In addition, because they are formed as the result of incomplete combustion, some waste incinerators lacking certain design and operating features have been implicated. Continuing improvements in environmental controls on incinerators and cleaner chemical manufacturing and waste disposal processes have resulted in a decline over 20 years of exposure to dioxins originating from human activity. Dioxin concentrations in the environment peaked in the 1970s and have fallen back to the levels that existed more than 50 years ago. Despite this improvement, the chemical industry is working to further reduce industrial dioxin emissions. Simultaneously, scientists are continuing research in order to better understand how dioxins act on living organisms.
Science is central to the success of chlorine-based products.
Atmospheric changes Research is underway to evaluate global production of natural organochlorines and to provide an inventory of changes in atmospheric emissions of major reactive types of chlorine derivatives. This will also analyse samples of rain, snow and ice in remote regions of both hemispheres.