Woodburning is the third largest source of dioxin in the United States . Dioxins are the byproducts of combustion processes. Dioxin compounds rise high into the atmosphere as smoke particles, then fall to the earth in rain, lodge in the soil, and settle in lakes and rivers, where they get into the food chain. Dioxin collects in fatty tissues and can be found in fish, meat and dairy products. Babies can be exposed to dioxin in their mother's milk.
Dioxins cause changes in hormonal levels and molecular reactions when it enters animal cells.
It binds with a protein called the Ab receptor, which is present in human tissues. A complex chemical reaction eventually causes genetic changes that can result in cancer. Simply banning or limiting wood fires could potentially save many lives at little or no cost . When you are standing on your front lawn, gagging on your neighbors' wood smoke, all other air pollution sources become insignificant . Animal toxicology studies show that wood smoke exposure can disrupt cellular membranes, depress macrophage activity, destroy ciliated and secretory respiratory epithelial cells and cause aberrations in biochemical enzyme levels.