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Agent Orange
Agent Orange is a herbicide used by American forces during the Vietnam conflict to remove leaves and other plant life that provided cover to enemy forces. It is a formulation of the two commercially available and widely used herbicides: 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D) and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4,5-T). Before the Vietnam conflict, commercial mixtures of the two herbicides were routinely used worldwide in rangeland, rights-of-way, and forest management programs. During the Vietnam War, the 50:50 mixture of esters of the herbicides was applied in jungle areas to clear vegetation and expose enemy infiltration routes, base camps, and weapons placements, and to clear vegetation from the perimeters of friendly military bases and along lines of communication. The objective of the herbicide spraying program was to defoliate thick jungles that provided cover and concealment for the enemy, who would engage in ambushes and other disruptive tactics. During the period from 1965 to 1970, the U.S. Air Force applied more than 44 million liters of Agent Orange in South Vietnam. In 1969, the contaminant 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD or dioxin) in the 2,4,5-T herbicide was found to be teratogenic (causing birth defects) in laboratory animals, and in April 1970, the U.S. Department of Defense terminated all uses of Agent Orange in Vietnam. Although exposure to Agent Orange was once considered to be the cause of a variety of physical and emotional problems suffered by American veterans and Vietnamese people exposed to Agent Orange, independent studies have not documented any association between Agent Orange exposure and the health conditions claimed to have been caused by it.
Veterans Health Concerns
Hundreds of studies have been conducted of groups exposed to TCDD and/or the phenoxy herbicides 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T, either in the production of the herbicides or as end users in agriculture or forestry. In addition, the U.S. Air Force and the Departments of Veterans Affairs (DVA) in the United States and Australia have conducted studies of Vietnam veterans. These studies include the Air Force Health Study of the men who sprayed the herbicide from fixed-wing aircraft in Vietnam (commonly referred to as ‘Ranch Hand’ personnel after the Air Force Operation Ranch Hand); the DVA study of personnel who served in the U.S. Army Chemical Corps and sprayed herbicide on base perimeters using helicopters and ground equipment; and the Veteran Studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The results of these long-term epidemiologic studies of Vietnam veterans have consistently shown few, if any, health effects that were not also seen in veterans who did not serve in Vietnam, or in those who were not affiliated with defoliation programs in Vietnam. Moreover, no chloracne, the hallmark of substantial dioxin exposure, was identified in any of the veteran studies.
The Agent Orange Act of 1991
After many years of denials of benefits to Vietnam veterans for lack of evidence that the diseases claimed had been caused by exposure to Agent Orange, Congress passed, and the president signed, the Agent Orange Act of 1991, Public Law 102–4.
There is no test that can show if a veteran's health problems were caused by Agent Orange or other herbicides used in Vietnam, and thus, by law, the Veterans Administration must presume that all Vietnam veterans were exposed to Agent Orange.
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