How agent orange works...

[Wise Young]

http://science.howstuffworks.com/agent-orange.htm

How Agent Orange Worked

by Jacob Silverman

Silverman, Jacob. "How Agent Orange Worked." 04 November 2008. HowStuffWorks.com. <http://science.howstuffworks.com/agent-orange.htm> 24 November 2008.

Inside this Article

1. Introduction to How Agent Orange Worked
2. Uses of Agent Orange and Effects on Foliage
3. Agent Orange and Dioxin

4. Agent Orange and Health Problems
5. Agent Orange Lawsuits and Reparations
6. The Legacy of Agent Orange
7.
See more »
7. Lots More Information
8. See all Biological Warfare articles



*In war, sometimes the greatest tragedies come long after hostilities cease. So it goes with Agent Orange, a potent herbicide used as a defoliant during the Vietnam War. The U.S. military deployed almost 20 million gallons (76 millions liters) of herbicides from 1962 to 1971 [source: Veterans Administration]. Among these substances, Agent Orange was the most used herbicide, around 11 million gallons (42 million liters) deployed from January 1965 through April 1970 [sources: Veterans Administration and Buckingham].

Agent Orange has been linked to many health problems in Vietnam veterans and Vietnamese civilians. Thousands have died from conditions likely brought on by exposure to Agent Orange. The herbicide, and its component dioxin, is considered to be one of the most dangerous substances in the world [source: Glaberson]. Overall, the mass spraying of Agent Orange has been called an "ecocide" because of the devastation that it wrought on the Vietnamese environment and on the health of many residents of that country [source: Hitchens].

The name Agent Orange comes from the containers that it was stored in, which had an orange stripe. In all, the United States used 15 herbicides in Southeast Asia, including Agents Orange, Blue, White, Pink, Purple and Green, all of which were mixtures of various herbicides and defoliants [source: Veterans Administration]. Agent Orange was a mix of two herbicides called 2,4,-D and 2,4,5-T.

*Agent Orange's development came about in part due to work by Dr. Arthur W. Galston, a botanist who researched compounds that boost plant growt*h, known as growth regulators. But after the U.S. military began using Agent Orange in Vietnam, Galston observed its effects and worked to publicize the damage that the defoliant caused to plants, animals, ecosystems and human health. He became one o*f the foremost campaigners against the use of Agent Orange.

Gradually, public protest against the use of Agent Orange grew. Newspaper articles about the ill effects of Agent Orange, particularly against the U.S.-allied South Vietnamese, attracted government attention. Prominent scientists argued that the deployment of herbicides was an immoral use of chemical weapons [source: Buckingham]. When, in 1970, scientific testing showed that Agent Orange produced adverse health effects in rats, President Nixon ordered *the military to cease spraying.
*

So why did the U.S. military employ such a toxic compound in waging war? In this article, we'll look at why Agent Orange was used, its effects on the environment and human health, and its complicated legacy. We'll also examine dioxin, the deadly compound that continues to pollute the Vietnamese countryside.

<much more>

[semester7]

Good read thanks for posting that. A friend of my dads got prostate cancer because of agent orange, he was in Vietnam!!!!! He still suffers pain because of it..

[Sue Pendleton]

Originally Posted by semester7

Good read thanks for posting that. A friend of my dads got prostate cancer because of agent orange, he was in Vietnam!!!!! He still suffers pain because of it..

The Veterans Administration now covers the cost of prostate cancer and several other cancers and diseases decades after the person left the service. So anyone who served in Vietnam should contact the nearest VA for information on what the Agent Orange Program covers.

[semester7]

Thanks for the response Sue, I will surely tell him...

[Wise Young]

I moved this thread to the Veterans forum. Wise.

[Veteran Advisor]

Originally Posted by Sue Pendleton

The Veterans Administration now covers the cost of prostate cancer and several other cancers and diseases decades after the person left the service. So anyone who served in Vietnam should contact the nearest VA for information on what the Agent Orange Program covers.

The following conditions are subject to presumptive service connection, meaning no proof of in-service origin is required, provided that the VA does not possess “affirmative evidence to the contrary” of service occurrence. In other words, if you can prove you were in Vietnam (Vietnam Service Medal, DD-214, etc.) and you incur one or more of the listed diseases then you’re entitled to service connection for your disabling condition and its residuals.

Here’s the list:

Chloracne or other acneform disease consistent with chloracne
Type 2 diabetes (also known as Type II diabetes mellitus or adult-onset diabetes)
Hodgkin's disease
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Multiple myeloma
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
Acute and subacute peripheral neuropathy
Porphyria cutanea tarda
Prostate cancer
Respiratory cancers (cancer of the lung, bronchus, larynx, or trachea)
Soft-tissue sarcoma (other than osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, or mesothelioma)
Note 1: The term “soft-tissue sarcoma” includes the following:
Adult fibrosarcoma
Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans
Malignant fibrous histiocytoma
Liposarcoma
Leiomyosarcoma
Epithelioid leiomyosarcoma (malignant leiomyoblastoma)
Rhabdomyosarcoma
Ectomesenchymoma
Angiosarcoma (hemangiosarcoma and lymphangiosarcoma)
Proliferating (systemic) angioendotheliomatosis
Malignant glomus tumor
Malignant hemangiopericytoma
Synovial sarcoma (malignant synovioma)
Malignant giant cell tumor of tendon sheath
Malignant schwannoma, including malignant schwannoma with rhabdomyoblastic differentiation (malignant Triton tumor), glandular and epithelioid malignant schwannomas
Malignant mesenchymoma
Malignant granular cell tumor
Alveolar soft part sarcoma
Epithelioid sarcoma
Clear cell sarcoma of tendons and aponeuroses
Extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma
Congenital and infantile fibrosarcoma
Malignant ganglioneuroma

[Veteran Advisor]

Originally Posted by semester7

Good read thanks for posting that. A friend of my dads got prostate cancer because of agent orange, he was in Vietnam!!!!! He still suffers pain because of it..

Semester7,

If the Veterans Benefits Administration possessed any record of your dad's friend's cancer (check his claims file at the VA if he has one) and knew he was in Vietnam, he may be entitled to retroactive compensation. The VA has a duty to proactively assist any veteran who has a potential disability claim if there is enough evidence of record to support it. Bear in mind, the VA is actually 3 different administrations: Health, Benefits, and Nat'l Cemetery. The Benefits Administration is the one that had to have had the pertinent records for retroactive consideration.

Your best bet is to tell your dad's friend to have a service officer from any one of the veteran service organizations (AmVets, DVA, PVA, etc.) review his VA file. If VA had no record of his cancer, he'll be service connected from the date the claim is filed. Tell him not to wait to file a claim if he doesn't have to.

[skippy13]

I have vet plates on my car. I get a lot of questions from other vets and today was no exception. I was talking to a guy about his time in service. For some reason we were talking about diabetes. I asked him if he had ever been exposed to agent orange. He said yes.

I recommended him to my county VSO. Like many people he had no idea that AO exposure could have played a part in his condition. He mentioned other things about his health that were of concern. I believe that he will follow through with the VSO this time, but he dropped his original claim in the 70's.

[Sue Pendleton]

Originally Posted by semester7

Thanks for the response Sue, I will surely tell him...

No problem. I learned about the program when my cousin was treated for prostate cancer through the VA even though he was a 20 year vet as the VA hospital was closer than the military hospital. He served a couple assignments in VN including one near an AO supply depot. Autopsy cited COD as metastatic bladder cancer. It seems he had 3 separate types of cancer when he died. He'd been an Army medic while in country. I helped his younger brother with how to get grave markers for him and his dad. One for VN, the other WW2. I'd rather not have learned about the program. Hope it helps your friend's Dad.