Agent Orange
By Megan Herbst
United States government was so focused on winning the war and defeating their enemy that they did not take the time to properly test the chemicals they were using. In some cases, the U.S. government either lacked background knowledge on the chemicals they were using, or they blatantly ignored the implications these chemicals and gases had. Even today the impacts of poisonous gases can still be seen, just as Vietnam is still affected by Agent Orange. Chemical companies associated with the development of Agent Orange knew its effects on the people and the land, but under the Defense Production Act they were forced to hand over their chemicals. One of the major herbicides used in Agent Orange was 2, 3, 7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) which is also known as dioxin. This harmful herbicide was used as a defoliant in the Vietnam War, eliminating forest cover and exposing Viet Cong troops. Between 1961 and 1972 over 19 million gallons were sprayed over 4.5 million acres of land in Vietnam. Agent Orange was sprayed so widely out of U.S. military aircraft over roads, streams, and Viet Cong military bases that the effects of this chemical reached further into Vietnam than the war.
The main reason Agent Orange is so harmful is because of the dioxin it contains. Dioxin is not chemically stable, is not water soluble and does not degrade easily. This chemical bio-accumulates, entering the human food chain by clinging to soil particles which are carried by runoff into streams which are then consumed by and enter mollusks and fish, finally being eaten by humans. Once dioxin has entered the human system it is stored in fatty tissue, altering chemical balances, as well as cellular, involved in daily function and reproduction. This causes many health implications and birth defects among those exposed to Agent Orange; such complications include tumors, rashes, psychological symptoms, cancer, muscular dysfunction, inflammation, and nervous system disorders. During the time of the spraying of Agent Orange over 3 million Vietnamese servicemen and 3 million U.S. military members were exposed to and affected by Agent Orange, of which nearly 1.4 million people are still suffering. These health issues are not just overseas. Many veterans returning home were exposed to dioxin and it now runs through their bodies, leaving the chance that their kids may be born with birth defects. The Vietnamese reported that over 400,000 people were killed or have lost use of one of their limbs due to Agent Orange as well as over half a million kids born with birth defects and currently that about 2 million people are suffering from cancer or other illnesses in Vietnam. The impacts of this widely sprayed and spread toxic chemical are almost unmeasurable because we don’t know how long Agent Orange will remain in the environment and how many generations these health effects will be passed down through.
At this point in time the United States government is aware of the immense damages caused by this poisonous gas and how many people and organisms it has harmed. U.S. congress has given $40.1 million over five years for the remediation of Agent Orange “hotspots” and health programs. There are still many sites in Vietnam where the concentration of Agent Orange is well above an acceptable rate, and this can cause greater concentrations of dioxin in humans so that it exceeds the World Health Organization recommendation of a monthly limit of .07 parts per trillion of dioxin in blood. If such small traces of dioxin can be causing huge impacts on humans, just imagine the effects of large traces on smaller organisms in the area. The U.S. killed over 4.5 million acres of land in about 11 years. That much land could be thousands of organisms that still haven’t been able to recover their populations due to the amount of Agent Orange in the area. The damage that the U.S. has caused to the Vietnamese can’t be compensated by giving them money; the effects are much too broad and intense to fully remediate the issue.
[Photo, Untitled, by VA comm, licensed by CC BY-NC 2.0]
By Megan Herbst
United States government was so focused on winning the war and defeating their enemy that they did not take the time to properly test the chemicals they were using. In some cases, the U.S. government either lacked background knowledge on the chemicals they were using, or they blatantly ignored the implications these chemicals and gases had. Even today the impacts of poisonous gases can still be seen, just as Vietnam is still affected by Agent Orange. Chemical companies associated with the development of Agent Orange knew its effects on the people and the land, but under the Defense Production Act they were forced to hand over their chemicals. One of the major herbicides used in Agent Orange was 2, 3, 7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) which is also known as dioxin. This harmful herbicide was used as a defoliant in the Vietnam War, eliminating forest cover and exposing Viet Cong troops. Between 1961 and 1972 over 19 million gallons were sprayed over 4.5 million acres of land in Vietnam. Agent Orange was sprayed so widely out of U.S. military aircraft over roads, streams, and Viet Cong military bases that the effects of this chemical reached further into Vietnam than the war.
The main reason Agent Orange is so harmful is because of the dioxin it contains. Dioxin is not chemically stable, is not water soluble and does not degrade easily. This chemical bio-accumulates, entering the human food chain by clinging to soil particles which are carried by runoff into streams which are then consumed by and enter mollusks and fish, finally being eaten by humans. Once dioxin has entered the human system it is stored in fatty tissue, altering chemical balances, as well as cellular, involved in daily function and reproduction. This causes many health implications and birth defects among those exposed to Agent Orange; such complications include tumors, rashes, psychological symptoms, cancer, muscular dysfunction, inflammation, and nervous system disorders. During the time of the spraying of Agent Orange over 3 million Vietnamese servicemen and 3 million U.S. military members were exposed to and affected by Agent Orange, of which nearly 1.4 million people are still suffering. These health issues are not just overseas. Many veterans returning home were exposed to dioxin and it now runs through their bodies, leaving the chance that their kids may be born with birth defects. The Vietnamese reported that over 400,000 people were killed or have lost use of one of their limbs due to Agent Orange as well as over half a million kids born with birth defects and currently that about 2 million people are suffering from cancer or other illnesses in Vietnam. The impacts of this widely sprayed and spread toxic chemical are almost unmeasurable because we don’t know how long Agent Orange will remain in the environment and how many generations these health effects will be passed down through.
At this point in time the United States government is aware of the immense damages caused by this poisonous gas and how many people and organisms it has harmed. U.S. congress has given $40.1 million over five years for the remediation of Agent Orange “hotspots” and health programs. There are still many sites in Vietnam where the concentration of Agent Orange is well above an acceptable rate, and this can cause greater concentrations of dioxin in humans so that it exceeds the World Health Organization recommendation of a monthly limit of .07 parts per trillion of dioxin in blood. If such small traces of dioxin can be causing huge impacts on humans, just imagine the effects of large traces on smaller organisms in the area. The U.S. killed over 4.5 million acres of land in about 11 years. That much land could be thousands of organisms that still haven’t been able to recover their populations due to the amount of Agent Orange in the area. The damage that the U.S. has caused to the Vietnamese can’t be compensated by giving them money; the effects are much too broad and intense to fully remediate the issue.
[Photo, Untitled, by VA comm, licensed by CC BY-NC 2.0]