Agent Orange

Herbicide used by U.S. forces in Vietnam to defoliate and expose enemy positions, which has been linked to several severe medical conditions. Agent Orange is a reddish-brown liquid containing four chemicals: 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T), 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), cacodylic acid, and picloram. The compound took its name from the bright orange-striped barrels in which it was shipped.

Agent Orange spraying missions were conducted in Vietnam between January 1965 and April 1970. During this period, U.S. planes dumped an estimated 14 million liters of toxic weed killers such as Agent [Page 6]Orange on Vietnam. The defoliant was effective at eliminating dense vegetation and exposing enemy positions. However, an estimated 2.6 million U.S. military personnel serving in Vietnam and adjacent waters may have been exposed to the toxin.

Many soldiers who returned from Vietnam began to exhibit medical conditions that were later linked to Agent Orange exposure. These conditions include chloracne (chemical acne), Hodgkin's disease, malignant bone and lymph tumors, liver dysfunction, skin lesions, respiratory cancers, soft-tissue tumors, degenerative nerve disease, prostate cancer, and adult-onset diabetes.

The Veterans Administration (VA) presumes that all military personnel who served in Vietnam and have one of these medical conditions were exposed to Agent Orange. The VA has received hundreds of thousands of claims for compensation from veterans and their survivors. In addition to the affected soldiers, children of Vietnam veterans who suffer from spina bifida—a congenital birth defect of the spine—are also eligible for monetary benefits, health care, and vocational rehabilitation.

In 1984, veterans' groups brought a class action suit against Dow Chemical and Monsanto, the manufacturers of Agent Orange. An out-of-court settlement in that case established a $180 million fund to compensate veterans and their families for disabilities caused by Agent Orange exposure. Subsequent litigation was successful in extending Agent Orange benefits.

In 1996, President Bill Clinton broadened benefits for veterans exposed to Agent Orange so that any soldier who served in Vietnam would be eligible for claims. In July 2001, the VA allowed claims by eligible veterans suffering from adult-onset diabetes. Citing a link between Agent Orange and chronic lymphocytic leukemia, the VA granted benefits to veterans with that disease in January 2003. The VA estimates that an additional 178,000 Vietnam veterans may qualify for compensation under these new rules.

Until very recently, only American military personnel and their dependents had sought or received compensation for exposure to Agent Orange. However, in February 2004, Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange also filed suit against Monsanto and Dow Chemical. The number of Vietnamese exposed to the chemical during the war is estimated to be in the millions.