[exDemMom]

Yuschchenko carried about 6,000 times as much dioxin as the average person; furthermore, the skin disease brought about by dioxin is a result of direct contact with the skin.

As much as I like Michael Fumento, I have to point out that this statement is erroneous. The skin disease, chloracne, as well as other toxic effects, is brought about by ingestion of large quantities of dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD). TCDD's toxic effects are mediated through a single receptor, which interacts with nuclear DNA and causes up and down regulation of the expression of several genes. It is the inappropriate regulation of these genes that (eventually) leads to the symptoms of TCDD toxicity, including chloracne.

If a large enough dose of TCDD could be absorbed through the skin, it would cause the same symptoms as ingested TCDD--the effect is systemic, not topical.

(I earned my Ph.D. by researching how TCDD affects gene regulation.)

[Still Thinking]

Cool backgrounder. Thank you.

[bruinbirdman]

"If a large enough dose of TCDD could be absorbed through the skin, it would cause the same symptoms as ingested TCDD--the effect is systemic, not topical."

Operative words, "large enough dose". What is a "large enough dose?"

yitbos

[DManA]

I remember back about the time Times Beach was fresh in the news, some guy was claiming dioxin was not very toxic and to prove his point drank a whole glass of the stuff. Was this guy nuts? Do you think he's still alive?

[Max Combined]

"The skin disease, chloracne, as well as other toxic effects, is brought about by ingestion of large quantities of dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD)."

I don't have your background, but I have read about PCB exposure to Japanese and Italians and the victims had chloracne from ingesting the PCBs. I believe that the PCBs in Japan are contaminated with dioxins. The was a case where PCB from a heat transfer system got into some cooking oil which was sent to a town in Japan. The people who eat the food cooked in the PCB contaminated oil got chloracne, but they did not die.

[Old Professer]

Good for you, now exactly what stability exists for TCDD and how does that implicate the 400+ chemical compounds now included in the class, dioxin?