September 7, 1999

New test to target the elusive dioxin

Asahi Shimbun

To combat one of the nation's most serious health concerns, new Japanese

Industrial Standards (JIS) will be established to measure dioxin
concentration, according
to government officials.

The new procedure will also include a method of measuring dioxin that
escapes during analysis checks, the officials said.

Officials of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry's Agency
of Industrial Science and Technology said they hope to complete a final
JIS draft by Sept. 10.
The draft will include input from scientific experts, ministry officials

and organizations involved in the dioxin issue.

Although the cancer-causing chemical has become a nationwide health
concern, no uniform dioxin analysis and measurement guidelines currently

exist.

As demands for dioxin analysis have increased, the central government
began receiving complaints mainly from citizens' groups living close to
waste incinerators
believed to be emitting large amounts of dioxin into the atmosphere. The

groups have long argued analysis results differed widely depending on
what research
institution collected the samples.

In May, MITI tasked the agency to establish a consistent standard for
measuring dioxin in air and water samples.

Agency officials said they have included a new portion into their draft
to calculate dioxins that scatter into the air during the analysis.

To measure the questionable dioxin concentrations, the draft report
recommends samples be concentrated and dried before the actual
measurement takes place.

Nitrogen is usually used for that purpose; but scientists reported that
if the procedure is not conducted properly, most chemical compound
toxins could be dispersed
into the air and blown away.

The new standards are viewed as a positive way to raise awareness about
conducting tests properly, agency officials said.