Re: Any info on Fluoridated Dioxins & Furans?

["Jon Campbell" <jon@cqs.com>]

Mike,

      I don't have any specific info, except thinking about it, the largest
source of fluoridated materials in an incinerator is going to be toss-away
teflon: pots and pans and Gore-Tex. The likelihood for fluorine cogeners of
dibenzo-dioxin and dibenzo-furan is very high, though the EPA reassessment
executive summary does not discuss them (it does discuss brominated ones).

       Given the electronegativity of fluorine vs. chlorine, I would expect
any fluoridated carbon compounds to be incredibly persistent. Consider
teflon-coated wire: basically unburnable at low (soldering) temperatures,
non-degrading, permanent. I used to call it "impervium".

Jon
-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Ewall <catalyst@envirolink.org>
To: Multiple recipients of list DIOXIN-L <dioxin-l@essential.org>
Date: Friday, December 25, 1998 10:34 PM
Subject: Any info on Fluoridated Dioxins & Furans?


>Anyone have info on whether dioxins and furans can be fluoridated?  Are the
>produced in the same way (incineration)?  Would they still be refered to as
>dioxins and furans?
>
>If dioxins and furans are fluoridated rather than chlorinated, how does
>their toxicity, persistance and bioaccumulation compare?
>
>Are there as many toxic varieties of fluoridated dioxins and furans (and
>perhaps biphenyls) as their are chlorinated varieties?
>
>Any info on the sources of these chemicals?
>
>I'd imagine that some of the fluoridated pharmaceutical residues present in
>human and non-human animal wastes would be a large source of these
>chemicals if/when these wastes are burned.  Any insight on the prevalence
>of halogens in pharmaceuticals (particularly in those fed to
>factory-produced animals) would be appreciated.
>
>Mike Ewall
>
>Pennsylvania Environmental Network
>http://www.penweb.org
>
>Student Environmental Action Coalition
>http://www.seac.org
>