ICELAND: People Tested for Dioxin Pollution

People Tested for Dioxin Pollution

Dioxin is created, among other ways, by the production of chemicals that contain chlorine, waste burning—mostly when hospital waste is burned—in the recycling of aluminum and in various other metal industries.

As reported in January, dioxin pollution from Funi measured 20 times over the authorized limit in 2007. Meanwhile, the waste burning station at Kirkjubaejarklaustur emitted 95 times more dioxin than permitted and the dioxin emission from the waste burning station in the Westman Islands was 84 times higher than the allowable limit.

Briem explained that a medical examination of people from these municipalities will be conducted to determine whether their health may have been compromised by the dioxin pollution. “The execution of the procedure has not been planned in detail but it will be conducted in consultancy with scientists at the University of Iceland.”