What do bleached coffee filters and Agent Orange have in common?

So I ask: What do bleached coffee filters and Agent Orange--the herbicide used as warfare during Vietnam--have in common? More than you would think.

Today, my boyfriend, his brother, and I were questioning the difference between white and brown coffee filters... white coffee filters are bleached--some are bleached with oxygen, but others are bleached with chlorine. Why white coffee filters? I have been searching the Internet for the answer, but I haven't yet found it...

So, what's bad about bleached coffee filters? Well, if they are bleached with chlorine, they contain dioxins--one of the most toxic chemicals known to science, and one way it is formed is through paper bleaching with chlorine. And when I say one of the most toxic chemicals, I mean ONE OF THE MOST TOXIC CHEMICALS. EVER. According to the World Health Organization,

Dioxins are environmental pollutants...[they] are of concern because of their highly toxic potential. Experiments have shown they affect a number of organs and systems. Once dioxins have entered the body, they endure a long time because of their chemical stability and their ability to be absorbed by fat tissue, where they are then stored in the body. Their half-life in the body is estimated to be seven to eleven years.

Still not convinced? WHO goes on to state the effects of dioxin on human health:

Short-term exposure of humans to high levels of dioxins may result in skin lesions, such as chloracne and patchy darkening of the skin, and altered liver function. Long-term exposure is linked to impairment of the immune system, the developing nervous system, the endocrine system and reproductive functions. Chronic exposure of animals to dioxins has resulted in several types of cancer.

Think it doesn't affect you? Think again. WHO says that

Due to the omnipresence of dioxins, all people have background exposure and a certain level of dioxins in the body, leading to the so-called body burden. Current normal background exposure is not expected to affect human health on average. However, due to the high toxic potential of this class of compounds, efforts need to be undertaken to reduce current background exposure.

I realize that the amount of dioxins in bleached coffee filters are miniscule, but that is irrelevant here: the dioxins are still there. A chemical is a chemical. Moreover, atoxic chemical is a toxic chemical, regardless of its quantity. Would you put a tiny drop of, lets say, pesticide in your coffee? Every day? In every cup? Knowing that it has caused disease and cancer in other humans and animals? I wouldn't. Small amounts of substances are more powerful than you think... but I'll save that for another post because I have to go now.

Oh, I haven't yet mentioned how all of this relates to Agent Orange. Well, the health problems associated with Agent Orange are a result of--can you guess?--dioxin.

And I still ask--why bleach coffee filters in the first place? If anyone finds the answer, let me know!