Significance of Cutaneous Lesions in the Symptomatology of Exposure to Dioxins and Other Chloracnegens

After a brief review of the subject of chloracnegenic toxicity, this paper examines two proposals. Firstly that the acnegenic potential of all chloroacnegens correlates perfectly with their systemic toxicity and, secondly, that with almost no exceptions chloracne still appears to be the most sensitive marker of poisoning by chloracnegens in the human subject. It is as such a marker that it is of great importance. Various alternative markers are examined and rejected in favor of chloracne. It is, of course, emphasized that the failure of chloracne to appear after apparent poisoning rules out short and medium term effects but cannot entirely preclude the potential existence of long term low dose effects, although none have so far been proven statistically to exist in over 30 years of follow-up.