Former Marine Danny Gene Jordan remembers sitting on Hill 549 near Khe Sanh in the spring of 1968, waiting for night and cooking his C-rations. Jordan had been in country just a few weeks   and was still learning his way around, so he wasn't sure why the five C-123s approaching his unit would be flying so low and in formation.

"They're defoliating," one of his buddies told him.   Then came the mist, like clouds floating out of the back of the C-123s, soaking the men, their clothes and their food. For the next two weeks, the men of Jordan's unit suffered nausea and diarrhea. Jordan returned from Vietnam with an unusual amount of dioxin in his system. More than 15 years later, he still had 50 parts per trillion, considered abnormally high. He also had two sons born with deformed arms and hand

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Dioxin is a compound found in certain herbicides, including agent Orange, used in Vietnam. The law presumes that all military personnel who served in Vietnam and later suffer
certain diseases were exposed to herbicides.

Vietnam veterans who believe they have health problems that may be related to their Vietnam service or exposure to herbicides while serving in Vietnam should contact the
nearest VA medical center or regional office. VA's nationwide toll-free number
 is 1-800-827-1000.

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This map is a representation of herbicide spray missions in Vietnam. The dark areas represent concentrated spraying areas. This map only represents fixed-wing aircraft spraying, and does not include helicopter spraying of perimeters, or other spray methods.
The III Corps area received the heaviest concentrations of spraying, followed by I Corps, II Corps and IV Corps.

Click On Spray Map

 

 

During the Viet Nam war, over 72 million liters of herbicide was applied over southern Viet Nam to deprive northern Vietnamese forces of protective forest cover and food.  Agent Orange accounted for approximately 60% of all herbicide used during the conflict.  Dioxin (specifically 2,3,7,8 Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin) was a contaminant in the Agent Orange mixture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

OPERATION RANCH HAND HERBICIDES
SOUTHEAST ASIA--AMOUNTS USED
1961-1971

 

Note: This does NOT include US Army helicopter or ground applications, or any form of the insecticide programs by GVN, or the US military. The amount represents gallons within eight (8) kilometers of the area. Thus, each area is 9.6 miles in diameter.

Description	TCDD (Dioxin) Amounts
Agent Orange	1.77 to 40 ppm
Agent Blue (Purple)	32.8 to 45 ppm
Agent Red (Pink)	65.6 ppm
Agent White (Green)	65.6 ppm
Silvex	1 to 70 ppm
2,4,5-T (Current)	0.1 ppm or less

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GENOCIDE

AGENT ORANGE

Agent Orange is a defoliant, a plant killer, that was used in Vietnam for "Territory Denial". The idea was that the VC wouldn't be so hard to kill if we could see them better by killing the jungle canopy that protected them. Specifically Agent Orange was a 50:50 mixture of two Phenoxy herbicides, 2, 4-D (2, 4 dichlorophenoxy acetic acid) and 2, 4, 5-T (2, 4, 5-trichlorophenoxy acetic acid). It is ironic that the Dioxin that makes Agent Orange so deadly isn't even an intended part of the plant killer. Dioxin is a man made by-product of the manufacturing process for making Phenoxy herbicides like Agent Orange. Actually, when 2, 4, 5-T is manufactured a "synthetic contaminant" TCDD (2, 3, 7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin) is an unwanted by-product that cannot be removed.

Dioxins are also created unintentionally during the manufacture of Chlorine containing products like the Polychlorinated Byphenal (PCB) oils used for years in the utility transformers that supply power to our homes. They are created by burning chlorine containing wastes, the plastic pipe Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) for example when burned creates and releases Dioxin. Because of this widespread use dioxins are present, albeit in trace amounts, in the body fat of nearly everyone in the civilized world.

Other factors that make Dioxin poisoning hard to prove is the fact that each individual seems to have their own tolerance to it and everyone has a certain background exposure to the chemical. It may be that this background level serves to hide the seriousness of the situation by clouding the exposure levels required to make a symptom manifest itself. It may also be that Dioxins like TCDD lie dormant in body fats until triggered by some internal stress.

The unpredictable reactions of the lab animals exposed to dioxins and the actual method by which they kill is one of the mysteries that medical science is still trying to solve. One thing is certain, exposure to Dioxins multiplies the chances of cancers, immune system disorders, liver problems, and a host of other complaints. Even more tragic is the fact that exposure to Agent Orange appears to multiply the chances of birth defects in the children of those exposed. Vietnam veterans and certain peasants in South Vietnam have the highest level of exposure of anyone tested.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), for example is four times more likely to kill the children of Veterans exposed to Agent Orange than it is children of parents who were not exposed. This makes medical sense because it has been shown in the laboratory that Dioxin has an affect on the immune system and SIDS seems to be an immune system defect. Information and cases are sparse but they are there. And they are frightening.

In one case a platoon that operated in an part of Vietnam that had been heavily sprayed has had five of it's twenty members diagnosed as suffering from dioxin poisoning. That's twenty five percent. That's 500 percent above the national average for these types of disorders. This in itself is frightening but, the researcher was only able to locate six of the twenty members of his platoon! How many of those that weren't contacted had similar symptoms? Veterans tell story after story of Veterans who suddenly age. Their hair falls out in clumps, what remains turns white. They suffer from strange nerve disorders, irritableness, weight loss, palsies and finally, mercifully, death. In every case these men were exposed to Agent Orange.

In Vietnam, when the men in the field saw the effects of this chemical on the vegetation and questioned it's affects on them they were told not to worry. They were told that the spray was not harmful to humans. Despite the weight of evidence to the contrary the military and the Chemical companies continue to insist that Agent Orange is harmless. The Veterans Administration, Chemical Companies and the Department of Defense point to a study done with the personnel of Operation Ranch Hand that showed no correlation between Agent Orange and the problems associated with it by the Veterans. The critics of this study point out that the average "Ranch Hander" returned to base each night to shower and change clothes while the ground soldier walked through contaminated dust, drank contaminated water and wore contaminated clothes for weeks and months. The federal government refuses to conduct a study of Ground combat troops as a comparison.

Only in the last few years has that opinion begun to change. One of the projects that signify this change is the "Pointman" project. Under "Pointman" New Jersey has established an Agent Orange Commission to investigate the effects of exposure to Agent Orange. They examined people who served with the Second Battalion/ 8th Cav, 1st Cav Division, Companies A, B, C and D between January and December 1969. The report of their findings has not yet been published.

 

• Dioxin comes in 75 flavors, each with its own chemical structure and a unique toxicity
• Several large groups of related compounds, including the 209 PCBs and the 135 dibenzofurans, have similar effects.
• These chemicals can have effects at levels as low as parts per trillion, forcing the use of delicate, expensive, and error-prone measurement technology.
• The exposure to dioxin depended on the number of times a place was defoliated, the person's dietary and other habits, and the rates of movement and decay of the toxins in the ecosystem and body.
• Cancer is just one of many possible health effects: other problems blamed on dioxin -- with varying degrees of proof -- include immune disorders, lowered sperm counts, diabetes, malformations and other reproductive and developmental effects, and endocrine disruption.
• The damage may not stop with the first generation: researchers have documented reproductive damage, including cancer, spina bifida and immune problems, in offspring of people exposed to dioxin.

JOHN A.  HAMMACK CHAIRMAN & CEO 
PROSTATE CANCER AND AGENT ORANGE 
here are several medical conditions which have been determined to be related to Agent Orange exposure.  Congress has declared that any service member who served in Vietnam during the war-time era (Feb 28, 1961, through May 7, 1975) was exposed to Agent Orange.  It was further ruled that such exposure may have caused several types of cancer.  Therefore, diagnosis of any of these conditions will be considered "service connected" by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Veterans and survivors may be entitled to compensation for such diseases as lung cancer, multiple myeloma, Hodgkin's disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and, as of November, 1996, Prostate Cancer.  If a Vietnam veteran is ever diagnosed with prostate cancer, even if it is many years after service, it will be considered a service connected disability and compensation may be paid.

Compensation can range from $0 (non-disabling) to around $2000 (totally disabling).  The degree of disability is determined by such factors as urinary frequency, leakage, and impotence.  For example, daytime voiding interval of less than one hour or awakening to void five or more times per night will result in a rating of 40%.  Awakening to void twice per night is rated 10%.  Continual urine leakage or incontinence requiring the wearing of absorbent materials which must be changed more than four times per day will result in a 60% rating.  If the pad must be changed less than twice a day, the rating is 20%.  A small special monthly compensation is paid for impotence.  The symptoms must be medically documented - usually by a physical examination at a VA medical facility.

A veteran files a claim on VA form 21-526 (Claim for Compensation or Pension.)  It must be accompanied by DD Form 214 showing Vietnam service and any medical evidence establishing the diagnosis of prostate cancer.  If the veteran has already completed that form in the past, it is not necessary to do so again.  A brief letter requesting reopening the claim will suffice.  Here is a suggested format for that letter:  "This is to amend my original disability compensation claim to include Prostate Cancer as per new Agent Orange regulations.  Medical records showing the diagnosis are attached".

The claim should be submitted to the VA Regional Office serving the area where the veteran resides.  To obtain a claim form or to get the address of  the VA, call 1-800-827-1000.  Help in completing the form is available from many veterans service organizations or from the VA. Other veterans' benefits may accrue as a result of a finding of service connection.  They include insurance, medical treatment, and vocational rehabilitation. 

 Survivors of Vietnam veterans who died of prostate cancer may also be entitled to benefits from the VA.  An un-remarried surviving spouse may be entitled to a monthly payment of Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC). The current rate is $861.  Dependants' Education Assistance may also be available for college attendance.  That rate for full-time attendance is $485 per month.

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Subject: Various Cancers which seem to be caused by agent orange

THIS IS A LIST OF PROPOSED RULES FOR COMPENSATION OF SOFT
TISSUE SARCOMAS AND TUMORS FOR THE VA. 

THIS LIST CONTAINS  THE TUMORS MOST REPORTED TO THE VA BY VIETNAM VETS. THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIEANCE HAS  A STUDY BEING CONDUCTED ON THIS MATTER NOW.

                ADULT FIBRO SARCOMA
              DERMATOFIBROSCOMA
              MALIGNANT FIBROUS HISTIOCYTOMA
              LIP SARCOMA
              LEIOMYOSACOMA
              EPITHELIOID LEIOMYOSARCOMA
              MALIGNANT LEIOMYBLASTOMA
              RHABDOMYOSACOMA
              ECTOMESENCHYMOMA
              ANGIOSARCOMA
              HEMANGIOSACOMA &  LYPHHANGIOS
              SARCOMA    
              PROLIFERATING(SYSTEMIC)
              ANGIOENDOTHELIOMATOSIS
              MALIGNANT GLOMUS TUMOR
              SYNOVIAL SARCOMA ( MALIGNANT
              SYNOVIOMA )
              MALIGNANT SCHWANNOMA, INCLUDING
              MALIGNANT
              SCHWANNOMA WITH RHABDOMYOBLASTIC
              DIFFERENTIATION
              ( MALIGNANT TRITON TUMOR ) GLANDULAR
              AND EPITHELIODID
              MALIGNANT SCHWANNOMAS.
              MALIGNANT MESENCHYMOMA
              MALIGNANT GRANULAR CELL TUMOR
              ALVEOLAR SOFT PART SARCOMA
              CLEAR CELL SARCOMA OF TENDOMS                                  
               Diabetes Type II  APONEUROSES
               Leukemia, Agent Orange Link Found  2003Janurary24

          

               OSTEOSARCOMA, CHONDROSARCOMA,
              KAPOSI'S SARCOMA AND MESOTHELIOMA
              ARE SPECIFICALLY EXCLUDED FROM
              COMPENSATION

              VA Adds To Agent Orange Disabilities List  2003

            Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia(CLL)

 

Agent Orange Lawsuit A site for veterans to learn about the Agent Orange Lawsuit. Vietnam veterans can find various information about symptoms, treatments, and legal help for the exposure to Agent Orange.

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