Agent Orange Dangers

The most toxic dioxin was used in Agent Orange, the herbicide developed for military use. An April 2003 study performed by Columbia University sought to re-examine military records of the Vietnam War. What the study found was that about 21 million gallons of herbicides were sprayed from 1961-1971, adding up to 1.84 million gallons.

This figure was 10% greater than previously believed, and over half of the herbicides sprayed were Agent Orange. Deadly illnesses associated to Agent Orange was not acknowledged by the Pentagon until years after Vietnam veterans were exposed to the dangerous herbicide. Laboratory studies performed in 1969 found that birth defects was linked to Agent Orange exposure, however the use of the herbicide was not discontinued until two years later, exposing 2.4 million Vietnam veterans to it, in addition to 5 million acres of forest with the majority of them still unrestored to date.

According to the VA site, Agent Orange was sprayed from 1965 to April 1970. According to the president of Vietnam Veterans of Central Florida, “When it was being sprayed you knew it. It was everywhere, for people who were on the ground, you could actually see it on their skin,” (Orlando Sentinel, 6/9/03). Dow, Monsanto, Diamond Shamrock Corporation, Hercules Inc., Uniroyal inc., T-H Agricultural & Nutrition Company, and Thompson Chemical Corporation all produced Agent Orange for military use and were included in the Agent Orange settlement.

The Department of Veterans Affairs announced in 2003 that the link to chronic lymphocytic leukemia to Agent Orange exposed Vietnam veterans is so strong that benefits would automatically be given to any new diagnoses of it. There are as many as 1,000 new patients for chronic lymphocytic leukemia alone expected amongst Vietnam veterans. Since many of the diseases associated to Agent Orange exposure can take 20-30 years to develop, thousands of Vietnam veterans may have been excluded from the Agent Orange settlement in 1985.

In 1993, the National Academy of Sciences issued a report linking Agent Orange to multiple myeloma and other conditions. As more Agent Orange studies were performed more illnesses were linked to the herbicide. The VA has listed prostate cancer, respiratory cancers, multiple myeloma, type II diabetes, Hodgkin’s disease, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, soft tissue sarcoma, chloracne, porphyria cutanea tarda, peripheral neuropathy, and spinal bifidia in children of veterans exposed to Agent Orange as side effects of the herbicide.

The recent Supreme Court issuance of Vietnam veterans to seek compensation from chemical manufacturers will allow the ability for justice to be given to victims unjustly exempted from the Agent Orange settlement. For years, Vietnam veterans have been unable to collect any damages despite the deadly illnesses suffered. Despite the lapse of time that has unfolded since the end of the Vietnam War, illnesses are still being diagnosed and Vietnam veterans that have served their country have been denied rights. Please contact us to confer with an Agent Orange attorney.