Dioxins are a group of highly toxic chemical compounds that are harmful to health. They can cause problems with reproduction, development, and the immune system. They can also disrupt hormones and lead to cancer. Dioxins are highly poisonous chemicals that are everywhere in the environment. Burning processes, such as commercial or municipal waste incineration, backyard burning, and the use of fuels, such as wood, coal, or oil, produce dioxins. The compounds then collect in high concentrations in soils and sediments. Plants, water, and air all contain low levels of dioxins. When dioxins enter the food chain, they are stored in animal fats. Over 90 percent of human exposure to dioxins comes through food, mainly animal products, such as dairy, meat, fish, and shellfish. Once consumed, dioxins can stay in the body for a long time. They are stable chemicals, which means they do not break down. Once in the body, it may take between 7 and 11 years for a dioxin’s radioactivity to fall to half its original level. ioxins are environmental pollutants. They belong to the so-called “dirty dozen” - a group of dangerous chemicals known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Dioxins are of concern because of their highly toxic potential. Experiments have shown they affect a number of organs and systems.Once dioxins enter the body, they last a long time because of their chemical stability and their ability to be absorbed by fat tissue, where they are then stored in the body. Their half-life in the body is estimated to be 7 to 11 years. In the environment, dioxins tend to accumulate in the food chain. The higher an animal is in the food chain, the higher the concentration of dioxins.