DioxinWant to help or harm?Imagine building a life in a neighborhood that has everything to offer: a playground for children, a nursery, an elementary school, a hospital and friendly people . Everything seems to be perfect until you discover that the hospital, known for helping people overcome illnesses and other ailments, is itself causing some of these health problems. This neighborhood isn't so ideal anymore. You start to wonder if there was something you could have done, something you should have known, but you just don't have the answers. You are not alone. Thousands of people continually learn about the effects of dioxin in their neighborhoods and there is something everyone can do about it. To begin with, it is essential to locate the source of the problem. In this case, dioxin is released into the air, water and soil via a hospital incinerator. But this isn't just a pro-environmental argument, it's also a moral issue. It is up to people to take action and fight for their right to a clean and safe environment. The Cortland Memorial Hospital incinerator is a major producer of dioxin in the Cortland area, as are all hospital incinerators worldwide (Gibbs 53). The Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that approximately 53% of all dioxin is caused by medical waste burned in hospital incinerators, and most of this amount is unnecessary (55). Through much research and investigation, it has been discovered that much of this dioxin comes from the improper disposal of ALL hospital waste. Pam Jenkins, a previous supporter of the fight to stop the amount of dioxin released into the air by Cortland Hospital, shared with us some of her information about disposing of waste after it is generated by the hospital. He informed us that materials and products, which can be sent to landfill, are actually burned in the hospital's incinerator. The fact that materials such as hospital beds, IV bags, food waste, metals, plastics and other hazardous materials are being burned in the incinerator is affecting the neighborhoods surrounding the hospital because the smoke carries the toxins and deposits them everywhere. How dioxin is created in these incinerators and what effects it has on the citizens of the community??