EPA Links Dioxin to Cancer in Humans Updated 1:08 AM ET May 17, 2000      WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Clinton administration will soon release a new report which concludes for the first time that the highly toxic chemical compound dioxin causes cancer in humans, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. The Post said it had obtained a draft of a long-awaited report from the Environmental Protection Agency, which dramatically raises the government's estimate of health threats from dioxin, citing new evidence of cancer risk from exposure. The report, due out in June, notes that emissions of dioxin have plummeted from their peak levels in the 1970s but still pose a significant cancer threat to some people who ingest the chemical through foods in a normal diet, the Post said. Dioxin comes from both natural and industrial sources, such as medical and municipal waste incineration and paper-pulp production. The chemical enters the food chain when animals eat contaminated plants. Dioxin then accumulates in the fat of mammals and fish. It has been linked to several cancers in humans, including lymphomas and lung cancer. For a small segment of the population who eat large amounts of fatty foods, such as meats and dairy products that are relatively high in dioxins, the odds of developing cancer could be as high as 1 in 100, the Post said, quoting the report. That estimate places the risk 10 times as high as the EPA's previous projections, according to the Post. Exposure to dioxin occurs over a lifetime, and the danger is cumulative. For the first time, the report classifies the most potent form of dioxin -- 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) -- as a "human carcinogen," a step above the previous ranking of "probable carcinogen." More than 100 other dioxin-like compounds were classified as "likely" human carcinogens. The report linked low-grade exposure to dioxin to a wide array of other health problems, including diabetes as well as developmental defects in babies and children. It also concludes that children's dioxin intake is proportionally much higher than adults' because of the presence of the chemical in dairy products and even breast milk. The EPA's draft assessment, if finalized in its current form, would solidify dioxin's status as one of the most potent chemical toxins known to science, according to the Post. Although the risk from dioxin varies widely, the findings suggest that dioxin already contributes to a significant number of cancer deaths each year, the Post reported. Environmentalists, extrapolating from the EPA's risk findings, have estimated that about 100 of the roughly 1,400 cancer deaths occurring daily in the United States are attributable to dioxin, according to the report. Administration officials said the higher dioxin risks should not discourage daily in the United States are attributable to dioxin, according to the report. Administration officials said the higher dioxin risks should not discourage people from eating nutritious foods and following dietary guidelines emphasizing low-fat foods, the Post said. Mothers should continue breast-feeding because the benefits far outweigh the risk of dioxin exposure, it said. Dioxin came to public attention as the contaminant in Agent Orange, a controversial herbicide used by U.S. forces in Vietnam. In 1983, the EPA forced the evacuation and demolition of the entire town of Times Beach, Mo., after the discovery of dioxin contamination on city streets. Over the past five years, the EPA has imposed regulations on major dioxin emitters, including municipal waste combustors, medical waste incinerators, hazardous waste incinerators, cement kilns that burn hazardous waste, pulp and paper operations, and sources of PCBs. One source likely to be targeted in the future is uncontrolled residential waste burning, such as burning trash in back yards, particularly in rural areas, the Post said, quoting EPA briefing papers. The agency also is discussing the possible regulation of other sources such as sludge disposal from privately owned waste-treatment facilities and the regulation of other air sources of pollution.