PCDF

PCDF commonly refers to polychlorinated dibenzofurans, a family of chlorinated aromatic compounds composed of two benzene rings fused to a central furan ring and substituted with chlorine at multiple positions. There are numerous congeners, making analysis and risk assessment complex. Some PCDFs are dioxin-like in toxicity due to activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), while others have distinct toxicological profiles.

Most PCDFs enter the environment through incomplete combustion of chlorine-containing materials and through industrial processes such as waste incineration, chlorine bleaching, and certain metal production. They also form when organic matter is burned in the presence of chlorine, including residential burning and vehicle exhaust.

PCDFs are persistent and bioaccumulative, with low environmental mobility in some contexts. They tend to accumulate in fatty tissues of animals and humans. Health effects associated with dioxin-like PCDFs include immunotoxicity, developmental and reproductive effects, hepatotoxicity, and an increased cancer risk in some studies. Human exposure is dominated by dietary intake, particularly animal fats and dairy products, with breast milk representing a notable exposure pathway for infants.

Regulatory frameworks address emissions and human exposure, and PCDFs are managed as part of the broader PCDD/PCDF group under international instruments such as the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. Risk assessment commonly uses toxic equivalency (TEQ) to aggregate contributions from PCDD and PCDF congeners based on toxic equivalency factors (TEFs). Analytical monitoring relies on congener-specific analyses, typically using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) on samples from food, air, water, soil, and biota.