Agent Orange: The Silent Assassin

About 3 million Americans or more served in the armed forces in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. While under the impression from the U.S. government, many soldiers thought they were "fighting the good fight", but in reality they were "human lab rats" that were being exposed to the silent assassin called Agent Orange.

The mission, known as Operation Ranch Hand, involved spraying 20 million gallons of Agent Orange over roughly 3.6 million acres of Vietnamese land to remove forest cover, destroy crops, and clear vegetation from U.S. army bases (Vietnam War Herbicides).

Operation Ranch Hand lasted from about 1962 to 1971, and used various herbicide mixtures, such as Agent Blue, Agent White, Agent Purple, and Agent Pink to overthrow its prey, the communist North Vietnamese. However, the most legendary herbicide used was called Agent Orange.

The steel drums in which the herbicide was transported were color-coded with an orange stripe, which lead to its code name Agent Orange. Agent Orange is known to be made of a 50/50 mixture of the chemicals: 2, 4, D and 2, 4, 5T and with kerosene or diesel fuel. The U.S. military disturbed this deadly herbicide by aerial spraying, ground spraying from boats, trucks, and backpacks.

In all, U.S. troops sprayed approximately 19 million gallons of Agent Orange and other herbicides over 4 million acres (Vietnam War Herbicides). Unfortunately, this military scheme is considered to have saved numerous U.S. combat soldiers lives, which have been sent to fight on behalf of the South Vietnamese people.

As a nation at war, the U.S. government forced or obliged several of companies to produce Agent Orange under the Defense Production Act. Companies supplying Agent Orange to the government included The Dow Chemical Company, Monsanto Company, Hercules Inc., Diamond Shamrock Chemicals Company, Uniroyal Inc., Thompson Chemical and T-H Agriculture and Nutrition Company (The DOW Company). Furthermore, this infamous "weed-killer" was only manufactured for distribution by the U.S. government for military use. The product was never manufactured or sold for commercial purposes.

After Agent Orange was manufactured and packaged as ordered by the U.S. government, the U.S. military took immediate and complete control of Agent Orange at the government contractors' manufacturing facilities in the U.S. The U.S. military had sole control and responsibility for the transportation of Agent Orange to Vietnam, and for its storage once the defoliant reached Vietnam. Therefore, the U.S. military controlled how, where, and when Agent Orange would be used (The DOW Company).

The laboratory studies from 1969 found that Agent Orange is thought to be harmful to man. This synopsis was concluded when laboratory animals were tested with the key ingredient inside Agent Orange, TCDD. TCDD has caused a wide variety of diseases, many of them fatal, as well as it is not found in nature. The Agent Orange herbicide used during the Vietnam War was later found to be extremely contaminated with TCDD - Agent Orange exposure could possibly lead to server birth defects (Agent Orange Information).

After finding this out, Agent Orange was removed but not until two years after the Vietnam War. Regrettably, Agent Orange was used to help destroy around 5 million acres of forest, which still remain unrestored today. Therefore, the estimated 2.6 million Vietnam veterans had already underwent exposure to the poisonous herbicide that continues to plague them today (Agent Orange Information).

Correspondingly, most of the Vietnam veterans still suspect that their illnesses are linked somehow to their exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam, and some of them believe that their children have suffered from Agent Orange diseases relating to birth defects or conditions such as spinal bifida. Veterans who believe that they or their children are suffering from Agent Orange diseases were recently encouraged to apply to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to see if they qualify for benefits/medical treatment related to their Agent Orange diseases (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs).

According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, there are a number of illnesses and conditions that are classified as Agent Orange diseases. Here are some official recognized diseases and conditions linked to Agent Orange by the VA:

* Soft tissue sarcoma

* Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

* Hodgkin's disease

* Chloracne

* Respiratory cancers (including cancers of the lung, larynx, trachea & bronchus)

* Prostate cancer

* Multiple myeloma

* Peripheral neuropathy 
(acute or subacute)

* Spinal bifida

* Porphyria cutanea tarda

* Increased rate of primary liver cancer & oropharynx cancer

* Miscarriage

* Stillbirth

* Premature birth

* Hyditiform mole & choriocarcinoma

* Anencephalia

* Microcephalia

* Hydrocephalia

* Cerebral palsy

* Higher rates of infant mortality

* Contaminated breast milk

* Loss of appetite

* Insomnia

* Weight loss

* Fatigue

* Headache

* Impaired vision & hearing

* Hepatitis

* Liver cirrhosis

* Immune-deficiency: increased rates of infectious diseases & malaria

* Intestinal diseases: gastric ulcers, gastroduodenitis

* Dermatitis

* Hypertension & cerebral circulation disorders

In 1979, the first class action lawsuit was filed because of the Agent Orange side effects. Unfortunately, there was little progress for the Agent Orange side effects sufferers until a judge (Jack Weinstein) assigned to the case in 1983 put it on a fast track to settlement. In 1985, an out of court settlement, between the Vietnam Veterans and