Concept

Dioxins and dioxin-like compounds

Dioxins and dioxin-like compounds (DLCs) are a group of chemical compounds that are persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the environment. They are mostly by-products of burning or various industrial processes or, in the case of dioxin-like PCBs and PBBs, unwanted minor components of intentionally produced mixtures. Some of them are highly toxic, but the toxicity among them varies 30,000-fold. They are grouped together because their mechanism of action is the same. They activate the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AH receptor), albeit with very different binding affinities, leading to high differences in toxicity and other effects. They include: Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), or simply dioxins. PCDDs are derivatives of dibenzo-p-dioxin. There are 75 PCDD congeners, differing in the number and location of chlorine atoms, and 7 of them are specifically toxic, the most toxic being 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin (TCDD). Polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), or furans. PCDFs are derivatives of dibenzofuran. There are 135 isomers; 10 have dioxin-like properties. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), derived from biphenyl, of which 12 are "dioxin-like". Under certain conditions PCBs may form dibenzofurans through partial oxidation. Polybrominated analogs of the above classes may have similar effects. "Dioxin" can also refer to 1,4-dioxin or p-dioxin, the basic chemical unit of the more complex dioxins. This simple compound is not persistent and has no PCDD-like toxicity. File:PCDD general structure.png|[[Polychlorinated dibenzodioxins|Polychlorinated dibenzo''-p-''dioxins]] File:PCDF general structure.svg|[[Polychlorinated dibenzofurans]] File:PCB structure general.svg|[[Polychlorinated biphenyl]]s File:1,4-Dioxin.svg|[[1,4-Dioxin|1,4-dioxin]] Dioxins have different toxicity depending on the number and position of the chlorine atoms. Because dioxins refer to such a broad class of compounds that vary widely in toxicity, the concept of toxic equivalency factor (TEF) has been developed to facilitate risk assessment and regulatory control.

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Related people (11)

Dominique Grandjean

César Pulgarin

Prof. C. Pulgarin is Chemist from Lausanne University, Master in environmental chemistry from Geneva University, Ph D in synthesis bio-inspired of natural substances from Neuchâtel University. During his education he carried out several industrial trainings. Since March 1989, he has been working at the EPFL where he is leader of the Advanced Oxidation Processes Group (GPAO) active in the development chemical, photochemical, electrochemical, ultrasonic processes, their coupling between them and with biological systems to degrade chemical and microbiological pollutants in water and air. He has an H index of 40 and he is the world most cited author in 1) TiO2 photo-assisted bacterial inactivation in water and 2) Coupling of photochemical and biological processes for pollutant degradation. He has been involved in ten African, South American and European international research projects. He has been Swiss representative in COST program 540.

Andrzej Sienkiewicz

Edgard Gnansounou

1983 Ing. Civil EPFL
1991 Dr ès Sciences techniques, EPFL
Directeur du Laboratoire de systèmes énergétiques (LASEN) de 2003 à 2008
Dès 2008, Responsable du groupe de Recherche en Bioénergie et Planification énergétique
Co-fondateur du bureau d'étude ENERS Energy Concept
Président de la Fondation SUD (Solidarités Universitaires pour le Développement)

Je suis membre de différentes associations professionnelles parmi lesquelles figuent le Conseil Mondial de l'énergie (CME) et l'Association internationale pour l'économie de l'énergie (AIEE). Comme membre du groupe d'étude du CME sur les vulnérabilités, j'ai développé les métriques utilisées pour évaluer la vulnérabilité énergétique des pays industrialisés. Depuis janvier 2008 : membre du Comité d'édition du journal international Bioresource Technology. Depuis 2009: membre du Comité de la "European Biofuels Technology Platform"

Johan Auwerx

Johan Auwerx is Professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he occupies the Nestle Chair in Energy Metabolism. Dr. Auwerx has been using molecular physiology and systems genetics to understand metabolism in health, aging and disease. Much of his work focused on understanding how diet, exercise and hormones control metabolism through changing the expression of genes by altering the activity of transcription factors and their associated cofactors. His work was instrumental for the development of agonists of nuclear receptors - a particular class of transcription factors - into drugs, which now are used to treat high blood lipid levels, fatty liver, and type 2 diabetes. Dr. Auwerx was amongst the first to recognize that transcriptional cofactors, which fine-tune the activity of transcription factors, act as energy sensors/effectors that influence metabolic homeostasis. His research validated these cofactors as novel targets to treat metabolic diseases, and spurred the clinical use of natural compounds, such as resveratrol, as modulators of these cofactor pathways. Johan Auwerx was elected as a member of EMBO in 2003 and is the recipient of a dozen of international scientific prizes, including the Danone International Nutrition Award, the Oskar Minkowski Prize, and the Morgagni Gold Medal. His work is highly cited by his peers with a h-factor of over 100. He is an editorial board member of several journals, including Cell Metabolism, Molecular Systems Biology, The EMBO Journal, Journal of Cell Biology, Cell, and Science. Dr. Auwerx co-founded a handful of biotech companies, including Carex, PhytoDia, and most recently Mitobridge, and has served on several scientific advisory boards. Dr. Auwerx received both his MD and PhD in Molecular Endocrinology at the Katholieke Universiteit in Leuven, Belgium. He was a post-doctoral research fellow in the Departments of Medicine and Genetics of the University of Washington in Seattle.

Vassily Hatzimanikatis

Dr. Vassily Hatzimanikatis is currently Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), in Lausanne, Switzerland. Vassily received a PhD and an MS in Chemical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology, and his Diploma in Chemical Engineering from the University of Patras, in Greece. After the completion of his doctoral studies, he held a research group leader position at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ), Switzerland. Prior to joining EPFL, Vassily worked for three years in DuPont, Cargill, and Cargill Dow, and he has been assistant professor at Northwestern University, at Illinois, USA. Vassilys research interests are in the areas of computational systems biology, biotechnology, and complexity. He is associate editor of the journals Biotechnology & Bioengineering, Metabolic Engineering and Integrative Biology, and he serves on the editorial advisory board of the journals Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering, Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, and Industrial Biotechnology. He has written over 70 technical publications and he is co-inventor in three patents and patent applications. Vassily is a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (2010), he was a DuPont Young Professor (2001-2004), and he has also received the Jay Bailey Young Investigator Award in Metabolic Engineering (2000), and the ACS Elmar Gaden Award (2011).

Florian Frédéric Vincent Breider

Florian Breider obtained his PhD in the field of the stable isotope biogeochemistry from the University of Neuchatel in 2013. This was followed by seven months of postdoc at EPFL in the Atmospheric Particles Research Laboratory and two years as research associate at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan) where he conducted studies on nitrous oxide biogeochemistry in oceans. From 2015 to 2018, he was research scientist in the Laboratory for Water Quality and Treatment at EPFL where he conducted research on disinfection by-products and antibiotic resistant bacteria. Since May 2018, he is director of the Central Environmental Laboratory at the Institute of Environmental Engineering of EPFL.

Kristin Becker van Slooten

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Since 2017: - Member of ETH Board (Delegate of School Assemblies of ETH Zurich and EPFL)

Project Leader, Equal Opportunities Office, Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)

2006-2016: Advisor to the President and the General Secretary, EPFL 2004-2006: Member of ETH Board (Delegate of School Assemblies of ETH Zurich and EPFL) 2006: Senior Scientist & Lecturer, Head of Research Group in Ecotoxicology EPFL, Ecological Engineering Laboratory, directed by Prof. Andrew Barry 2002-2005: Researcher & Lecturer, Head of Research Group in Experimental Ecotoxicology EPFL, Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, directed by Prof. J. Tarradellas 8/2001: Invited Professor University of Metz, France, Research unit "Ecotoxicité, Biodiversité, Santé environnementale" 1995-2002: Researcher EPFL, Institute of Environmental Technology (IGE), Research Group in Ecotoxicology, directed by Prof. J. Tarradellas -> Publication of 19 ISI papers and 56 proceedings -> Supervision of 4 PhD students, 23 master and 12 postgraduate students

EDUCATION 1990-94: PhD Thesis, Institute for Environmental Technology, Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) 1992: Advanced Ecotoxicology Course, European Environmental Research Organisation, Texel, Netherlands (scholarship) 1988-89: Advanced Master in Environmental Sciences, EPFL 1982-88: Diploma in Biology, University of Geneva (thesis realised at the Federal Research Institute Liebefeld, Bern) 1977-81: International Baccalaureate, International School of Geneva 1968-77: Undergraduate studies in Hanover, Germany

MEMBER OF COMMISSONS AND ORGANISATIONS

Foundation Council "Schweizer Jugend forscht" (since 2018);
Foundation Council "Les Bois Chamblard" (since 2018);
ETH Board (2004-2006 and since 2017);
Direction Board of Ecotox Center Eawag/EPFL (2010);
Scientific Commission for Chronic Risks, INERIS, France (2003-2006);
Foundation Council, Institut Universitaire Romand de Santé au Travail, Lausanne (2003-2006);
Steering group for Antifouling Emission Scenarios, OECD, Paris (2003);
Organising Committee of the "Certificat d'études complémentaires en toxicologie", University of Lausanne (2000-2005);
Directing Committee of COETOX ecotoxicology courses, EAWAG, CEMAGREF Lyon & EPFL (1999-2006);
Commission of Environmental Toxicology, Swiss Agency for Environment, Forests and Landscape, Berne (1997-2006);
Working Group on Endocrine Disruption, Swiss Agency for Environment, Forests and Landscape, Berne (1996-2003);
School Assembly, EPFL (2000-2003);
Teaching Commission of the section SIE, EPFL (2002-2004);
Research Commission of the faculty ENAC, EPFL (1997-2006);
Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, SETAC (1997-2006);
Society of Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, SECOTOX (1996-2006);
Lemanic Network of Toxicology (2000-2006).

LANGUAGES Bilingual German - French English: complete fluency Spanish: basic

Benoît Jean Dominique Ferrari

Dr. Benoît J.D. Ferrari studied Biochemistry and Biology and completed his PhD in Ecotoxicology at the University of Lorraine (Metz, France) in 2000. After several years at the University of Geneva (Forel F.A. Institute, Geneva, Switzerland; 2002-2008) and Irstea (Formerly Cemagref, Lyon, France; 2000-2002 and 2008-2013), he joined the Swiss Centre of Applied Ecotoxicology (Centre Ecotox Eawag/EPFL) in October 2013 as group leader of the soil and sediment ecotoxicology group at Lausanne. During his different mandates, he was implied as (co-)proponent in different research projects supported e.g. by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, the Swiss National Science Foundation, the French National Research Agency or the European Framework Programme for Research. His main areas of interest cover the ecodynamic of contaminants and their impact on the ecophysiology of organisms. Particularly, he is involved in 1) the development of exposure and effect indicators to evaluate the chemical stresses, 2) the integration of such indicators in laboratory- and field-based approaches to assess the quality of aquatic ecosystems, 3) the development of adapted bioassays for active biomonitoring, and 4) the transfer of such ecotoxicological tools and approaches towards end-users.

Thibault Béranger Masset

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Defoliant

A defoliant is any herbicidal chemical sprayed or dusted on plants to cause their leaves to fall off. Defoliants are widely used for the selective removal of weeds in managing croplands and lawns. Worldwide use of defoliants, along with the development of other herbicides and pesticides, allowed for the Green Revolution, an increase in agricultural production in mid-20th century. Defoliants have also been used in warfare as a means to deprive an enemy of food crops and/or hiding cover, most notably by the United Kingdom during the Malayan Emergency and the United States in the Vietnam War.

2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid

2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid is an organic compound with the chemical formula C8H6Cl2O3 which is usually referred to by its ISO common name 2,4-D. It is a systemic herbicide which kills most broadleaf weeds by causing uncontrolled growth in them but most grasses such as cereals, lawn turf, and grassland are relatively unaffected. 2,4-D is one of the oldest and most widely available herbicides and defoliants in the world, having been commercially available since 1945, and is now produced by many chemical companies since the patent on it has long since expired.

Polychlorinated dibenzodioxins

Polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs), or simply dioxins, are a group of long-lived polyhalogenated organic compounds that are primarily anthropogenic, and contribute toxic, persistent organic pollution in the environment. They are commonly but inaccurately referred to as dioxins for simplicity, because every PCDD molecule contains a dibenzo-1,4-dioxin skeletal structure, with 1,4-dioxin as the central ring. Members of the PCDD family bioaccumulate in humans and wildlife because of their lipophilic properties, and may cause developmental disturbances and cancer.