I tackled PCB, Dioxin and Furan toxicity in some depth a while back
(bear in mind there are orders of magnitude difference of alleged
toxicity between these closely related and often co-present
compounds/contaminants, and again in the different sub-types of the
compounds, the levels of which can only be assessed with specialist
testing) and what I found was that industry will tell you they are
low-grade toxicity and cite a ton of scientific study and
environmentalists will tell you they are the ultimate toxin and cite an
equal amount of scientific study.

I certainly wouldn't disregard material just because its blatantly out
to scaremonger. What about all the anti-tobacco ads telling you smoking
gives you cancer - are they spinning BS just because they're out to
scare you?

Acute poisoning (enough to cause chloracne for example) means taking on
a *gargantuan* dose of these types of compounds compared with what is
reckoned to be a 'tolerable daily intake' (TDI), and the levels that
cause concern to professional health bodies like the World Health
Organisation are vanishingly small (single figure picograms) and it is
carcinogenic, teratogenic (birth defects) and immune disorders far down
the line (even in future generations who inherit damaged genes) that
they are worried about, not acute exposure toxicity.

Its difficult getting a decent professional opinion by looking at
industry or environmentalist sourced material, as in my experience they
are equally biased, but I think it is reasonable to accept the view of
a body like the W.H.O, that class Dioxin like PCB's as potentially very
dangerous substances (and known carcinogens) and impose such strict
limits on human exposure.

My area of experience was with dealing with teensy-weensy amounts of
this stuff. The difference in amounts from a waste incinerator (and
diffused) per year and what is *potentially* contained in a few
capacitors is like comparing a hand-grenade to a small nuke in terms of
concentration and yield. They could contain millions of maximum
permissible lifetime doses.

PCB's and the like do biodegrade but can take years to do so, all the
while hanging around in your fatty tissues, doing whatever it is they
are doing (or not doing, depending on your affiliations).

Even taking the middle ground between the industry view and
environmentalist view, the *possible* risks would put me off touching
the stuff or taking any risks with it at all, but thats my personal
opinion.