[General population exposure to dioxins, human ubiquitous pollutants].

This paper gives an overview of the environmental or background exposure of general population to dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzo-para-dioxins (PCDD) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDF), originating from a variety of industrial and thermal processes and recognized as cancerous and toxic substances. The daily consumption of low-level contaminated food, mainly of animal origin, leads to the accumulation of dioxins in the human body. To determine the background exposure, human milk, adipose tissue or blood from many geographical locations (except France) have been used as bioindicators for body burden of dioxins. Human milk also allows the daily intake estimation of dioxins for breast-fed babies. Efforts should be made to minimize or avoid PCDD/PCDF emission in the environment.