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http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/484854.html
The revelation may be controversial, as the USFK did not notify S.Korea or take appropriate countermeasures
USFK verified toxins in 2004, investigation reveals
The revelation may be controversial, as the USFK did not notify S.Korea or take appropriate countermeasures
By Nam Jong-young
Amid an ongoing examination by a joint South Korean-U.S. investigation team into allegations that Agent Orange was buried at the U.S. base of Camp Carroll in the Waegwan Township of North Gyeongsang’s Chilgok County, it emerged Monday that United States Forces Korea (USFK) previously verified the presence of a pit containing buried chemicals within the camp during a 2004 investigation. Analysts say the revelation is likely to cause controversy, as USFK did not previously notify the South Korean government of its findings.
According to a draft report obtained by the Hankyoreh on Monday for a preliminary study for treatment of environmental pollution in Camp Carroll, the U.S. military discovered indications of a burial site within the camp measuring 25 meters in length, 14 meters in width, and six meters in depth in 2004. Following a subsequent soil study, the U.S. military confirmed contamination with high concentrations of highly carcinogenic perchloroethylene (PCE). Also detected were pesticides, heavy metals, and components of dioxin, which is connected to Agent Orange.
The report, which contains details on environmental pollution in the area of the Bachelor Enlisted Quarters (BEQ) Hill to the northeast of the camp, was drafted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Far East Command in February and submitted to the command of the U.S. Army garrison in Daegu. The burial site is located approximately one kilometer to the north of a heliport and nearby Zone D, which were named by U.S. veteran Steve House and others as defoliant burial sites in a U.S. broadcast. Because of the small size of the site, analysts are speculating that it was a third chemical burial site within Camp Carroll.
READ MORE: http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/484854.html
http://www.thanhniennews.com/2010/Pages/20110627220454.aspx
Environmentalists are hopeful the first international study of dioxin contamination around Bien Hoa Airbase will pave the way for a US-funded cleanup
On a recent afternoon at Bien Hung Park, a young, handsome couple chatted happily on a bright green lawn. An eight-year-old boy wandered through the trees selling lottery tickets to whoever passed. Elderly couples strolled along the shaded walkways.
At first glance, the park, located in Bien Hoa Town, seems like an ideal escape from the stifling Ho Chi Minh City – which sits just 35 kilometers southeast of the southern town.
But, in April, Hatfield Consultants, a Canadian environmental firm, warned the provincial government to tell local residents to keep people from the cultivation of fish, ducks, and livestock at Bien Hoa Airbase.
The Bien Hoa Airbase, and Da Nang and Phu Cat airports in central Vietnam are widely recognized as major “dioxin hotspots” where Agent Orange and other toxic herbicides were stored, loaded and spilled by US military personnel during the Vietnam War that ended in April 1975.
READ MORE: http://www.thanhniennews.com/2010/Pages/20110627220454.aspx
from George Claxton
Although I have written about the probabilities of disease in soldiers exposed to diesel exhaust from burning human shit in Vietnam,the issue has been ignored because of the political turmoil that could take place.
In the past I have produced studies that show dioxin in the diesel exhaust particles. Dioxin is the poison that was part of Agent Orange and has been implicated in human disease and death all over the world. I believe that nobody wants to face the issue. Senator Carl Levin has not responded to a lot of evidence that I have submitted.
A new study from Tokyo, Japan has identified the possibility of higher death rates from exposure to diesel exhaust particles. The title of the study is "DIESEL VEHICLE EMISSION AND DEATH RATES IN TOKYO, JAPAN; A NATURAL EXPERIMENT' and it was published in the journal "Science of the total environment", in press, on line, 23 Jun 2011. The authors are Takashi Yorifuji, et al.
The highlights of the study was as follows: "We evaluated the effect of a diesel emission control law on mortality rates; Rate ratios for association between air pollutants and mortality were attenuated; Mortality rate from cerebrovascular disease was reduced after the enforcement".
I can only imagine that the exposure to diesel exhaust in soldiers from standing over a barrel burning shit must be quite extensive.
Faithfully submitted
George Claxton
TRAINING LETTER 10-06
Adjudicating Disability Claims Based on Herbicide Exposure from U.S. Navy and Coast Guard Veterans of the Vietnam Era
Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Benefits Administration
Washington, D.C. 20420
All VA Regional Offices
Training Letter 10-06
SUBJ: Adjudicating Disability Claims Based on Herbicide Exposure from U.S.
Navy and Coast Guard Veterans of the Vietnam Era
Purpose
The Compensation and Pension (C&P) Service is providing the following information and guidelines in order to promote regional office awareness, consistency, and fairness in the processing of disability claims based on herbicide exposure from Veterans with service in the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard during the Vietnam era.
...In order for the presumption of exposure to be extended to a Blue Water Navy Veteran, development must provide evidence that the Veteran’s ship operated temporarily on the inland waterways of Vietnam or that the Veteran’s ship docked to the shore or a pier. In claims based on docking, a lay statement that the Veteran personally went ashore must be provided. Since there is no way to verify which crewmembers of a docked ship may have gone ashore, C&P Service has determined that the Veteran’s lay statement is sufficient. This is in keeping with 38 U.S.C. § 1154, which states that consideration shall be given to the places, types, and circumstances of a Veteran’s service, and with 38
5 VA TRAINING LETTER 10-06: Adjudicating Disability Claims Based on Herbicide
Exposure from U.S. Navy and Coast Guard Veterans of the Vietnam Era
C.F.R. §3.159(a)(2), which states that lay evidence is competent if it is provided by a person who has knowledge of facts or circumstances and conveys matters that can be observed and described by a lay person. In claims based on docking, the circumstances of service have placed the Veteran in a position where going ashore was a possibility and the Veteran, by virtue of being there, is competent to describe leaving the ship and going ashore. The circumstances also establish credibility unless there is evidence to the contrary.
...service aboard a ship that anchored temporarily in an open deep water harbor or port is not sufficient
...However, evidence that a claimant served as a coxswain aboard a ship at anchorage, along with a statement from the Veteran of going ashore, may be sufficient to extend the presumption of exposure.
Claims based on statements that exposure occurred because herbicides were stored or transported on the Veteran’s ship, or that the Veteran was exposed by being near aircraft that flew over Vietnam or equipment used in Vietnam, do not qualify for the presumption of exposure.
READ ON: Training Letter 10-06
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2938006
mall traces of dioxins were detected at two areas inside Camp Carroll in Chilgok, North Gyeongsang, in 2004, according to a report disclosed by U.S. Forces Korea yesterday.
The 2004 report, written by a local military contractor, showed that dioxins and other harmful chemical materials were detected in the base’s Area 41 and Area D, two of the three areas where U.S. veterans claimed drums of Agent Orange defoliants were buried in 1978.
The third site mentioned by veterans, near a helipad, was not a subject of the 2004 report.
Korea and the U.S. are now conducting a joint investigation.
The report, written by Samsung C&T Corporation, said 1.7 parts per trillion of dioxins were detected in a soil sample from Area 41, and 0.753 parts per trillion were detected in a soil sample from Area D.
READ MORE: http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2938006
Excerpts taken from the VAntage Point Blog – written by J. Slider
This week the Department of Veterans Affairs official blog, VAntage Point, addressed the findings of the recent ruling on the affects of Agent Orange on Blue Water Sailors —those who served on deep water Navy or Coast Guard vessels. In summary, the report stated that the exposure of Viet Nam era Blue Water Navy Veterans to Agent Orange cannot reasonably be determined due to a lack of data on environmental concentrations of Agent Orange contaminants.
Although this means that this group of veterans do not have a presumptive connection to AO, it does not mean that Blue Water Navy Veterans can’t submit claims and apply for benefits if they feel they were exposed to AO. In fact, as the VA blog points out, the VA has recognized claims from Vietnam Veterans whose ships entered inland waterways, and/or docked at specific times and locations, if they claim that they went ashore. So far, this applies to 140 ships and 51 classes of vessels. Veterans who were aboard these ships are eligible for benefits based on the presumption that their diseases are associated with their service in Vietnam. You can find the list of ships and vessels linked on the Blue Water Navy Veterans website.
Read more: http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/06/the-latest-blue-water-agent-orange-ruling/
http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/06/va-reverses-vietnam-veteran-case/?ESRC=navy.nl
June 18, 2011 • Ben Krause
Charles Cooley, a Vietnam Veteran, is smiling today. For the past 2 years, he had his benefits cut despite suffering from diabetes, heart disease, arterial disease, neuropathy and asbestosis. The VA rating board ignored federal policy and was caught by reporters.
His story was picked up by The Post-Star, which in turn published numerous stories about Cooley’s claim. The family was payments away from losing their home when VA officials reversed their decision because of the outcry. Not only did they reverse their decision, but they increased his disability level to 100 percent and awarded 5 years of back pay, back to 2005.
For years, Cooley received a 40 percent rating from the VA for his conditions. Around two years ago, he filed for an increase based on his worsening health. When the board met to review his claim, he requested a reschedule of the hearing due to illness. They refused and revoked his entire disability rating with no hearing at all.
READ MORE: http://militaryadvantage.military.com/2011/06/va-reverses-vietnam-veteran-case/?ESRC=navy.nl
http://www.stripes.com/news/u-s-military-no-agent-orange-at-south-korea-base-1.147286?localLinksEnabled=false
By Ashley Rowland
Stars and Stripes
Published: June 23, 2011
SEOUL — Environmental reports released Thursday by the U.S. military show hazardous chemicals that were stored at Camp Carroll since at least the early 1960s were often haphazardly stored and disposed of, but the U.S. military says it has yet to find any evidence of Agent Orange contamination at the base.
The reports, a 1992 land use survey of the base and a 2004 site investigation of two heavily polluted areas within Camp Carroll, were released to the public as part of the U.S. military’s efforts at transparency during an investigation into whether Agent Orange was buried at Carroll in 1978.
According to the 1992 report, a number of hazardous materials, including solvents, pesticides, herbicides and petroleum products, had at that point been used and stored at Carroll for more than 30 years and had contributed to groundwater contamination. Storage and disposal of materials had been haphazard, with a number of spills and leaks reported, including leakages of diesel fuel and the improper disposal of battery acids into a drain. Proper disposal methods for solvents had not been enforced, the report said.
There is no evidence, however, that Agent Orange was among those chemicals.
READ MORE: http://www.stripes.com/news/u-s-military-no-agent-orange-at-south-korea-base-1.147286?localLinksEnabled=false
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV2OybAd3IY&feature=channel_video_title
"Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know."
from our friend George Claxton
There has been alot of controversy in the last 20 years concerning a connection between the HIV virus and exposure to dioxin. Please remember that dioxin was the poison that contaminated agent orange in Vietnam.
A study published in 1996 speaks directly to the association between dioxin exposure and the HIV virus. The title of the study is "Dioxin increases HIV-1 replication by activating NF-KB and HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR)". The authors are S. Gupta, et al and it is published in the journal "Allergy and Clinical Immunology", volume 97, number 1, part 3, ABSTRACT 882, 1996. THE CONCLUSION OF THE STUDY IS DOCUMENTED BELOW:
"THESE DATA DEMONSTRATE THAT DIOXIN ACTIVATES HIV-1 BY INCREASED TNF-o PRODUCTION AND ACTIVATION OF NF-KB AND HIV LTR".
I will not give my opinoin on this abstract but it should make interesting reading.
Faithfully submitted,
George Claxton
http://cfr.vlex.com/vid/3-102-reasonable-doubt-
19776129#ixzz0rAiVsqDP
4-19-2011
Sirs,
Here is a manual from the Alvin Young collection, produced by the Department of Agriculture and the University of Maryland, on how to properly use the rainbow herbicides.
1. Farmers Bulletin No. 2183, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE & the University of Maryland.
The facts are these herbicides were the industry standard for that time for vegetation control. The DoD denies the rainbow herbicides were used on Guam, so where is their evidence of some other herbicide being used on Guam?
2. This “user’s manual” was printed in May 1962 and revised in January 1971 after I was exposed in Guam. So in 1969 – 1970 we were not doing anything unusual or illegal by using these herbicides.
As you can see these herbicides were the “standard” for that time. The reason why these two herbicides were mixed was 2-4-D was more effective on some weeds and the 2-4-5-T was more effective on other weeds.
3. These herbicides were approved for use by the Department of Agriculture and the University of Maryland for farming and vegetation control. Now the DoD states that there are no records showing the use of these herbicides on Guam and at the same time they are testing for them in the well water and finding them there (see page 29). It must be “magic” how they got there.
4. It is so aggravating to have people trying to rewrite history on us. The facts are straight forward. If this case was in a civil court, it wouldn’t be dragging on forty years later. There appears to be some kind of conspiracy going on.
5. The DoD states they don’t have any records of the rainbow herbicides being on Guam while denying the pictures and eye witness testimony from the people handling the drums of the rainbow herbicides. Then the VA approves the claims for the eye witnesses and the VA turns our claims down without even looking at our evidence.
6. At what point does the “Reasonable Doubt” regulation (38 CFR 3.102) kick in? The Government has no evidence and the Veterans have a mountain of evidence. If that doesn’t meet or exceed the standards for the Reasonable Doubt regulation, I can’t imagine what would.
I think besides paying us for the damage they have done to our bodies they should have to pay us for the HELL they are putting us through mentally and financially. It has to be causing PSTD or some kind of mental stress and damage to us.
Ralph Stanton
816-262-0097
rstanton@stjoelive.com
Read more: http://cfr.vlex.com/vid/3-102-reasonable-doubt-
19776129#ixzz0rAiVsqDP
http://www.vvaa.org.au/
The Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia (VVAA) had its advent in the Vietnam Veterans Action Association formed in the late 1979 as a result of the perceptions of Vietnam veterans that exposure to chemicals was causing problems with their health and the health of their children. The chemicals, known by the generic name of Agent Orange included 2,4,5,T and 2,4,D, a by product of which is the extremely poisonous substance TCDD or dioxin. The problems ranged from minor irritation to lethal, with symptoms such as skin blisters, itching, flushes, nasal problems, blurred vision, respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, gastro-urinary muscular and nervous system disorders, cancers and tumours. This was often exacerbated by psychological disorders caused by what was later diagnosed as post traumatic stress disorder.
The Association fought an uphill battle against government indifference, including the bitter disappointment of the now discredited 1983 Evatt Royal Commission on the Use and Effects of Chemical Agents on Australian Personnel in Vietnam. At the same time there was a very real feeling that the RSL had not accepted the Vietnam veterans, and nor would it pursue the concerns of this group with the vigour they believed that those concerns warranted. This feeling was never stronger than during this period, when the VVAA and the RSL were absolutely opposed.
READ MORE: http://www.vvaa.org.au/
http://qctimes.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/health/article_c163c048-87e5-11e0-b4e5-001cc4c002e0.html
Before Dennis Flaherty and his fellow Marines set up a helicopter site in the jungles of Vietnam, a plane spread herbicides on the trees to clear a path.
"Agent Orange was sprayed along the flight lines," explained Flaherty, a 65-year-old veteran from Davenport. "We'd load planes with Agent Orange and other chemicals and then set the barrels down."
The orange-striped barrels that gave the contents their infamous name were later cut up to be used in latrines. Some were even rinsed out and fitted with racks on which to grill hamburgers, he said.
Bill Pinnault, 63, also of Davenport, was in the U.S. Army from 1964 to ‘67 and drove trucks filled with Agent Orange.
"I got orange dust all over me," he said. "I couldn't get away from it."
Denny Gray, 61, of Davenport, was in the U.S. Navy during 1968. He served on the U.S.S. Jamestown, which was permanently stationed in Vietnam. He got to spend a few days onshore in the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon, staying at the Presidential Hotel.
The three Vietnam veterans all are examples of people who developed chronic, debilitating diseases following their military service. Flaherty has Parkinson's disease, and both Pinnault and Gray have type 2 diabetes as well as ischemic heart disease - also called hardening of the arteries.
READ MORE: http://qctimes.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/health/article_c163c048-87e5-11e0-b4e5-001cc4c002e0.html
http://poststar.com/news/local/article_3a1107e2-8f27-11e0-a387-001cc4c03286.html
The benefit checks from the Department of Veterans Affairs were a lifeline for Charles and Dolores Cooley, as critical to their financial health as the oxygen tube Charles wears is to his physical health.
But that lifeline was severed last year when the VA determined that awarding Cooley benefits for exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War had been an error.
Having their benefits cut off has set the Cooleys down a slope to financial ruin. She is 66; he is 67. They live in a double-wide trailer on a grassy lot in the Drifting Ridge subdivision off Durkeetown Road in Fort Edward.
Their income, from Social Security and his pension, is about $2,000 a month, but their bills often exceed that.
She has been drawing from a retirement account but that money will run out, probably by the end of the summer. Then, Dolores said, they'll have to sell the house.
"We would never be able to buy another home," she said. "I would most likely have to go back to Long Island and move in with one of my kids, which I'm not looking forward to that.
"I don't know what to tell you. Everyone in my family knows, we are givers, not takers. I'd give my last dollar to somebody. But this is owed to him, and he should have it."
Charles Cooley is a Vietnam veteran suffering from diabetes and peripheral neuropathy, diseases that have been linked to Agent Orange exposure. Most Vietnam veterans with these afflictions are presumed to have been poisoned by Agent Orange, a dioxin-laced herbicide used by American troops to defoliate jungle areas in Vietnam.
READ MORE: http://poststar.com/news/local/article_3a1107e2-8f27-11e0-a387-001cc4c03286.html
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/480748.html
The USFK’s investigation methods cannot measure soil and groundwater contamination
By Nam Jong-young
Conflict has reportedly erupted between United States Forces Korea (USFK) and South Korean government over the method for conducting an investigation on the U.S. military base at Camp Carroll in Waegwan, North Gyeongsang Province, the suspected site of Agent Orange burial. USFK is insisting on using ground-penetrating radar (GPR), while the South Korean government is demanding sampling of soil and underground water.
A Ministry of Environment official said Tuesday that the USFK is calling to conclude the investigation by using GPR at the suspected burial location.
“The South Korean government has repeatedly stated that this kind of investigation is incapable of resolving the questions harbored by the population,” the official said.
The GPR method involves using radar pulses on the ground around the suspected defoliant burial site to determine the presence of foreign matter. While it is capable of verifying the presence of canisters containing harmful materials, it cannot verify contamination of soil or underground water.
For this reason, the Ministry of Environment reportedly issued strong calls at the latest environmental subcommittee meeting for collecting and analyzing small soil and water samples. Sources reported brief tension among the participants in the meeting, with South Korean committee members storming out after the U.S. demurred at the proposal.
“What the USFK is really troubled about is not dioxin, but other toxic and carcinogenic materials,” said an official on the joint civilian-government team investigating the periphery of Camp Carroll.
READ MORE: http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/480748.html
http://nap.edu/?utm_medium=etmail&utm_source=Institute%20of%20Medicine&utm_campaign=06.02.11+News+-+NAP+Makes+All+PDFs+Free&utm_content=News%20Releases&utm_term=Non-profit
As of today all PDF versions of books published by the National Academies Press will be downloadable to anyone free of charge. This includes a current catalog of more than 4,000 books plus future reports produced by the Press.
http://c123kcancer.blogspot.com/2011/04/agent-orange-chapter-from-history-just_07.html
Post-Vietnam C-123K Provider crews and maintenance teams WERE exposed to Agent Orange, and many of us are developing cancers. We're gathering & sharing vital information. Send documents. Send photos of us in the plane. Please tell others who flew with us, and I need names from Rickenbacker and Pittsburgh 123 crews! Site hosted by Wes Carter, retired MSC
His right hand self-concously hidden because it ends in a round jumble of undeveloped fingers, the young graduate student Ben Quick was driven to see the surplus C-123Ks at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base back in 2008. A trip into the past which dictated his own future. You see, Ben's dad gifted him a "minor glitch" in Ben's DNA, a leftover of Pop's service in Vietnam during the War. Ben was visiting Davis-Monthan to learn more about that gift, and the airplanes which delivered it, the UC-123K "Provider", now surplus and in storage at Davis-Monthan.
READ MORE: http://c123kcancer.blogspot.com/2011/04/agent-orange-chapter-from-history-just_07.html
http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/conditions/spina_bifida.asp
VA presumes that spina bifida in biological children of certain Vietnam-era Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange was caused by the Veterans’ military service.
LEARN MORE: http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/conditions/spina_bifida.asp
http://veterans.senate.gov/issues-benefits.cfm
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS – 1 JUNE 2011
U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs • 412 Russell Senate Bldg. • Washington D.C. 20510 (202) 224-9126 • Republican Staff: (202) 224-2074
Vietnam’s Inland Waterways
Question: I served with the Navy in Vietnam and my ship was in Vietnam’s inland waterways. Am I eligible for compensation for a disability related to herbicide exposure?
Answer: If you served on a ship that operated primarily in inland waterways between January 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975, you have service that involved “duty” in Vietnam.
VA includes all vessels with the designations LCM (landing craft, mechanized), LCVP (landing craft, vehicle, personnel), LST (landing ship, tank), PBR (patrol boat, river), PCF (patrol craft, fast or swift boat), and all vessels referred to as part of the “Mobile Riverine Force” in military records as ships which served in inland waters. VA has a list of other ships which served in inland waters.
view List of Eligible Ships
Question: I served with the Navy in Vietnam and my ship went into inland waterways on occasion. Can I get benefits for a disability related to herbicide exposure?
Answer: If you served on a ship that operated temporarily in inland waterways at some point between January 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975, you have service that involved “temporary duty” in Vietnam. VA has a list of ships that they have been verified as operating temporarily in Vietnam’s inland waterways.
READ MORE: http://veterans.senate.gov/issues-benefits.cfm
https://www.fasttrack.va.gov/AOFastTrack/home.do
AGENT ORANGE Fast Track Claims Processing System
Welcome to the Agent Orange Fast Track Claims Processing System. This website is dedicated to processing claims for Vietnam Veterans who are claiming service connection for any of the following conditions:
Ischemic Heart Disease
Hairy Cell and other B-Cell Leukemias
Parkinson's Disease
You can use this website to apply for disability benefits for these conditions if you served in the Republic of Vietnam or in-land waterways between January 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975. If you have previously applied for service connection for these conditions, or you wish to apply for service connection for any additional conditions, you should apply using the traditional claims process at the nearest VA Regional Office or visit our website.
