The Nation - News from July 26, 1989

The environmental group Greenpeace said a recent federal study found tiny amounts of highly toxic dioxin in virtually all U.S.-produced pulp used to make bleached paper products such as coffee filters and diapers. Paper industry officials contend the dioxin levels found in paper products are so low they pose no threat to consumers. But an Environmental Protection Agency official said the long-term health risks remain unclear. The study, conducted by the EPA and the paper industry, surveyed all U.S. paper mills that use a chlorine-based bleaching process to convert brown pulp to white. Dioxins and other toxic compounds are formed as a byproduct of that bleaching process. Shelley Stewart, a spokeswoman for Greenpeace, said the study found that 103 of the 104 mills had detectable levels of dioxin in their pulp.