Dioxin Editorials 96 © Springer-Verlag 2008 Env Sci Pollut Res 15 15 15 15 15 (2) 96 – 100 (2008) Editorials (Part 1) Dioxin – Contemporary and Future Challenges of Historical Legacies Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Otto Hutzinger, the founder of the DIOXIN Conference Series Roland Weber 1 *, Mats Tysklind 2 and Caroline Gaus 3 1 POPs Environmental Consulting, Ulmenstrasse 3, 73035 Goeppingen, Germany 2 Department of Chemistry, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden 3 National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology (EnTox), The University of Queensland, 39 Kessels Road, Coopers Plains 4108, Australia * Corresponding author (roland.weber10@web.de) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/espr2008.01.473 Please cite this paper as: Weber R, Tysklind M, Gaus C (2008): Dioxin – Contemporary and Future Challenges of Historical Legacies (Editorial, dedicated to Otto Hutzinger). Env Sci Pollut Res 15 (2) 96–100 (Fiedler 2007) to provide an overview of contemporary re- leases and to facilitate priority setting within the National Implementation Plans. These inventories estimate that the key Dioxin emission sources today are open burning (waste and biomass), waste incineration, and the metal industry (sinter plants, secondary metal industry). However, the on- going Dioxin legacy of the chlorine industry, related to the production, accidents, use and attempted destruction of chlo- rinated chemicals (see Table 1; UNEP Chemicals 2005, Masunaga et al 2001, Weber & Masunaga 2005, Weber 2007a), are not yet adequately addressed within these emis- sion estimates. This may lead to the impression that the elimi- nation of Dioxin sources can be achieved solely via address- ing contemporary inventoried releases and that historical sources are no longer relevant. Contemporary versus historic dioxin emissions The past formation of Dioxins during historical activities of the chlorine industry represents an ongoing challenge. This is best illustrated by comprehensive historical inventories compiled for Japan and Sweden, where Dioxin contamina- tion from past pesticide use was estimated at 460 kg TEQ for Japan (Masunaga et al. 2001, Weber and Masunaga 2005) and from wood treatment for Sweden to 200 kg TEQ (Swedish EPA 2005). This exceeds the estimated TEQ emis- sions of contemporary PCDD/F releases from a total of 55 countries (approx. 20 kg TEQ/year (Fiedler 2007)) by ap- About the authors and series editors: 1 Roland Weber works as an independent consultant for UN organisations and environmental ministries as part of the implementation of the Stock- holm Convention on POPs and is a Visiting Professor at the University Örebro, Sweden. His research interests are formation and reduction of unintentionally produced POPs in technical processes and the relevance and remediation of POPs stockpiles and contaminated sites. 2 Mats Tysklind is professor in environmental chemistry at the Department of Chemistry, Umeå University, Sweden. His research focus on transport, fate, and risk assessment of POPs in the environment. During recent years, special interest has been given contaminated soils and process understanding for risk assessment of contaminated sites and for development of soil remediation techniques. 3 Caroline Gaus is a Senior Research Fellow at The University of Queens- land (EnTox), Brisbane, Australia. Her research focuses on the sources, transport and fate of POPs, in particular within tropical and marine environments, and how these influence human and wildlife exposure and associated risks. This Editorial describes background, aims and scope of a new se- ries in ESPR entitled 'Case Studies on Dioxin and POP Contami- nated Sites – Contemporary and Future Relevance and Challenges'. The Editors are Roland Weber, Mats Tysklind and Caroline Gaus. Table 2 presents a summary of the cases discussed in this series and a comprehensive review on these and other studies will open the series with a following issue of ESPR. The beginning of the chlorine industry and Dioxin history It has long been recognised that significant PCDDs/PCDFs (Dioxins) formation during industrial processes commenced in the early twentieth century with the chloro alkali process and the subsequent high volume production of organo- chlorines (Table 1). It has only recently been recognised that high levels of Dioxin contamination may be linked to indus- trial activities taking place prior to the 1900s. This discovery, which was reported at the DIOXIN 2007 conference in To- kyo, demonstrated that Dioxins, particularly PCDFs in the range of 1–10 kg TEQ, were formed in a Leblanc Soda fac- tory which operated from 1848 to 1893 in Germany (Balzer et al. 2007). Approximately 10 to 15 similar factories were operating during this time in Germany alone. The Leblanc Soda process can be considered the birth of the chemical industry in the late eighteenth century at the recycling of the HCl generated in the Leblanc process to produce chlorine and chlorinated chalk (see Table 1) and the start of the chlorine industry. From the very beginning of the chlorine industry, Dioxins were important unintentionally produced by-prod- ucts, resulting in long-term challenges for research and regu- latory bodies to address (for an overview of chlorine indus- try issues see Stringer & Johnston 2001). Dioxin today and the Stockholm Convention More than a century later, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) addresses Dioxins and Dioxin-like PCBs (all PCBs) on a global scale within the initial 'dirty dozen' (Stockholm Convention (SC) 2001, www.pops.int). This international treaty promises the even- tual elimination of Dioxin sources, thereby hopefully intro- ducing the last chapter of the Dioxin history. Within the recent Stockholm Convention activities, a number of na- tional and regional Dioxin inventories have been established