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Agent Orange Protesters Line the Streets Around Fort Detrick
http://your4state.com/fulltext?nxd_id=167576
Reported by: Dawn White
Wednesday, February 23 2011
FREDERICK, MD - Protesters dressed in orange lined the streets around Fort Detrick Wednesday afternoon, hoping their signs and presence would send a clear message to the Army and government, who is staying relatively tight-lipped about the controversy.
"I had an idea to come up and do a little protest because of the lack of information that I've received from Fort Detrick concerning other military bases where Agent Orange was tested around the United States," said Lou Krieger, a Vietnam veteran.
Protesters included some with the Kristen Renee Foundation, an organization that believes testing of Agent Orange at Fort Detrick has caused a cancer cluster in neighborhoods surrounding the base, and groups of Vietnam veterans now living back in the states.
"We're losing several veterans from the Vietnam Era at a young age," said Patrick Burke, a Vietnam veteran. "The average age is around 57, 58 years old."
People came all the way from Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina to take part in the protest.
Vietnam Veterans Protest At Fort Detrick Over Agent Orange
http://www.wusa9.com/news/article/137618/373/Vietnam-Veterans-Protest-At
FREDERICK, Md. (WUSA) -- A dozen Vietnam veterans protested outside Fort Detrick on Wednesday. They say testing the herbicide on the base during World War II is causing health problems for residents now.
Some of the veterans say they have serious health problems, including liver failure and deteriorating autoimmune systems, because of being exposed to Agent Orange.
In Vietnam, they were exposed to it directly. But in Frederick, no one knew Agent Orange was sprayed at Fort Detrick until recently.
SEE VIDEO AT: http://www.wusa9.com/news/article/137618/373/Vietnam-Veterans-Protest-At
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers readjusts estimate of amount of Agent Orange used by Fort Detrick
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?StoryID=117228
By Stephanie Mlot
News-Post Staff
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers readjusts estimate of amount of Agent Orange used by Fort Detrick
About 20 to 30 pounds of an Agent Orange ingredient may have been sprayed by the Army on sections of Fort Detrick between 1944 and 1968, according to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers official.
Randal Curtis, program manager for the St. Louis district of USACE, said at Wednesday night's Fort Detrick Restoration Advisory Board meeting that the 16.82 pounds previously reported may conceivably be lower than what was actually used.
Searching through thousands of government documents, including technical reports, lab notes and maps, Curtis' office has been concentrating on Agent Orange chemicals, including 2, 4, 5-T, one of the main ingredients.
During World War II, Fort Detrick sprayed 2, 4, 5-T chemicals used as plant growth inhibitors over small plots of tomato, soybean, lima bean, corn and other crops. They measured results by how tall plants grew, or what the outcome was of the produce that came off the plants, Curtis said.
Estimated total amount of spray was about 100 grams, he said, with the equivalent of a gram about the weight of a $1 bill.
Report details Agent Orange use at Fort Detrick
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?StoryID=117158
Fort Detrick has released a preliminary archive search report on its past Agent Orange use as the Kristen Renee Foundation began to ramp up its efforts to prove that the Army post caused a cancer cluster in Frederick.
According to the report, which was posted online Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers found that Fort Detrick tested an estimated 16.82 pounds of Agent Orange and similar defoliants between 1944 and 1951.
In a news release, Fort Detrick noted that the amount tested was relatively small.
"During 1969 alone, the national average for use of the exact same chemical was roughly 1.12 pounds per acre, which equates to more than 8.9 million pounds used nationwide to include farm, lawn care, right of way, private property, aquatic area applications," the news release states. "There is no difference in the compounds used by the military during this time and those that were commercially available."
Army tested 16+ pounds of defoliants at Fort Detrick, new report says
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?StoryID=117130
A preliminary Army report shows that Fort Detrick tested an estimated 16.82 pounds of Agent Orange and similar defoliants between 1944 and 1951.
The preliminary archives search report was requested after residents grew concerned that past testing of Agent Orange could be linked to cancer cases in Frederick.
The archived records show that the Chemical Warfare Service at Fort Detrick in 1944 gave the plant Research Branch “the mission of developing chemical agents to destroy or reduce the value of crops.” This mission led to the creation of a slew of chemicals in the Agent Orange family.
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?storyid=117158
Fort Detrick has released a preliminary archive search report on its past Agent Orange use as the Kristen Renee Foundation began to ramp up its efforts to prove that the Army post caused a cancer cluster in Frederick. According to the report, which was posted online Tuesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers found that Fort Detrick tested an estimated 16.82 pounds of Agent Orange and similar defoliants between 1944 and 1951.
In a news release, Fort Detrick noted that the amount tested was relatively small. "During 1969 alone, the national average for use of the exact same chemical was roughly 1.12 pounds per acre, which equates to more than 8.9 million pounds used nationwide to include farm, lawn care, right of way, private property, aquatic area applications," the news release states. "There is no difference in the compounds used by the military during this time and those that were commercially available."
Fort Detrick's preliminary report is based on annual special reports, which chronicle scientific research. The archived records show that the Chemical Warfare Service at Fort Detrick in 1944 gave the Plant Research Branch "the mission of developing chemical agents to destroy or reduce the value of crops." This mission led to the creation of a number of chemicals in the Agent Orange family.
According to the preliminary report, records show that researchers tested these chemicals in fields between 1944 and 1951. Tests were done in plots of 6 by 18 feet; the chemicals were applied with hand-held sprayers. Light metal frames with wind-resistant cloth were placed between each plot to keep the chemicals from spreading and ruining the experiments -- which also means the chemicals didn't blow far off Army grounds, the report states.
READ MORE: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?storyid=117158
PRESS RELEASE
Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc.
8719 Colesville Road, Suite 100
Silver Spring, MD 20910
(301) 585-4000
IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 22, 2011 No. 11-01
Press Release Contact:
Suzanne Blohm-Weber
(386) 986-9153
Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America Join Local Residents in Protest at Fort Detrick,the home of Agent Orange, Other Toxic Herbicides
Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America (AVVA) will join Fighting for Frederick residents and The Kristen Renee Foundation members in a peaceful protest Wednesday, February 23 at 2:00 pm at Rosemont Avenue & Montevue Lane in Frederick, Maryland.
The protest is scheduled prior to the meeting of the Restoration Action Board (RAB) it’s Public Meeting at the Hampton Inn at 1565 Opossumtown Pike beginning at 6:30 pm. The RAB will discuss methods for remediation groundwater supplies in the area surrounding Fort Detrick that have become of contaminated by the toxic chemicals developed and tested at Ft. Detrick.
“Ft. Detrick is at the center of the nightmare that has been Agent Orange for over 40 years,” said AVVA National President Nancy Switzer. “First we watched our spouses suffer from a long list of illnesses caused by their exposure to toxic chemicals like Agent Orange, used all over Vietnam and tested right here in the United States, and now we see our children and grandchildren suffer the intergenerational affects of this horrible poison.”
Agent Orange and several other highly toxic herbicides were tested at Fort Detrick during the 1950’s and 60’s as a tactical weapon to deny food and cover to enemy forces. It is estimated that 20 million gallons of Agent Orange and its chemical cousins were sprayed in Vietnam during the war.
“Now local residents are looking at cancer clusters, contaminated water, and other effects of this lethal legacy,” Switzer continued. “Soldiers expect to be injured in war, but by our enemies, not our own government. Who drafted the children of Frederick County?”
Accompanying these events the “Agent Orange Quilt of Tears” will be on display at the Hampton Inn on Opposumtown Pike. The Quilt of Tears was begun by Jennie Lefevre, one of the original Agent Orange Widows, who dedicated her life to raising awareness of Agent Orange and its catastrophic environmental & health effects. Lefevre died in 2004.
Peaceful Protest from Agent Orange Exposure and RAB Meeting Demonstration
The Vietnam Veterans and The Kristen Renee Foundation, Fighting for Frederick asks you to join us in a Peaceful Protest in Support of Vietnam-Era U.S. Veterans/Victims Who Suffered from Tactical Agent Orange Exposure (Created and Implemented by Fort Detrick) and a Community Demonstration prior to Ft Detrick’s RAB (Restoration Advisory Board) Meeting on:
Wednesday February 23, 2011
1:30pm – 6:30pm
Frederick MD
Peaceful Protest: Location 1
(Meet at corner of Rosemont Avenue & Montevue Lane, Frederick, MD)
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
2:00pm – 4:30pm
RAB Meeting Demonstration: Location 2
1565 Opossumtown Pike, Frederick, MD. 21702
(Meet at corner of Thomas Johnson Dr and Opossumtown Pike Road, Frederick, MD)
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
RAB Meeting: Location 3
Hampton Inn
1565 Opossumtown Pike, Frederick, MD 21702
6:30 pm
Notes To Volunteers and Attendees:
*Volunteers/Attendees will meet at 1:30pm before rally
*Special arrangements have been made for the "Quilts of Tears" to be displayed at the hotel
*There will be no demonstration on private property
*Bring your signs, family and friends, and your bottled water
*Parking is available in the Pizza Hut parking lot at 1830 Rosemont Ave
Come take a stand!
Together we make a difference for our children, their children, and our future.
For More Information Contact:
Mokie Pratt Porter of Vietnam Veterans
of America (VVA)
mporter@vva.org
AVVA Contact:
Nancy Switzer
nswitzer@avva.org
Lou Krieger (Veteran)
louk1065@gmail.com
Susie Funk (KRF/FFF)
727-512-7272
susiefunk@yahoo.com
Sheila Cherizad (KRF/FFF)
813-857-2629
sheilac91@gmail.com
Media contact for the VVA:
Mokie Pratt Porter
mporter@vva.org
Media contact for the Kristen Renee
Foundation:
Rachel Kelley-Pisani
703-203-4961
Rachelkelley73@aol.com
from Agent Orange Legacy
http://agentorangelegacy.blogspot.com/p/agent-orange-fast-track-claims.html
REPORTED ILLNESSES
This is the list of birth defects, illnesses, diseases, mental health issues etc. reported by our members as of June 2010. This list also includes symptoms reported which remain undiagnosed (many of the children suffer from symptoms which are unexplained or remain untreated.)
We are still working on the list. More information will be added as it becomes available.
ADD
ADHD
Addison's Disease
Allergies
Anemia
Ankylosing Spondylitis
Antiphospholipid Syndrome
Anxiety
Aolpecia Areata
Arnold Chiari Malformation
Arthritis
Asbergers
Asthma
Autism
Autonomic Nervous Dysfunction
Bipolar Disorder
Blindness
Brain Tumors
Bulged discs
Cerebal Palsy
Cervical dysplasia
Chronic Angioedema
Chronic Bronchitis
Chronic Fatigue
Chronic Headaches
Chronic Lyhocytic Thyroiditis
Chronic Sleep Deprivation
Cleft Lips & Palate
Club Foot
Compromised immune system
Connective Tissue Disorder
Conversion Disorder
Cornelia de Lange syndrome
Crohn's Disease
(Common Variable Immuno Defieciendy
Cystic Fibrosis
Debilitating muscle spasms
Depression (includes chronic also)
Deformed Fingers (multiple at birth)
Deformed Sinuses
Deformed Toes (multiple at birth)
Degenerative Disc Disease
dextrocardia
Deviated Septum
Diabetes Type I
Diabetes Type II
Diagonal Earlobe Crease
Digestive Disorders
Diverticulitis
Double Uterus/Cervix
Double Uvula
Dysautonomia
Ear Infections/problems
Eczema
Endomertil Cancer
Endometriosis
Epilepsy
Familial Tremor
Felty's Syndrome
Fibromyalgia
Foot Deformity
Fragile X Syndrome
Fused veterbrae
Gall Bladder Disease
Gastritis
Gastrointestinal Problems
GERD
Gluten Intolerance
Growth Hormone defficiency
Growths of the Skull
Hashimoto's
Heart Attack
Heart Disease
Heart Failure
Heart Murmur (newborn)
Hemangioma
Hernia
High Blood Pressure
Hip Dysplasia
Hip Dysplasia (congential)
Hylan Membrane
Hypertension
Hypoglycemia
Hypospadias
Hypothyroid/Hypothyroidism
Hysterectomy
IBS
Imperforate anus
Infertility
Insomnia
Insulin Resistance
Interstitial Cystitis
Intestinal pseudo-obstruction
Intracranial hypertension (rare disease)
ITP platlete disorder
Joint & Muscle Pain
Keratosis Pilaris
Kidney Cysts
Kidney Disease
Knee Dysplasia
Lateral Mycrotia
Learning Disabilities
Leukemia
Loss of Skin Pigment
Lung Problems
Lupus of the skin
Lymphatic Tumors
Lymphoma Cancer
Macrodactyly
Major Depression
Malformation of both Feet (Severe)
Memory Retention Problems
Mental Health Issues
Mental Retardation
Migraine headaches
Miscarriages
Missing digits
Missing Limbs
Mitral Valve Prolapse
Mullerian Aplasia
Multiple Sclerosis
Musco-skeletal Problems
Nasal Polyps
Neuralgia
Neuropathy
Night Terros
Numbness of the Hands (chronic)
OCD
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Osteoarthritis
Osteopenia
Osteoporosis
Ovarian cysts
Pallet Problems
Pancytopenia
PCOS
Poland Syndrome
Primitive Neuro-Ectodermal Tumor
PSOD
Psoriasis
Psoriatic arthritis
Psoriatic Rheumatoid Arthritis
PTSD
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome
Renal Failure
Reproductive Problems
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Salpingitis isthmica nodosa (SIN)
Sarcoidosis
Scoliosis
Seizures
Severe Chronic Neutropenia
Sinus infections & problems (chronic)
Skin Cancer
Skin Problems
Skin Rashes (newborn)
Sleep Apnea
Spina Bifida
Spina Bifida Occulta
Spinal Cord Disease
Spinal deformities
Spondyloarthropy
Spondylolithesis
Spondylolytis
Strange Growths
Subglottal Stignosis
Syndactyly
Syringomeylia
Tachycardia
Tendinitis
Thyroid Cancer
TMJ Joint Disease
Tourettes
tracheoesophageal fistula
Tumors
Urinary Tract Infections
VACTERL/VADER Association
PRESS RELEASE
Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc.
8719 Colesville Road, Suite 100
Silver Spring, MD 20910
(301) 585-4000
IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 22, 2011 No. 11-01
Press Release Contact:
Suzanne Blohm-Weber
(386) 986-9153
Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America Join Local Residents in Protest at Fort Detrick, the home of Agent Orange, Other Toxic Herbicides
Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America (AVVA) will join Fighting for Frederick residents and The Kristen Renee Foundation members in a peaceful protest Wednesday, February 23 at 2:00 pm at Rosemont Avenue & Montevue Lane in Frederick, Maryland.
The protest is scheduled prior to the meeting of the Restoration Action Board (RAB) it’s Public Meeting at the Hampton Inn at 1565 Opossumtown Pike beginning at 6:30 pm. The RAB will discuss methods for remediation groundwater supplies in the area surrounding Fort Detrick that have become of contaminated by the toxic chemicals developed and tested at Ft. Detrick.
“Ft. Detrick is at the center of the nightmare that has been Agent Orange for over 40 years,” said AVVA National President Nancy Switzer. “First we watched our spouses suffer from a long list of illnesses caused by their exposure to toxic chemicals like Agent Orange, used all over Vietnam and tested right here in the United States, and now we see our children and grandchildren suffer the intergenerational affects of this horrible poison.”
Agent Orange and several other highly toxic herbicides were tested at Fort Detrick during the 1950’s and 60’s as a tactical weapon to deny food and cover to enemy forces. It is estimated that 20 million gallons of Agent Orange and its chemical cousins were sprayed in Vietnam during the war.
“Now local residents are looking at cancer clusters, contaminated water, and other effects of this lethal legacy,” Switzer continued. “Soldiers expect to be injured in war, but by our enemies, not our own government. Who drafted the children of Frederick County?”
Accompanying these events the “Agent Orange Quilt of Tears” will be on display at the Hampton Inn on Opposumtown Pike. The Quilt of Tears was begun by Jennie Lefevre, one of the original Agent Orange Widows, dedicated her life to raising awareness of Agent Orange and its catastrophic environmental & health effects. Lefevre died in 2004.
Peaceful Protest from Agent Orange Exposure and RAB Meeting Demonstration
The Vietnam Veterans and The Kristen Renee Foudation, Fighting for Frederick asks you to join us in a Peaceful Protest in Support of Vietnam-Era U.S. Veterans/Victims Who Suffered from Tactical Agent Orange Exposure (Created and Implemented by Fort Detrick) and a Community Demonstration prior to Ft Detrick’s RAB (Restoration Advisory Board) Meeting on
Wednesday February 23, 2011
1:30pm – 6:30pm
Frederick Md
Peaceful Protest: Location 1
(Meet at corner of Rosemont Avenue & Montevue Lane in Frederick, Md)
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
2:00pm – 4:30pm
RAB Meeting Demonstration: Location 2
1565 Opossumtown Pike, Frederick, Md. 21702
(Meet at corner of Thomas Johnson Dr and Opossumtown Pike Road in Frederick, MD)
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
RAB Meeting: Location 3
Hampton Inn
1565 Opossumtown Pike, Frederick, MD 21702
6:30 pm
Notes To Volunteers and Attendees:
*Volunteers/Attendees will meet at 1:30pm before rally
*Special arrangements have been made for the "Quilts of Tears" to be displayed at the hotel
*There will be no demonstration on private property
*Bring your signs, family and friends, and your bottled water
*Parking is available in the Pizza Hut parking lot at 1830 Rosemont Ave
Come take a stand! Together we make a difference for our children, their children and our future.
For More Information Contact:
Mokie Pratt Porter of Vietnam Veterans
of America (VVA)
mporter@vva.org
AVVA Contact:
Nancy Switzer
switzer3@frontiernet
Lou Krieger (Veteran)
louk1065@gmail.com
Susie Funk (KRF/FFF)
727-512-7272
susiefunk@yahoo.com
Sheila Cherizad (KRF/FFF)
813-857-2629
sheilac91@gmail.com
Media contact for the VVA:
Mokie Pratt Porter
mporter@vva.org
Media contact for the Kristen Renee Foundation:
Rachel Kelley-Pisani
703-203-4961
Rachelkelley73@aol.com
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-world-according-to-monsanto/
There’s nothing they are leaving untouched: the mustard, the okra, the bringe oil, the rice, the cauliflower. Once they have established the norm: that seed can be owned as their property, royalties can be collected. We will depend on them for every seed we grow of every crop we grow. If they control seed, they control food, they know it – it’s strategic. It’s more powerful than bombs. It’s more powerful than guns. This is the best way to control the populations of the world. The story starts in the White House, where Monsanto often got its way by exerting disproportionate influence over policymakers via the “revolving door”. One example is Michael Taylor, who worked for Monsanto as an attorney before being appointed as deputy commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1991. While at the FDA, the authority that deals with all US food approvals, Taylor made crucial decisions that led to the approval of GE foods and crops. Then he returned to Monsanto, becoming the company’s vice president for public policy.
MORE: INCLUDING VIDEO: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-world-according-to-monsanto/
http://www.therecordherald.com/features/x1568449824/Department-of-Defense-tested-herbicides-possibly-Agent-Orange-at-Fort-Ritchie-Army-base-in-the-1950s-COPT-says
By Stephanie Harbaugh
The Record Herald
Cascade, Md. —
The reuse of the former Fort Ritchie Army base has been dealt another blow with Department of Defense disclosures about chemical testing at the site in the 1950s.
This week
On Tuesday, the Army told Corporate Offices Trust — the company redeveloping the 500-acre mountaintop site — about a 2006 Department of Defense publication regarding the “tactical defoliants and herbicides” used at various military installations including Fort Ritchie, according to a news release issued by COPT Friday evening.
On Thursday, the Army disclosed another report published in 1956 titled “Defoliation Investigations during 1954 and 1955” which describes other testing and the use of defoliants and herbicides at Fort Ritchie.
According to the news release, COPT was not aware of the chemical use at the property until this week and the company is now working with the Army and PenMar to determine the precise location and extent of the testing conducted within Fort Ritchie.
That is likely to further delay the redevelopment of the former military base, which was closed in 1998 by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission.
Work at the base was halted in 2009 as the result of lawsuit filed by two former area residents who say the development planned by Corporate Offices Trust is very different than the one approved in 1997 by PenMar Development Corp. and the community.
Bill Hofmann, senior property and environmental services manager for COPT, said in January he hoped the lawsuit would be settled this year.
READ MORE: http://www.therecordherald.com/features/x1568449824/Department-of-Defense-tested-herbicides-possibly-Agent-Orange-at-Fort-Ritchie-Army-base-in-the-1950s-COPT-says
Thanks to our friend Paul Sutton for passing this information around the arena
______________________________________________________________________________
Two new Parkinson’s Disease Research for Veterans released this week.
Parkinson’s Disease has been an issue of concern for Vietnam Veterans but the concern on pesticide (organophosphates) exposure and Gulf War Veterans should be tracked closely for rate of occurrence in the next generation of veterans. Developments in this research also highlights the need to examine mitrochrondial damage in the Gulf war veterans. Mitrochrondial damage mechanisms in neuromuscular disorders has to be continued and research in this area needs to continue.
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/02/17/parkinsons-disease-research-update-for-veterans/
______________________________________
Caring For Camp Lejeune Veterans Act Of 2011
This is the bill that has been introduced in the Senate it is a starting point for the Marines and their families that were stationed at Camp Lejeune. VT encourages all to call their Senators in their DC offices and get them to know the veterans and the citizens that do care about their military and veterans demand action and at least the Senators more than 5 out of 100 should be on this bill now as cosponsors! It is ridiculous that so few senators are willing to put their names on as cosponsors. Do they support the veterans and military or not?
So here is the call for the Senators! Call their DC offices and if they will not sign on within the week, find out why and report back here! We have comment area that can track what each of you find out. Call them and then email and then fax. Get your friends, fellow veterans, family members involved. Is it so hard to do? No, so hit the phones troops let them hear from you now!
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/02/16/caring-camp-lejune-veterans-act-2011/
______________________________________
Agent Orange “Soaked”Ontario Teens
Don Romanowich has been diagnosed with a type of cancer common in people exposed to harmful herbicides.
Glenn Lowson/TORONTO STAR, Diana Zlomislic Staff Reporter
Cancer-causing toxins used to strip the jungles of Vietnam were also employed to clear massive plots of Crown land in Northern Ontario, government documents obtained by the Toronto Star reveal.
Records from the 1950s, 60s and 70s show forestry workers, often students and junior rangers, spent weeks at a time as human markers holding red, helium-filled balloons on fishing lines while low-flying planes sprayed toxic herbicides including an infamous chemical mixture known as Agent Orange on the brush and the boys below. “We were saturated in chemicals,” said Don Romanowich, 63, a former supervisor of an aerial spraying program in Kapuskasing, Ont., who was recently diagnosed with a slow-growing cancer that can be caused by herbicide exposure. “We were told not to drink the stuff but we had no idea.”
A Star investigation examined hundreds of boxes of forestry documents and found the provincial government began experimenting with a powerful hormone-based chemical called 2,4,5-T — the dioxin-laced component of Agent Orange — in Hearst, Ont., in 1957.
The documents, filed at the Archives of Ontario, describe how WWII-era Stearman biplanes were kitted with 140-gallon tanks containing the chemicals, which were usually diluted in a mix of fuel oil and water.
Diana Zlomislic can be reached by email at dzlomislic@thestar.ca or by phone at 416-869-4472
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/940243--star-exclusive-agent-orange-soaked-ontario-teens
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/9126129/
Chapel Hill, N.C. — More than 30 years after the bullets stopped flying in Vietnam, a battle rages to help people still suffering from the effects of Agent Orange.
Agent Orange was an herbicide, later discovered to be contaminated with the toxic chemical dioxin, that the U.S. military sprayed on the jungles of Vietnam to hamper guerrilla operations.
Lingering health and environmental problems from Agent Orange affect an estimated 3 million Vietnamese, including 150,000 children, experts said during a panel discussion at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Wednesday.
“If you use herbicides to kill the trees and shrubs, it exposes the tropical soil to tropical rains and degradation, and it’s very hard to get anything to grow again,” said Charles Bailey, director of the Ford Foundation's Special Initiative on Agent Orange/Dioxin.
Research has shown an increased number of Vietnamese children have been born with severe birth defects and Down syndrome since the war ended in 1975, panelists said, although the genetic effects of Agent Orange are still debated.
“Wars aren’t over when the last soldiers leave the battlefield,” said Bob Edgar, president of the nonprofit Common Cause, which is working on the Agent Orange issue in Vietnam.
As a congressman at the end of the Vietnam War, Edgar pushed legislation to help veterans impacted by Agent Orange. Now, his focus is on the people of that country.
Edgar said he has seen people there affected by "unbelievable birth defects, spina bifida, cleft pallets and hair lips" and other facial disfigurements.
READ MORE: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/9126129/
EPA’s Superfund database lists Chemicals of Concerns (COCs) and their health effects, valuable information to medical care providers.
February 14, 2011 posted by Robert O'Dowd
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/02/14/epas-superfund-websites-can-save-veterans-lives/
(WASHINGTON, DC) – Thousands of veterans and their dependents lived and worked on military installations that are now listed as EPA Superfund sites.
Internet links to Superfund websites can save lives
Former MCAS El Toro was once a proud Marine aviation base; today it is a demolished wreck. The soil and groundwater was terribly polluted over the years and many have paid the ultimate price over it.
Veterans of this base in Southern California are spread all over the United States. There’s no central databank to tap into for the names and the current addresses of those who served at El Toro and other Superfund sites.
Superfund is the environmental program established to address hazardous waste sites. It is also the name of the fund established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended (CERCLA statute, CERCLA overview). CERCLA was passed into law in the wake of the discovery of toxic waste dumps such as Love Canal and Times Beach in the 1970s, according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Veterans of military installations currently on the National Priority List (EPA Superfund) need to know the contaminants of concern (COC) found on these sites and the health effects of exposure to receive proper medical treatment.
COC’s are the chemical substances that the EPA has determined pose an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment. These are the substances that are addressed by cleanup actions at the site.
According to EPA, “Identifying COCs is a process where the EPA identifies people and ecological resources that could be exposed to contamination found at the site, determines the amount and type of contaminants present, and identifies the possible negative human health or ecological effects that could result from contact with the contaminants.”
Exposure to COC’s can cause serious medical conditions, including cancer and death. Veterans with who were stationed on an EPA Superfund installation need to share this information with their medical care provider. This is not about collecting VA disability compensation, but about helping veterans “connect the dots of serious illness” to military service and giving information to their health care providers that could save their lives.
No one in their right mind would voluntarily live and work on a Superfund site. Veterans are not provided the choice of military assignments. Many of the installations on the NPL were constructed during WW II and experienced decades of environmental contamination.
DOD has spent and continues to spend millions in the remediation of military installations on the Superfund list. Nothing has been spent on health care screening and monitoring of veterans by either DOD or the VA. Many veterans learn for the first time of their exposure to a COC after diagnosis with cancer. Too often the diagnosis is late and the cancer now in stage 4 is a death sentence.
With exception of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, DOD has no efforts to contact veterans who served on Superfund sites. Congress required the Navy and Marine Corps to notify those who served at Camp Lejeune from 1957 to 1987 of the contaminated water wells on the base.
EPA lists 130 military installations as Superfund sites. There is no legal requirement to notify the veterans of the remaining 129 military installations of the COCs they may have been exposed to and their health effects. This is not a mission impossible. It can be done. EPA lists the COCs and the ATSDR has identified the health effects of many of them.
IMPORTANT: READ MORE and check for Superfund sites at:
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/02/14/epas-superfund-websites-can-save-veterans-lives/
Thanks to Veterans Today - http://www.veteranstoday.com/
Mrs. Sheree Evans with her late husband, Edward.
Sheree had fought for service connection for the cause of her husband’s death for almost eight years, based on a promise that she had made to him before his death.
It is notoriously difficult for veterans to get their disabilities connected to their military service - even when the connection is apparent. In this unique case, the Department of Veterans Affairs was made to concede a very important connection and gave justice to a struggling widow.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/02/prweb5080394.htm
Mrs. Sheree Evans is the surviving spouse of Vietnam Veteran, Edward T. Evans, who passed away from Glioblastoma Multiforme (GM), or more commonly known as brain cancer, in March of 2003. Since this time, Sheree has fought for widow’s benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for her husband’s cause of death as a result of Agent Orange exposure (Board of Veterans' Appeals, Docket No. 05-00 201 / U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, Vet. App. No. 06-2190). While Mr. Evans was presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange during his service in the Vietnam War, one of the most challenging obstacles for Sheree was showing that his exposure to Agent Orange caused the development of brain cancer. VA had consistently maintained that brain cancer is not on their list of Agent Orange-related disabilities, and, as a result, that there is no medical link for the development of this specific cancer to Agent Orange Exposure.
Sheree’s long struggle against VA took her to the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, the highest level of the Veterans Administration’s appeals process. Once she had been denied there, Sheree appealed her case to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. There she was successful in getting the final decision by VA vacated because VA had used an independent medical opinion as evidence, which was merely grounded in the lack of GM being on the Agent Orange Presumptive list as the basis for denying a relationship. VA then ordered another medical opinion which determined that there was no research into the relationship between GM and Agent Orange. Sheree countered with a medical assessment which argued that there was an abundance of research into the relationship between GM and Agent Orange. In a recent decision, the Board of Veterans' Appeals decided that the evidence in favor and against were in equal weight and applied the benefit of the doubt rule and on January 26th, 2011 granted Sheree’s claim. While this is not a precedential decision, VA did admit a link between the two. Time will tell what the outcome of this will amount to, but GM may very well come to be added to the Agent Orange presumptive list.
READ MORE: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/02/prweb5080394.htm
Posted: 16 Feb 2011 12:00 AM PST
Hatfield Consultants was selected as an Agent Orange Champion by Make Agent Orange History (www.makeagentorangehistory.org) which is a project managed by Active Voice (www.activevoice.net) and supported by the Ford Foundation (www.fordfoundation.org). It is a collaborative effort to raise awareness of the long-term effects of Agent Orange in Vietnam, highlight solutions to the problem, and connect individuals, foundations and non-governmental organizations with opportunities to get involved.
Being selected as an Agent Orange Champion means that the person or company has devoted their time and energy to understanding the legacy of Agent Orange and try to come up with solutions to help address this problem.
To see how Hatfield has contributed to this cause, please click on this link: http://makeagentorangehistory.org/agent-orange-champions/
About Hatfield:
Established in 1974 and based in Vancouver, Canada, Hatfield Consultants has built a worldwide reputation in environmental services with over 1,600 successful projects in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Hatfield strives to provide clients with innovative and cost-effective solutions, while applying best environmental practices, meeting regulatory requirements, and contributing to a sustainable future.
For more information, you may contact:
Mr. Thomas Boivin
Director of International Operations & Senior Environmental Specialist
e-mail: hcp@hatfieldgroup.com
telephone: +1 604-926-3261
http://www.dva.gov.au/health_and_wellbeing/research/FamilyStudyProgram/vietnam_vets_familiy_study/Pages/index.aspx
Vietnam Veterans’ Family Study - An Intergenerational Study
from Australia
DVA needs Vietnam veterans, Army personnel who served between 1962 to 1975 and their families to take part in a study with the aim of identifying factors that make families resilient. This will give useful information and advice which can be provided to the families of future serving members to support them during their service. The intergenerational study will look at what effect war service in Vietnam may have had on veterans’ families health and well being.
The study has invited 10,000 randomly selected Vietnam veterans and 10,000 randomly selected Army personnel who served from 1962 and 1975 but did not deploy to Vietnam to take part. The success of the study relies on a big response from those invited as well as participation by the families of Vietnam veterans (wives/partners, children, siblings, nieces and nephews) and the families of Army personnel who served during the Vietnam era (wives/partners and children) for comparison.
Adequate numbers in the comparison groups will ensure the study is scientifically valid and help identify any differences in the health and wellbeing of the families in the two groups.
Air Force and Navy personnel who served during the Vietnam era are also able to participate in the study. They will undertake the same survey as Army participants but, due to scientific reasons, their results will be the focus of a separate report. Similarly, Vietnam veterans who are not part of the randomly selected group and the families of deceased veterans can also register to be part of the study.
To contact the Family Study Program:
Email healthstudy@dva.gov.au
Phone: 1800 502 302
Mail: Family Study Program
Department of Veterans’ Affairs
GPO Box 9998
CANBERRA ACT 2601
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110211/hl_ac/7834296_expanded_agent_orange_coverage_for_korean_war_veterans
Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange during the Korean War or the Vietnam War may finally have the support from the Department of Veterans Affairs that they have been seeking since the end of the war.
Under a new federal rule published in the Jan. 25 Federal Register, the burden of proof for veterans who claim exposure to the cancer-causing herbicide will no longer be on the veteran, but will be verified by the Department of Defense. More importantly, veterans who served in certain areas where Agent Orange is known to have been used will be presumed to have been exposed.
The new rule extends benefits for Agent Orange exposure specifically to veterans who served in the demilitarized zone in Korea from 1968 through the end of 1971. The Department of Veterans Affairs reserved the right to expand its coverage for Agent Orange-related illnesses even further if evidence should come to light that the herbicide was being used prior to 1968.
Agent Orange was an airborne herbicide used in Korea and Vietnam as a defoliant, to try to remove cover from the enemy. American soldiers exposed to the herbicide complained almost immediately of a variety of illnesses linked to the chemical. Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs recognizes 14 classes of illness that are linked to the disease including several forms of cancer, Type 2 diabetes, ischemic heart disease, and peripheral neuropathy.
READ MORE: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110211/hl_ac/7834296_expanded_agent_orange_coverage_for_korean_war_veterans
After a 60-day congressional review of the regulation expired October 30, the VA began processing claims for disability compensation and healthcare for the new Agent Orange presumptive conditions. According to a recent news release, the VA said it had decided more than 28,000 of the claims in the first six weeks of processing.
The VA's website states that, through February 7 2011, the VA had granted 33,193 claims based on the new Agent Orange presumptive conditions, with the average award being $18,709. The VA states that it has paid approximately $621 million in retroactive compensation to Veterans.
https://www.fasttrack.va.gov/AOFastTrack/home.do
Features of the Website
The Fast Track Claims Processing System has several features to support your claim for disability compensation. These features are limited based on whether you have logged into the website or are viewing the publicly accessible website.
These features can be categorized as supporting the following capabilities:
Becoming a Registered User
Applying for Benefits
Providing Evidence
Viewing Progress on the Claim
Using the Website
https://www.fasttrack.va.gov/AOFastTrack/help5.do#registereduser
http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2011/02/04/opinion/doc4d4b632c789f2322843578.txt?viewmode=fullstory
Published: Friday, February 04, 2011
By Connie Schultz, for The Plain Dealer
cschultz@plaind.com
AFTER a year of research and reporting about the legacy of Agent Orange, I feel certain of one thing: We don’t know the full extent of dioxin’s harm.
It appears to be a story with no end in sight.
On Sunday, The Plain Dealer ran a special report, “Unfinished Business.” It detailed how the U.S. military sprayed millions of gallons of the herbicide, containing dioxin, to defoliate the triple-canopy jungles, which hid Ho Chi Minh’s forces during the Vietnam War. We reported that at least 4.5 million Vietnamese and 2.5 million Americans may have been exposed, leading to more than a dozen illnesses in adults and possibly to numerous birth defects in subsequent generations.
Thirty-five years after the war ended, 28 dioxin hot spots continue to contaminate Vietnam’s food supply and imperil the health of millions of people.
The Vietnamese aren’t asking for contrition or a confession. They just want a future free of the poison we left behind. I have added my voice to the growing chorus of scientists, policymakers and experts who insist we should clean up our mess.
Even as our story about Agent Orange was going to press, dioxin’s legacy continued to leach into the lives of more U.S. veterans, this time reaching into the ranks of those who served in Korea during the Vietnam War.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced that any veteran who served between April 1, 1968, and Aug. 31, 1971, “in a unit determined ... to have operated in an area in or near the Korean DMZ in which herbicides were applied” is presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange.
To quote the VA news release, “This ‘presumption’ simplifies and speeds up the application process for benefits and ensures that veterans receive the benefits they deserve.”
Missing in that announcement was anything close to an apology for making those particular Vietnam era veterans wait more than 40 years for any acknowledgment that they had been exposed to Agent Orange and denied crucial medical coverage.
READ MORE: http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2011/02/04/opinion/doc4d4b632c789f2322843578.txt?viewmode=fullstory
SUZANNE ULBRICH
2011-01-22
When Martha Jacobs asked, Col. Daniel Lecce listened and made it happen. A special Retiree-Widow Town Hall Meeting for military veterans was held at the Disabled American Veteran Chapter 16’s Craig Hall for the first time Saturday.
As the former chairwoman of the Military Widows Association and current liaison between Camp Lejeune and military widows, Jacobs requested a meeting be held off-base to enable more people to attend the meeting and hear from the commanding officer and Naval Hospital about “what all is going on.” “We wanted them to be able to hear about the Naval Hospital, about their services and programs and what they do for us, and hear what the (commanding officer) does, and what’s going on there that’s good for us,” she said.
‘Massive’ changes’
While there are “massive” changes going on aboard Camp Lejeune, Commanding Officer Col. Daniel Lecce says the inconveniences will be worth it in the long run. “It’s an inconvenience I know, it’s painful, but there’s not much I can do about it — but if you hang on for three years it’s going to be wonderful,” he said.
Lecce provided maps and drawings of all the projects, including what he called the “big daddy project,” the new main gate.
The base will build the new main gate near Chico’s Tire on N.C. 24 in three phases, he said. It is currently driving roadway supports in Northeast Creek, which have to be done by the end of March.
He also discussed the Brewster Street, where the Naval Hospital is expanding, housing units are being built and a new school is being added. “Honestly, Brewster is going to be a mess the next couple years,” he said. “But when it’s done it will be really nice four-lane road that can handle the volume of traffic — but it’s going to take a good three years to get this done.”
2
Traffic isn’t the only thing under construction, however.
Lecce told the group that a new fitness center is expected to open Jan. 2012, to include state of the art equipment and an indoor swimming pool.
Lecce recommended using the Camp Lejeune website, lejeune.usmc.mil, to keep up with all that is happening aboard base and also get a more detailed look at all the construction sites and what is happening at each of them.
Camp Lejeune news is also available on Facebook at facebook.com/camp.lejeune.
Facebook has become the most effective means of relaying information, including the recent base closure due to inclement weather, Lecce said.
Staying healthy
With the increased troops and their families, and a 30 plus year old building, expansion and renovation of the existing hospital facility became a necessity to provide adequate services, said Cmdr. Matthew Case, with the Camp Lejeune Naval Hospital. “This will be a very large facility and it will help us provide care for our out-patient side,” Case said.
There will also be a new six-window pharmacy. “I know most of you count on our pharmacy services,” he said. The hospital will also be expanding its Emergency Department in order to deal with the ever increasing number of cases coming in on a daily basis, Case explained, which will be in full operation by 2013.
Audience members expressed their concern with having ample handicapped spaces at the hospital when the expansion is complete. “As the retirement community here increases in size there will be increasing disability, so there will be even more need for handicapped spaces at the hospital,” said Bernice Rogers, the secretary for the Military Widows Association.
Case assured Rogers that there would be more than there is now. He said the hospital will apply the American Disabilities Act formulas to determine how many parking spaces are needed. “We are working to not just do the minimum, I assure you,” he said.
‘Golden’ knowledge
Town Halls are very beneficial for us, said Paul O’Toole, chairman for the Camp Lejeune Military Retiree Council and a retired Marine Corps colonel who served 40 years. “Knowledge is golden … And we learn from the questions of others,” he said. Rogers was very satisfied with what she heard. “I learned a lot today. When there’s an exchange of ideas, it’s good for everybody,” she said. “We learned all about the construction we see everyday … It’s nice to know what they are actually doing.”
Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune’s quarterly Retiree Town Hall meeting, rescheduled from Jan. 20, will be held Feb. 17. A 2 p.m. meeting and a 6 p.m. meeting will be held at Building 65, in room 217, second floor, located at Molly Pitcher Drive.
Deborah Harvey from Tricare will give a presentation on Tricare benefits, according to the NHCL release.
© Copyright 2011 Freedom Communications. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.enctoday.com/news/asked-87099-jdn-martha-jacobs.html
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000448.htm
Temporal arteritis is inflammation and damage to blood vessels that supply the head area, particularly the large or medium arteries that branch from the neck.
If the inflammation affects the arteries in your neck, upper body and arms, it is called giant cell arteritis.
Causes
Temporal, giant cell, and cranial arteritis occur when one or more arteries become inflamed and die.
It most commonly occurs in the head, especially in the temporal arteries that branch off from a blood vessel in the neck called the carotid artery. However, the condition can be a body-wide (systemic) disorder, affecting many medium-to-large sized arteries anywhere in the body.
The cause is unknown but is believed to be partly due to a faulty immune response*. The disorder has been associated with severe infections and high doses of antibiotics.
The disorder may develop along with or after polymyalgia rheumatica. Giant cell arteritis is seen almost exclusively in those over 50 years old, but may occasionally occur in younger people. It is rare in people of African descent. There is some evidence that it runs in families.
Symptoms
* Excessive sweating
* Fever
* General ill feeling
* Jaw pain, intermittent or when chewing
* Loss of appetite
* Muscle aches
* Throbbing headache on one side of the head or the back of the head
* Scalp sensitivity, tenderness when touching the scalp
* Vision difficulties
o Blurred vision
o Double vision
o Reduced vision (blindness in one or both eyes)
* Weakness, excessive tiredness
* Weight loss (more than 5% of total body weight)
Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease:
* Bleeding gums
* Face pain
* Hearing loss
* Joint stiffness
* Joint pain
* Mouth sores
About 40% of people will have other nonspecific symptoms such as respiratory complaints (most frequently dry cough) or weakness or pain along many nerve areas. Rarely, paralysis of eye muscles may occur. A persistent fever may be the only symptom.
* The immune system protects the body from potentially harmful substances by recognizing and responding to antigens. Antigens are molecules (usually proteins) on the surface of cells, viruses, fungi, or bacteria. Nonliving substances such as toxins, chemicals, drugs, and foreign particles (such as a splinter) can also be antigens. The immune system recognizes and destroys substances that contain these antigens.
MORE INFO: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000821.htm
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/january302011/monsanto-fda-ms.php
Monsanto gave us Agent Orange, Aspartame and Cancer Causing Additives in our Food Supply -Monsanto is synonymous with reckless deadly business practices in America, and now their man has secured a position in the FDA, again.
(MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.) - A 2010 article published by Veterans Today titled, Former Former Monsanto Exec. Appointed to the Head of the F.D.A.!, announced that Michael R. Taylor, was appointed Deputy Commissioner for Foods at the FDA.
Monsanto's SE Asia handiwork
Taylor is a former top executive (VP Public Policy), attorney and lobbyist with Monsanto and has had prior positions with law firms, the USDA and the FDA.
Veterans Today wrote in the article about Taylor, "During his former stint in the FDA during the Clinton administration, he helped write the rules to allow rBGH (Bovine Growth Hormone) into the American food system and our children’s milk. Which is perhaps why the FDA staffer who wrote Taylor’s bio seems to have all-but-forgotten his decade-plus of Monsanto work.
Michael Taylor and Monsanto are responsible for subjecting this country and many others to the increased risk of breast cancer (7 times greater risk), prostate cancer and colon cancer because of what they did to milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream with rBGH as well as to all the foods that rely on milk solids and other parts of milk.
He left the FDA in 1994 and a few years later became Monsanto’s Vice President in charge of lobbying in Washington. As a lobbyist, Taylor argued AGAINST the Delaney Clause, one of the foundations of food safety regulation that prohibits cancer-causing chemicals to be added to food."
In 1995, Monsanto ranked 5th among US corporations in the EPA's Toxic Release Inventory, having discharged 37 million pounds of toxic chemicals into the air, land, water and underground.
READ MORE: http://www.salem-news.com/articles/january302011/monsanto-fda-ms.php
http://www.freep.com/article/20110129/NEWS06/101290422/Study-Dow-s-toxin-no-threat
By JOHN FLESHER
Associated Press
Adults living in areas contaminated with dioxin from a Dow Chemical Co. plant in Midland shouldn't worry about exposure to the deadly toxin from soil in their yards or household dust, a scientist said Friday.
University of Michigan researchers released this week a final report on dioxin levels in residents of a 50-mile area of waterways and floodplains tainted for much of the last century by air and liquid emissions from the plant.
The updated report determined that study participants whose homes are on contaminated soil don't have higher dioxin levels in their blood than residents whose property is not contaminated. That contradicts a version issued in 2006, which said participants with elevated dioxin levels in their yards also had higher levels of dioxin in their bodies.
In another reversal, the new report said people who eat fish from the Tittabawassee River, the Saginaw River and Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay -- all of which are in the polluted zone -- have no more dioxin in their blood than neighbors who don't eat fish from the waters.
Despite that revision, the report recommends that people follow advisories about eating fish from the waterways and not eat meat from livestock raised on contaminated grounds.
"The message is, don't worry about dust and soil but be careful about food," said study leader David Garabrant, a U-M epidemiologist.
Skeptics have questioned the study's credibility because Dow is covering the costs. Garabrant said his team had independence and reported to an oversight board of university and government scientists.
Dow spokeswoman Mary Draves said the updated report and other studies show that "there is no imminent threat to people living in the area on contaminated soils."
Michelle Hurd Riddick of the Lone Tree Council, which has criticized the cleanup, said the study had too few participants to draw conclusions.
http://www.cleveland.com/agentorange/index.ssf/2011/01/unfinished_business_suffering.html
Barely 48 hours earlier, Heather Bowser raised her seat back to the upright position and braced to land in the home of her father's demons.
As the plane descended toward Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport, her anxiety soared. The 38-year-old Ohio native had been planning this trip for a long time, but now that she was nearly there, uncertainty was beginning to mute the buzz of her initial excitement.
Her mind raced: What will I find there? What will the Vietnamese people think of me? Am I ready for this?
It didn't help that she'd been wearing her prosthesis for 33 hours straight. No matter how she shifted and stretched in her seat, she couldn't ease the ache in her right thigh. She was long overdue for a break from the state-of-the-art mechanical limb that relied on suction to stay attached, but an artificial leg isn't something you can pull off and hoist as carry-on luggage.
To bolster her courage, Heather pulled out a picture of her father from 1967, just before he made the same journey. Back then, William Allen Morris was a 20-year-old newlywed, one of thousands of young Army draftees girding themselves to land in war-torn Vietnam.
READ MORE: http://www.cleveland.com/agentorange/index.ssf/2011/01/heather_bowser_connects_with_h.html
Agent Orange leaves its mark on the life of Heather Bowser
Bill was discharged from the Army in the fall of 1971, and he and Sharon returned to Wintersville. Bill had grown up there, but it didn't feel like home anymore. Most of his high school friends, including several who had worked with him in the mill, had gone off to college, not to Vietnam. He quickly found he had little in common with them.
http://www.cleveland.com/agentorange/index.ssf/2011/01/agent_orange_leaves_its_mark_o.html
Heather Bowser, children touched by Agent Orange find a common bond in Friendship Village
http://www.cleveland.com/agentorange/index.ssf
/2011/01/unfinished_business_suffering.html
READ THE ENTIRE SERIES: Unfinished Business: Suffering and sickness in the endless wake of Agent Orange at: http://www.cleveland.com/agentorange/index.ssf/2011/01/unfinished_business_suffering.html
_____________________________________________________________________________________
The Vietnam Reporting Project
http://www.vietnamreportingproject.org/
Jon Funabiki is executive director of the Renaissance Journalism Center at San Francisco State University and a fellow member of the International Dialogues for Thought Leaders in Media. For the last four years, we have joined about two dozen other journalists once a year to explore the changing landscape of our profession. When he called me in February 2010, Funabiki was quick to remind me of this mission.
"We've got a new adventure for you," he said. "It's called the Vietnam Reporting Project. We want you to go to Vietnam and write about the long-term impact of Agent Orange."
My immediate response: "What long-term impact of Agent Orange?"
Thus began my education about the tragedy that continues to unfold in that beautiful sliver of a country in Southeast Asia and for veterans and families in the United States.
Funabiki convinced me it is a story that demands telling.
The Vietnam Reporting Project -- coordinated by the Renaissance center and funded by the Ford Foundation -- offered to pay for my travel, hotel rooms and food, and provide training and logistics support. In return, I would report what I found. The Plain Dealer would pay my salary and oversee all editing.
Nine months of research later, I was as ready as I was going to be to see firsthand the legacy of a war that most of my generation has spent a lifetime trying to forget.
-- Connie Schultz
http://www.cleveland.com/agentorange/index.ssf/2011/01/unfinished_business_suffering.html By Plain Dealer staff
Published: Sunday, January 30, 2011
Photo Lisa DeJong, PD
Vietnam and the United States have a common enemy.
Its name is Agent Orange.
From 1962 to 1971, the U.S. military sprayed millions of gallons of the herbicide, which contained the toxic chemical dioxin, to defoliate the jungles and forests that gave cover to Ho Chi Minh's northern forces in what was then South Vietnam.
At least 4.5 million Vietnamese, and the 2.5 million Americans who served there, may have been exposed to Agent Orange. These numbers do not reflect the possible impact on future generations.
The U.S. Veterans Administration now recognizes 15 illnesses linked to war-time exposure. The Vietnam Red Cross estimates that roughly 3 million adults and children continue to suffer illnesses and birth deformities because of these contaminated sites.
This is a fixable problem.
To the majority of Americans, it is also an invisible one.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
The Vietnam War ended but a silent threat from Agent Orange remained
http://www.cleveland.com/agentorange/index.ssf/2011/01/the_vietnam_war_ended_but_a_si.html
Friendship Village provides support to people affected by Agent Orange
http://www.cleveland.com/agentorange/index.ssf/2011/01/friendship_village_provides_su.html
The Department of Veterans Affairs has released a new list of Blue Water Navy ships now determined to have operated on the Inland Waters of Vietnam. Additionally, they have added a new class of eligibility for individuals who had “visitation” to Vietnam while attached to a vessel that had smaller craft that regularly went ashore with either supplies or personnel. This new class includes veterans who may have gone ashore even if the ship did not dock, but was in close proximity to Vietnam for extended periods of time. This new list can be accessed at http://www.bluewaternavy.org/newspage2.htm
Those who are in any of the three categories explained in this new release are eligible for presumption of exposure to herbicides and are given benefits equal to those with boots-on-ground who are suffering from any of the diseases the VA has listed as related to herbicide exposure. That list can be accessed at http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/diseases.asp
This program, called Policy 211, began January, 2010 with the VA’s active efforts to find all personnel who served offshore Vietnam but who may have had “duty or visitation in the Republic of Vietnam .” This originally covered crew members of ships on Inland Waters but has recently been expanded.
Please note that the list includes entire classes of ships designated by hull type as well as named ships for their entire WESTPAC tours or for specific dates or date ranges due to their short term operations on the inland waters of Vietnam. This list is not yet complete and additions are made to it almost daily. If your ship is not listed and you feel you qualify as a crew member in one of the given categories, there are specific steps to acquire the documentation required to submit with your claim.
Additional information: navy@bluewaternavy.org
