented the following average declines in dioxin and furan toxicity equivalents (TEQs) between 1990 and 1995: sediment (61%), Dungeness crab hepatopancreas (80%), Dungeness crab muscle (85%), oyster (93%), prawn (92%), and shrimp (87%). In 1995, harvesting restrictions due to dioxin/furan contamination were removed for 486 km 2 of affected area.