Dioxin is the chemical byproduct of certain manufacturing processes or products. It develops during the manufacture of two herbicides known as 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D, which are the two components found in Agent Orange. Dioxin is also manufactured in several other chemical processes, including the chlorinated bleaching of pulp and paper. The issue of dioxin's toxicity is one of the most hotly debated in the scientific community, involving the federal government, industry, the press, and the general public.

While dioxin commonly refers to a particular compound known as tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, or TCDD, there are actually 75 different dioxins. TCDD has been studied in some manner since the 1940s, and the most recent information indicates that it is capable of interfering with a number of physiological systems. Its toxicity has been compared to plutonium and it has proven lethal to a variety of research animals, including guinea pigs, monkeys, rats, and rabbits...