DOCSLIB.ORG

Agent Orange

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Agent Orange The T· etn Tete Agent range: The War Liuge up this herbicide, 2,4-0 and 2,4,5-T were widely used in the United State~ by farmers and foresters to kill un­ wanted vegetation. In fact, you could buy them off the shelf of you r neigh­ borhood hardware store to ki II weeds in your lawn or garden. John C. Hansen The military began using several herbicides in Vietnam in early 1962. Mr. Hansen is a senior evaluator recently reassigned from the Federal Personnel and The herbicides were identified by code Compensation Division to the Veterans names which referred to the color of Administration audit site of the Human bands painted on the chemical con­ Resources Division where he is continuing tainers. Thus, they were given names his work on Agent Orange. He joined GAO like Agent Orange, Agent Blue, and In 1974 after receiving a B.S. degree in Agent White. These herbicides were finance and a M.B.A. from the University of applied by cargo planes, helicopters, Almost 1 years after the end of the Rhode Island. Mr. Hansen is a past member ° trucks, riverboats, and from back­ of GAO's Career Level Council and is a Vietnam War many veterans believe packs. About 90 percent of the Agent member of the American Society for Public they are still fighting the enemy in a life Orange used in Vietnam was for forest Administration. or death struggle. That enemy is not or jungle defoliation. Crop destruction the Viet Cong, but the toxic defol iant missions accounted for 8 percent of known as Agent Orange. the Agent Orange applied. The remain­ Si nce 1977, the emotionally charged ing 2 percent was used around base Agent Orange issue has grown into a perimeters, cache sites, waterways. national controversy. Thousands of and communication lines. Vietnam veterans claim that exposure By the late 1960's, Vietnamese to Agent Orange has made them sick newspapers and various scientists and deformed their children, and they began to attribute certain health prob·· are frustrated at the slow pace of lems found in the civilian Vietnamese Government efforts to find answers to population, such as birth defects, can­ their questions. cers, and skin problems, to herbicide There are many emotional issues in exposure. About the same time, the the public forum today which are National Institutes of Health reported rooted in debate over Government's that 2,4,5-T, one of the chemicals in responsibility to the public and its Agent Orange, could cause malforma­ influence on our lives. However none tions and stillbirths in mice. In April .is more fundamental than the 'ques­ 1970, DOD suspended all use of Agent tion: What does the Government owe Orange in Vietnam largely as a result veterans who have served the country of the Department of Agriculture'S res­ in battle? Vietnam veterans concerned triction of certain domestic uses of about Agent Orange believe the Gov­ 2,4,5-T because of its possible health ernment is not fulfilling its obligation hazards. These health hazards were on this complex issue. GAO has con­ attributed to the inevitable by-product tributed to the ongoing debate through of the manufacture of 2 4 5-T The by­ several reports. product is TCDD, a ~horthand for l\!hat Is Agcnt O.-augc'! 2,3, 7,8-tetrach lorodi benzoparad ioxin, simply called dioxin, which manY From 1965 to 1970, the Department scientists consider tile deadliest of all of Defense (DOD) sprayed almost 11 manmade poisons. m!llion gallons of Agent Orange over millions of acres of Vietnam to prevent the enemy from hiding in the jungle, thereby enhancing security and im­ proving observation, and to destroy the enemy's food supply. Since tile 1940's, the two chemicals which made 1 I r. " tIe Vete.·:uls' Otdery \ :J.cgills In late 1977, veterans began ap­ proach ing the Veterans Administra­ tion (VA) with various health problems they believed were related to herbicide exposure in Vietnam. Extensive media coverage of the purported adverse health effects of 2.4,5-T and its dioxin contaminant also raised concerns among many Vietnam veterans. Ill­ nesses which these veterans believed were caused by exposure to Agent Orange included skin conditions, can­ cer, birth defects in offspring, nervous disorders, numbness in extremities, I' miscarriages, reduced libido, impo­ tency, vision and/or hearing impair­ ment, and gastrointestinal tract dis­ turbances. In April 1978, the late Congressman Ralph H. Metcalfe expressed his con­ cern about possible long-range ad­ verse health effects of exposure to Agent Orange. He asked GAO to examine DOD's use of the herbicide in Vietnam and the VA's handling of herbicide-exposure disability claims 'submitted by Vietnam veterans. Air Force C-123B on a defoliation mission. (U .S. Air Force photo.) . .~ Three Air Force C-123 "Ranch Hand" aircraft dispense defoliants over Vietnam jungles. (Photo by Sgt. W. A. Betts, U.S. Air Force photo,) (,1.0 [{':\1C\\, /Sprillg 19H I 30 l b e Vietnam Ve teran \'l'i, Agcllt (h'angc : 'Ibe WIll' 'Ib a ! Lingers An interim report (CED-78-158, Aug 16, 1978) to Congressman Met­ calfe addressed the (1) extent of DOD's use of herbicides and other chemicals in South Vietnam, (2) num­ ber of military and civilian personnel exposed to these chemicals, and (3) DOD-funded studies of these chemi­ cals' effect on health, A second report, "Health Effects of Exposure to Herbi­ cide Orange in South Vietnam Should be Resolved" (CED-79-22, Apr 6, 1979), focused on VA's response to veterans' concerns on herbicide expo­ sure and health effects studies of dioxin and other chemicals used ill Vietnam In these early reports GAO con­ cluded that VA needed a better basis for evaluating the nature of veterans' concerns about the herbicide. GAO recommended that, in eval uati ng herbicide-related di sability compen­ sation claims, VA obtain all military records pertaining to a veteran's pos­ sible exposure to herbicides in Viet­ nam and that all veterans submitting such claims be encouraged to contact VA health care facilities. GAO also recommended that DOD study. with the assistance and guidance of an The use of defoliants in Vietnam deprived the enemy of jungle cover. (U.S. Air Force photo.! appropriate interagency group, tile f ! .. :1 ":Ii :, ~I l .. ' " ';1 '; After defoliation, t his Viet Cong trench was discovered 22 miles outside of Saigon. Note cratevs from earlier 8 -52 bo mbing. ; (U,S. Air Force photo, ) l ( ~~J (.,\() l<nic\\,ISpf'i. l.I1 )\lHI " i 1 I fwalth risks involved by Its personnel Marine Corps un it records, it was Using average stren9th and turn­ I exposed to herbicides in Vietnam. obvious that they did not contain con­ over figures for the sample, GAO esti­ In response to those recommenda­ clusive proof of ground personnel mated that 21 8, 000 personnel were tions and the mounting public and reporting that they were sprayed by assigned to the 24 battalions in I Corps congressional concern, VA started a aircraft on Agent Orange missions. between '1966 and 1969. registry of all Vietnam veterans exam­ Thus, another approach to analyzing Ground troop locations were com­ ined at VA medical facilities for available data had to be developed to pared with Agent Orange missions, herbicide-related health problems. show whethel' ground tro ops were il1 taking into account the time and geo­ A!sO the Air Force initiated a health or near areas sprayed with Agent graphic proximity of battalion loca .. effe cts study of Air Force personnel Orange. An FPCD auditor who had tions to spraying sites. Various time involved in operation "Ranch Hand" been an Army helicopter pilot in Viet­ and distance combinations were ana­ WllO sprayed Agent Orange in Viet­ nam, a member of FPC D's systems lyzed because many variables affected nam. DOD believed these individuals analysis staff, and I formed a team to an individual's potential for exposure. had the greatest potential for exposure. focus on this difficult problem. Different estimates exist on the life of By the spring of 1979, veterans' com­ DOD had developed a computel' dioxin and the drift of Agent Orange plaints were flooding congressional data base on herbicide spraying mis­ from target areas. offices. Many complaints were from sions conducted between August 1965 The four time periods used were the gmund troops in Vietnam who be­ and February 1971. This data base day the mission was conducted (day 1) lieved they were sprayed and had included the date, number of planes, and within 7, '14, and 28 days after the dnmk from water contaminated with amount of herbicide sprayed, and the mission The 28th day was significant Agent Orange. They disagreed with location for approximately 86 percent because DOD had consistently stated DOD's contention that only "Ranch of all herbicide operations in South that ground troops' exposure to Agent Hand" personnel had been exposed. Vietnam What was missing was a data Orange was unlikely because they did In May 1979, Senator Charles Percy, base of troop locations and strengths not enter sprayed areas until 4 to 6 "cting on the growing complaints of which could be compared with the weeks afterwa rd. ground-troop exposure, requested spraying missions to estimate the The distance criteria used were .5, GAO to determine what precautions number and proximity of troops to the 1.5, and 2.5 kilometers, or about .3, .9, were taken to prevent ground troops areas sprayed with Agent Orange. and 1.6 miles from a sprayed area. (A and others from exposure and whether Unfortunately, Army troop records kilometer is 0.62 miles, almost 2/3 of a military units were in or near areas from the Vietnam conflict were neither mile) Distance from a sprayed area sprayed with Agent Orange.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Diasporic Vietnamese Remembrance
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles “The line between life and death in the high seas is very thin, almost invisible”: Diasporic Vietnamese Remembrance A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Asian American Studies by Tiểu-Khê Lê 2015 © Copyright by Tiểu-Khê Lê 2015 ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS “The line between life and death in the high seas is very thin, almost invisible”: Diasporic Vietnamese Remembrance By Tiểu-Khê Lê Master of Arts in Asian American Studies University of California, Los Angeles, 2015 Professor Thu-huong Nguyen-vo, Chair This project investigates the ways in which Vietnamese American modes of remembering support, unsettle, resist, refuse, and/or shape dominant western narratives that consolidate the Vietnam War, and the Vietnamese diaspora, into a single story of a masculine, militaristic, heteropatriarchial, and completed struggle between North and U.S.-backed South Vietnam. The first section explores how the design, construction, and everyday interactions with two Vietnam War monuments in Orange County, California’s Little Saigon intervenes in the two monuments’ attempts at consolidating western empire with Vietnamese bodily representation. The second section examines An-My Le’s photography series, Small Wars, which centers on how circulation of media footage and film shape western narrative of the Vietnam War. Queer readings, theories of heterotopic space, ethnography, landscape theory, and transhistoricism are some guiding frameworks to this thesis. ii The Thesis of Tieu-Khe Le is approved. Victor Bascara Kyungwon Hong Thu-huong Nguyen-vo, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2015 iii DEDICATION to anyone who has found themselves lost at sea.
    [Show full text]
  • Blue Water Navy Communications Toolkit
    BLUE WATER NAVY COMMUNICATIONS TOOLKIT The Blue Water Navy Communications Toolkit This Blue Water Navy Communications Toolkit supports the effort to raise awareness and understanding of Public Law 116-23: Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veteran Act of 2019 and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) updated policy for processing claims of Vietnam War Veterans, and their dependents and survivors, related to presumptive exposure to herbicides such as Agent Orange. Certain aspects of the VA Home Loan process were also affected by this legislation and are likewise explained within the enclosed resources. This toolkit is a guidebook to understanding the criteria for service connection based on VA’s revised policy. It outlines how Veterans, survivors and dependents can access potential benefits associated with military service. Veterans Affairs’ primary goal is to inform Veterans, their dependents, survivors, key internal and external stakeholders, and others by ensuring the proactive dissemination and delivery of educational materials about the change in VA policy. VA also wants to ensure effective com- munication with eligible Blue Water Navy Veterans and their family members regarding the revised process for submitting disability compensation claims related to herbicide exposure during their Vietnam War service. This Communications Toolkit consists of the following documents: Factsheet – A one-page overview. 101 Presentation – An in-depth explanation, with examples and detailed information. FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions Poster – A printable resource to raise awareness and provide a url address. Fraud Flyer – A printable resource to inform Veterans about avoiding scams. Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act 2019 Law Extends Benefits for Eligible Veterans Public Law 116-23, (Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act 2019) Public Law 116-23, (Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act 2019) was signed into law on June 25, 2019 and takes effect January 1, 2020.
    [Show full text]
  • Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019
    PUBLIC LAW 116–23—JUNE 25, 2019 BLUE WATER NAVY VIETNAM VETERANS ACT OF 2019 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:12 Sep 30, 2019 Jkt 089139 PO 00023 Frm 00001 Fmt 6579 Sfmt 6579 E:\PUBLAW\PUBL023.116 PUBL023 dkrause on DSKBC28HB2PROD with PUBLAWS 133 STAT. 966 PUBLIC LAW 116–23—JUNE 25, 2019 Public Law 116–23 116th Congress An Act To amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify presumptions relating to the June 25, 2019 exposure of certain veterans who served in the vicinity of the Republic of Vietnam, [H.R. 299] and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of Blue Water Navy the United States of America in Congress assembled, Vietnam Veterans Act SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. of 2019. 38 USC 101 note. This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019’’. SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF PRESUMPTIONS OF EXPOSURE FOR VET- ERANS WHO SERVED IN VICINITY OF REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM. (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 11 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1116 the following new section: 38 USC 1116A. ‘‘§ 1116A. Presumptions of service connection for veterans who served offshore of the Republic of Vietnam Time period. ‘‘(a) SERVICE CONNECTION.—For the purposes of section 1110 of this title, and subject to section 1113 of this title, a disease covered by section 1116 of this title becoming manifest as specified in that section in a veteran who, during active military, naval, or air service, served offshore of the Republic of Vietnam during the period beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975, shall be considered to have been incurred in or aggravated by such service, notwithstanding that there is no record of evidence of such disease during the period of such service.
    [Show full text]
  • Sources of Vietnam Veteran Pro- and Antiwar Political Attitudes1
    Sociological Forum, Vol. 29, No. 1, March 2014 DOI: 10.1111/socf.12071 Memories of War: Sources of Vietnam Veteran Pro- and Antiwar Political Attitudes1 David Flores2 The sources of political attitudes are among the most studied phenomena of modern politics. Moving away from the traditional focus on party systems, the demographic characteristics of voters, or political socialization, I consider instead how memory and narrative shape political consciousness. Specifically, I focus on how culturally sanctioned memories of warfare influence the political attitudes of 24 Vietnam veterans. I compare two groups of Vietnam veterans who went to Vietnam in support of the war and political status quo, but who returned with opposing attitudes toward war. How can we understand these contrasting outcomes? Specifically, how do memories of war shape political attitudes? Antiwar veterans relate similar narratives of having their idealistic views of war challenged and experiencing a major rethinking of their support when they learn the true nature of warfare. On the other hand, pro-war veter- ans share a patterned narrative of indifference rather than idealism when describing their continued sup- port of the war and political status quo after they return from Vietnam. I conclude by arguing that memory and narrative are an important mechanism for shaping political attitudes. KEY WORDS: cognition; memory; narrative; political attitudes; Vietnam veterans; war. INTRODUCTION: POLITICAL ATTITUDES The sources of political attitudes are among the most studied phenomena of modern politics. Sociologists and others studying political attitudes generally focus on three sources that shape political opinions: party alignments, sociode- mographic characteristics, and political socialization.
    [Show full text]
  • July and August
    VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA Office of the National Chaplain Taps July/August 2013 RODGER LEE BERRY - Died Saturday, June 1, 2013, at Abington Hospice at Warminster, Pennsylvania after a long, courageous battle with lung cancer. He was 68 years of age. He had been a resident of the Warrington, Pennsylvania and Warminster areas since 2008 and previously had lived in Warsaw, Indiana, for 30 years. He was born January 1, 1945, in Paris, Illinois. He was a truck driver for various companies before retiring in 2009. He served in the United States Army for 14 years, serving in Korea, Vietnam and the United States. On November 21, 1968, he married Mary K. Laincz at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. They would have celebrated their 45th anniversary this year. He was a member of the American Legion, an At- Large Life Member of Vietnam Veterans of America - Pennsylvania, and the AMVETS. He is survived by his wife, Mary K. Berry; his children, Tracy Lynn Tobalt (Paul), Kimberly Ann Lame (Jim), and Rodger Lee Berry II (April); his 14 grandchildren; his 12 great-grandchildren; his brothers, Gary Berry (Nancee) of Ohio, Walter Berry (Joann) of Indiana, and Glenn Berry (Sherry) of Indiana; his sisters, Leona Good (Kevin) of Indiana, and Deanna Dillon (Steve) of Mississippi; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Leo Berry and Marian Lang Berry Shoemaker; and his stepfather, Russell Shoemaker. Funeral services were held at 8:00 PM Tuesday, June 4, at The Decker Funeral Home, 216 York Road, Warminster, where calling hours were from 7:00 PM until the start of the service.
    [Show full text]
  • A Chemical War Without End: Agent Orange in Vietnam
    A Chemical War without End: Agent Orange in Vietnam Marie-Hélène Lavallard* The Vietnam War (1961-1975) is known for the massive bombings of North Vietnam. More insidious, however, yet less well-known to the general public, was the chemical war waged from 1961 to 1971against South Vietnam. An immense environmental disaster and a human catastrophe taking numerous forms: health, economic, socio-cultural …, it had dramatic consequences which are still felt today. The American government and the chemical companies involved have eluded their responsibilities. For years, a conspiracy of silence has obscured the toxicity of the defoliants used. Those responsible have the effrontery to continue denying it today. Humanitarian aid is incommensurate with the needs. It is at the government level that support for Vietnam must be organized and the demand for just reparations must be made. During the Vietnam War, from 1961 to 1971, American aviation sprayed defoliants over Southern Vietnam to chase from the jungle the combatants taking shelter there, to cut the Ho Chi Minh trail by which weapons, supplies and medication came down from the North, to facilitate surveillance of roads, coastlines and waterways and to destroy the rice paddies, forcing villagers into "strategic hamlets" and thus depriving the guerillas of food and aid1. More than 77 million2 liters of defoliants were released by plane (95%), by helicopter, by boat, by tanker truck, and by men with backpack sprayers. More than 2,500,000 hectares were contaminated by these defoliants, the best known of which is Agent Orange. It contains dioxin, one of the most violent and most indestructible poisons known.
    [Show full text]
  • Forty Years After the War: How Are Vietnam Veterans Doing Today?
    VOLUME 27/NO. 1 • ISSN: 1050-1835 • 2016 Research Quarterly advancing science and promoting understanding of traumatic stress Published by: Nida H. Corry, PhD National Center for PTSD Forty Years After the War: Abt Associates, US Health Division VA Medical Center (116D) 215 North Main Street Richard Kulka, PhD White River Junction How are Vietnam Independent Consultant, Statistical, Survey and Social Research Vermont 05009-0001 USA John A. Fairbank, PhD and William E. Schlenger, PhD (802) 296-5132 Veterans Doing Today? Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University FAX (802) 296-5135 Email: [email protected] All issues of the PTSD Research Introduction Population-Based Cohort Studies Quarterly are available online at: www.ptsd.va.gov Understanding how the Vietnam Veteran generation American Legion Vietnam Veterans Longitudinal Study is faring today in terms of behavioral, physical and The American Legion Vietnam Veterans Longitudinal Editorial Members: social health is a critical undertaking for several Study is a 14-year follow-up of a random sample of Editorial Director reasons. First, Vietnam Veterans constitute the American Legionnaires who had served in Southeast Matthew J. Friedman, MD, PhD largest living cohort of United States (US) Veterans Asia during the Vietnam War and were surveyed by Bibliographic Editor and are the modal users of US Department of mail in 1984 and again in 1998. Of the 1,377 Vietnam Cybele Merrick, MA, MS Veterans Affairs (VA) services. There are also Veterans who served in the theater of operations Managing Editor international cohorts of Vietnam Veterans, as and who responded at both Time 1 and Time 2, Heather Smith, BA Ed Australia and South Korea deployed military 11.8% had severe PTSD symptoms in 1984, compared with a prevalence of 10.5% in 1998, nearly 30 years personnel to support the US in the war.
    [Show full text]
  • Agent Orange Understand the VA Claims Process
    The American Legion FILING A VA CLAIM CONTACT INFORMATION The American Legion offers a free Claims Coach • The American Legion National Headquarters, app that helps veterans and their surviving spouses 202-861-2700 (Washington Office) legion.org Agent Orange understand the VA claims process. The app’s step- • Department of Veterans Affairs VA Benefits Call by-step process allows users to find a service officer Center, 800-827-1000 Benefits&Programs nearby, create a checklist, set appointment remind- • VA Health Care, 877-222-8387 ers and manage claims. To download the app, visit A guide for those who served in Vietnam, legion.org/mobileapps. • Agent Orange updates and information Korea and Thailand, and their families va.gov/agentorange The Claims Coach can also be accessed via computer by going to legion.org/mobileapps and clicking on “use the SPINA BIFIDA CONTACTS Claims Coach on your desktop.” • Veterans Health Administration (VHA) 800-733-8387 To locate an accredited American Legion Department Service Officer, go to legion.org/serviceofficer. • Shriners Hospital for Children 800-237-5055 or shrinershq.org ELIGIBILITY FOR AGENT ORANGE RELATED JOIN THE LEGION HEALTH CARE A Vietnam-era herbicide-exposed veteran does not have At about 2 million strong, The American Legion is the largest veterans service organization in the world. to be rated service-connected to be eligible for Agent Every day, The American Legion works for veterans, Orange related health care. A Vietnam-era herbicide-ex- their families and the communities in which they live. posed veteran is eligible notwithstanding that there is in- To join The American Legion, please visit legion.org/join.
    [Show full text]
  • The United States' Chemical Defoliant Use During the Vietnam War and Its
    ABSTRACT OATSVALL, NEIL SHAFER. War on Nature, War on Bodies: The United States’ Chemical Defoliant Use During the Vietnam War and Its Consequences. (Under the direction of Matthew Morse Booker.) During most of the Vietnam War, from 1961-1971, the United States military sprayed chemical defoliants on a significant part of the Vietnamese environment in order to gain a military advantage. US forces used these chemicals in an attempt to substitute technology and financial resources for manpower to triumph over a relatively technologically deficient enemy. This effort, dubbed “Operation Ranch Hand,” wrought incredible destruction not only on Vietnam’s natural setting, but also on everyone involved; Vietnamese and American, civilian and soldier. This work examines the consequences of defoliation, and aims to show that those outcomes proved more severe in both scale and efficacy than any anticipated results. It differs from previous studies by combining environmental, military, medical, and cultural factors and considering them as interrelated. Whenever possible this study also tries to bring in a Vietnamese perspective, though that is often impossible due to a lack of available evidence in English. In this war, the United States treated not only the Vietnamese Communists as enemies but also assaulted the natural environment as foe. The interconnections forged during this complicated interpretation of nature and enemy are essential to the study of Operation Ranch Hand and chemical defoliation operations. Nature mattered to both sides, and an
    [Show full text]
  • Fact Sheet 8: the Use of Defoliants – Agent Orange
    Fact Sheet 8: The use of defoliants – Agent Orange A highly controversial aspect of the Vietnam War was the widespread use of herbicides by the United States military. These chemicals caused the leaves of trees in the jungle to die. This made it easier to detect enemy positions and activities, especially from the air. Crops were also sprayed to deprive the enemy of food. These chemicals included the ‘Rainbow Herbicides’ – Agent Pink, Agent Green, Agent Purple, Agent Blue, Agent White and, most famously, Agent Orange. The US Air Force sprayed approximately 75 million litres (of which Agent Orange accounted for about 45 million litres) of concentrated herbicides, affecting an estimated 13% of South Vietnam's land. Humans exposed to Agent Orange were at risk of poisoning. Some estimates suggest that there were as many as 4 million victims of dioxin poisoning in Vietnam. Veterans of the war observed an increased risk of various types of cancer, while birth defects among their children were cited as evidence of the long-term harm caused by Agent Orange. The US government denied any conclusive scientific links between Agent Orange and health problems experienced by those exposed. In 1984 US veterans obtained a $180 million settlement from companies which produced Agent Orange. A small trust fund for New Zealanders who had been exposed was established as part of this settlement, but the fund was exhausted before the health problems of many veterans became apparent. The New Zealand government initially stated that no New Zealanders were deployed in areas where defoliants were used. A 2001 report found no evidence that exposure to defoliants had affected the health of veterans' children, although it did bring new evidence of exposure.
    [Show full text]
  • Agent Orange Review
    Agent Orange Review Vol. 9, N0. 3 Information for Veterans Who Served in Vietnam September 1992 National Academy of Sciences Project Secretary Edward J. Derwinski Advances on the Agent Orange Issue: VA was cast as the enemy of the veteran. VA had absolutely no credibility on this issue. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is making Finally, in recent months, substantial progress on the Agent Orange project undertaken on we began to defuse much of the behalf of VA early this year. NAS officials have been gathering criticism and suspicion by herbicide literature from VA (including VA's 18-volume granting service connection for literature review) and other sources, making contact with conditions science tells us may scientists and other interested parties throughout the country, have been caused by exposure to and assembling a committee of experts to complete the project Agent Orange--such as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and soft envisaged by Congress in Public Law 102-4, the "Agent tissue sarcomas. Orange Act of 1991." We're still being criticized by some who think we haven't gone far enough, and by some who feel there's not sufficient scientific proof for the decisions we have made. The public reaction~and the general lessening of Initial Committee Meeting tensions~seems to indicate we're right. This may be an important lesson for VA... The NAS Institute of Medicine's Committee to Review Committee Membership the Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans of Exposure to Herbicides held its first meeting on June 26, in Washington, DC. The Committee is chaired by Harold Fallon, M.D., Chair The morning session, which was opened to invited guests and of the Department of Medicine of the Medical College of speakers, was devoted to providing Committee members with Virginia in Richmond, Virginia.
    [Show full text]
  • The Lingering Killer: Agent Orange
    Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science Volume 2 Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science, Spring 2014 Article 8 5-2014 The Lingering Killer: Agent Orange Sharon Ungerfeld San Jose State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/themis Part of the Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons, and the Other Legal Studies Commons Recommended Citation Ungerfeld, Sharon (2014) "The Lingering Killer: Agent Orange," Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science: Vol. 2 , Article 8. https://doi.org/10.31979/THEMIS.2014.0208 https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/themis/vol2/iss1/8 This Peer-Reviewed Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Justice Studies at SJSU ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Themis: Research Journal of Justice Studies and Forensic Science by an authorized editor of SJSU ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Lingering Killer: Agent Orange Abstract This paper explores the utilization of the chemical herbicide, Agent Orange, as it was sprayed over Vietnam during the Vietnam War in 1961 to 1971. The United States government, military, and corporations acted irresponsibly by creating the chemical and spraying it as a war tactic. The outcome of the spraying includes detrimental socioeconomic impacts, environmental degradation, and health problems. The socioeconomic impact is explained with statistics and an explanation of loss of job and education capabilities. With data on the destroyed trees and vegetation, this paper demonstrates the degree to which the environment faced harm. The health effects of Agent Orange are detailed by listing the diseases associated with the chemical.
    [Show full text]