Agent Orange

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer discusses Agent Orange which was a red-orange 50-50 liquid mixture of 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. The writer notes that American and Allied Forces soldiers recalled Agent Orange as a red liquid dropping from jungle leaves, which soaked their uniforms as they went on patrol. The writer explains that its purpose was to defoliate trees and remove the enemies' jungle cover in Vietnam. The writer also notes that this deadly liquid is now known to be responsible for a wide range of ailments, including disabilities and death, to an estimated 2.6 million Vietnam veterans and their offspring. The writer concludes that it has been more than 30 years since the use of these herbicides and that it was past the time for full and open disclosure of the hard facts in this regard.

From the Paper:

"Federal authorities first became aware of the condition in 1979 when the Veterans Affairs offered health care and medical examination to the veterans. The medical surveillance program was meant to review the veterans' health concerns. The VA examined 334,000 of the 3.4 million veterans and registered the findings in a computer database. The VA has an Advisory Committee on Health-Related Effects of the Herbicides, established in 1979 to record and evaluate the health effects of the herbicides used in Vietnam by the soldiers. The VA also set up the Veterans' Advisory Committee on Environmental Hazards, composed of non-VA experts on dioxin and radiation exposure. Its duty was to advise on the outcomes of activities surrounding the use of Agent Orange. A 1991 federal law directed the VA to ask the National Academy of Sciences to or NAS to review the diseases linked to herbicide exposure."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Associated Press. Agent Orange Vets Can Sue. Deseret News. (Deseret News Publishers Company, June 10, 2003)
• Catholic New Times. Vets Rip Feds Over Agent Orange. (Catholic New Times, Inc. December 18, 2005)
• Dyhouse, Tim. Leukemia Linked to Agent Orange. VFW Magazine.(Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, March 2003)
• Fumento, Michael. Vietnam Flashback - Diabtes - Agent Orange Connection. Reason. (Reason Foundation, July 2000).
• Ha, Marie-Catherine, et al. Agent Orange and the Risk of Gestational Tropoblastic Disease in Vietnam. Archives of Environmental Health. (Heldref Publications, 1996)

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