Why do we worry about dioxins?

Dioxins are mixtures of compounds formed by chlorine substitution of the dibenzo-p-dioxin molecule. There are no beneficial uses of "dioxins" and they are not deliberately manufactured except on a very small scale for use in research. Combustion processes are the major sources of releases to the environment. Releases to the environment probably peaked in the 1970/80s and have declined sharply since then. Exposure of the general population, as measured in dietary studies, has declined by over 90% since 1982.