AGENT ORANGE MAN (Better Living Through Chemistry)

New song illustrates the frustrating plight of despair for those unfortunate enough to be poisoned by their own government during the Vietnam War.

(DA NANG Vietnam) - The song "AGENT ORANGE MAN (Better Living Through Chemistry)" is Recorded by Michael Gram (Former LHI Records Recording Artist). It tells the story of the Chemical Poisoning of Military Veterans and the environment both in Vietnam and here in the United States of America.

The producer and song writer Michael Glasser is a 100% disabled veteran who never served in Vietnam but was exposed to Agent Orange amongst several other carcinogenic chemicals at Chanute AFB in Rantoul, Illinois back in 1962-1964.

The EPA'S own website {see link below} tells a fighting story that an Air Force base closed in 1993 is and was a TOXIC Superfund site which the US Government has not even started to clean up after twenty years since it's closure.

For a frightening fact check go to the EPA'S website: cfpub.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0501172

from our friend Chuck Palazzo, in DaNang

 

Children with disabilities overcome the legacy of Agent Orange

http://www.unicef.org.au/Discover/Field-Stories/May/Children-with-disabilities-overcome-the-legacy-of-.aspx
Dang Hong Dan is just three years old but he’s a victim of the Vietnam War. He was born with disabilities because of Agent Orange – a chemical sprayed during the war to destroy crops and forests. Although the war ended almost four decades ago, Agent Orange still contaminates fields and rivers in the Mekong Delta. It gets into food and drinking water, causing birth defects in children.
Hong Dan was born with a cleft lip, which has been partly repaired with surgery, and a deformed hand and foot. He is too young to be aware of his disability and the stigma that sometimes surrounds it. He is a happy and active child, with an enormous sense of curiosity and clearly intelligent for his age. “Dan likes to play with anything,” his mother Oanh, 30, says with a laugh as he tries to figure out how to use UNICEF’s digital camera.
Oanh had a difficult pregnancy. “I was sent to the hospital twice because of heavy bleeding,” she says. “After Dan was born, the doctor did some tests and told us that the cause of his disability was Agent Orange.”
READ MORE: http://www.unicef.org.au/Discover/Field-Stories/May/Children-with-disabilities-overcome-the-legacy-of-.aspx

The Great Styrofoam Boycott

http://www.parkrecord.com/news/ci_23339779/great-styrofoam-boycott

Styrofoam is not only bad for the environment, but it's bad for you. And it's not actually called Styrofoam that is a name trademarked by our friends at Dow Chemical, the ones who brought us such environmental and health wonders as Agent Orange, napalm, silicone breast implants, and DBCP (a pesticide known to cause human sterility). So we should call it polystyrene which is the technical name for it.
Polystyrene is hazardous to human health. It contains the neurotoxins styrene and benzene, both of which are classified by the EPA and NTP as "known carcinogens" (as opposed to the lesser level "suspected carcinogens" or how about, "not carcinogens"? There's a novel concept). There is growing evidence that these cancer causing toxins can leach into food that's acidic, warm, alcoholic or oily and then into the environment after exposure to rain and other weather. If this is true, it means that it's critical that you don't microwave food in polystyrene or put hot food into polystyrene containers. Out of an abundance of caution, you shouldn't eat from polystyrene at all.

READ MORE: http://www.parkrecord.com/news/ci_23339779/great-styrofoam-boycott

May 30 - Traditional Memorial Day

How agent orange and depleted uranium affect the body

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2013/05/27/part-3-how-agent-orange-and-depleted-uranium-affect-the-body/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=part-3-how-agent-orange-and-depleted-uranium-affect-the-body

Since the use of AGENT Orange in both Vietnam and to some extent in Korea, all will acknowledge that dioxin (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin-TCDD) has become one of the most controversial issues our military has ever faced. IARC, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is part of the World Health Organization, classified dioxin as a known human carcinogen in 1997. The September 2000 draft of the U.S. EPA’s Health Assessment document on dioxin also classifies dioxin as a known human carcinogen. In January 2001, the Department of Health and Human Services’ National Toxicology Program came around and finally classified dioxin as a known human carcinogen. I find it remarkable that with all the evidence dating back to the 1940′s, that the US bureaucracy didn’t come to the conclusion that dioxin was a carcinogen until the early 2000′s.
Effects on the immune system appear to be among the most sensitive endpoints studied. Animal studies show that dioxin decreased immune response and increased susceptibility to infectious disease. In human studies, dioxin was associated with immune system depression and alterations in immune status leading to increased infections. Dioxin can also disrupt the normal function of hormones—chemical messengers that the body uses for growth and regulation.
Certain human cells, such as liver cells, contain a large molecule called an aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), which can be thought of as shaped like a pocket. Compounds like dioxin that are foreign to the body, fit snugly into this pocket. Once in the pocket, dioxin activates the AhR and the whole unit can travel to the cell nucleus which contains our genes. Once in the nucleus, the unit may either activate or suppress specific genes that control the normal cell cycle. For example, certain cells may begin to grow preferentially, or other cells may not die appropriately, as normal cells do. It is important to note that gene suppression or activation is not the same as DNA damage.
READ MORE: http://www.veteranstoday.com/2013/05/27/part-3-how-agent-orange-and-depleted-uranium-affect-the-body/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=part-3-how-agent-orange-and-depleted-uranium-affect-the-body

Notes from the Field: Exposures to Discarded Sulfur Mustard Munitions — Mid-Atlantic and New England States 2004–2012

 http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6216a7.htm 

Before the 1970s, the United States sometimes disposed of at sea excess, obsolete, or unserviceable munitions, including chemical munitions (1). Chemical munitions known to have been disposed of at sea included munitions filled with sulfur mustard, a vesicant (i.e., an agent that causes chemical burns or blisters of the skin and mucous membranes) (2). Signs and symptoms of exposure to a mustard agent can include redness and blistering of the skin, eye irritation, rhinorrhea, hoarseness, shortness of breath, and (rarely) diarrhea and abdominal discomfort. Since 2004, CDC has received notification of three separate incidents of exposure to sulfur mustard munitions. In one incident, a munition was found with ocean-dredged marine shells used to pave a driveway. The other two incidents involved commercial clam fishing operations. This report highlights the importance of considering exposure to sulfur mustard in the differential diagnosis of signs and symptoms compatible with exposure to a vesicant agent, especially among persons involved with clam fishing or sea dredging operations.
Case Reports
Case 1. In 2004, U.S. Air Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) personnel responded to discovery of an artillery shell protruding from a Delaware driveway paved with crushed clamshells (3). They recovered the shell and moved it to Dover Air Force Base for destruction using standard EOD procedures. During handling a "black, tar-like substance" began to drip, and two members required treatment for chemical burns after large pus-filled blisters developed on their hands and arms. One EOD team member required hospitalization as a result of the exposure. Sulfur mustard exposure was confirmed by chemical analysis. After this incident, the Department of Defense made the Army's policy and procedures for addressing liquid-filled munitions applicable to the Air Force and all other military services.

READ MORE: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6216a7.htm

Veterans exposed to Agent Orange have an increased risk of aggressive prostate cancer, analysis finds

http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2013/05/veterans_exposed_to_agent_oran.html
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A veteran of the U.S. Air Force and the Air Force Reserve before his retirement in 2005, Terry Dillon served in Vietnam as a member of the 14th Air Commando Wing at Nha Trang Air Base.
He was there for only one year, from June 1967 to June 1968, but it was long enough to potentially affect Dillon's health decades later.
Millions of Vietnam War veterans were exposed to Agent Orange, an herbicide that contained dioxin and other dangerous toxins and potential cancer-causing agents. Throughout the 1960s until 1971 in Vietnam (as well as in the Korean Demilitarized Zone and, until 1975, in some parts of Thailand), the military used the herbicide to wipe out the foliage and trees to impede the enemy's ability to hide.
"Nobody thought a thing about it," said Dillon, 68, of suburban Columbus. "Basically we knew they were defoliating the jungle areas, but no one I talked to thought there was anything bad about the stuff.
"[Agent Orange] was the least of our worries, we would be hit with mortars and 122 mm rockets," he said.
In 1981, Dillon was diagnosed with and treated for testicular cancer, but he didn't link his disease with exposure to Agent Orange.
READ MORE: http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2013/05/veterans_exposed_to_agent_oran.html

Protesters march against GMOs

http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20130525/NEWS01/305250008/Protesters-march-against-GMOs?nclick_check=1

CEDAR CITY — The downtown area of Main Street reverberated with shouts of “No, no GMOs” Saturday afternoon when approximately 100 people hoisted signs and marched in protest of Monsanto, a company being accused of attempting to control food supply through its creation and use of genetically modified organisms.
The Associated Press reported that organizers said “March Against Monsanto” protests were held in 52 countries and 436 cities around the world Saturday, including two in Southern Utah.
Along with the march in Cedar City, one was held in Washington City, with 60 people taking part.
Carin Miller, one of the organizers of the Cedar City event, said the protest was directed at Monsanto because it produces the majority of genetically modified organisms in the United States food supply.
READ MORE: http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20130525/NEWS01/305250008/Protesters-march-against-GMOs?nclick_check=1 

From Agent Orange to Pesticides and Genetically Engineered Crops. Why Not to Trust Monsanto

http://www.globalresearch.ca/from-agent-orange-to-pesticides-and-genetically-engineered-crops-why-not-to-trust-monsanto/5336444
he Monsanto Corporation is among the largest pesticide and biotechnical corporations in the world today.
Their products are used in most sectors of agriculture, public land upkeep, landscaping/gardening and can be found in most markets across the United States. Monsanto is a multi-billion dollar company with a diverse product base and is among the largest producers of genetically engineered crops.
As a company, Monsanto promises to be the creator of new, safer, pesticides as well as stronger bio-engineered crops. Unfortunately, the reality of what Monsanto will deliver to the world is likely very different from what they promise, or what we, as a society, desire.

Monsanto has produced many products, from new types of pesticide to genetically engineered crops, and has been the center of several severe controversies. In numerous cases, the Monsanto Corporation produced and marketed products which they knew to be potentially toxic, yet they still sold them in order to reap a profit. While not illegal, largely due to Monsanto’s massive lobbying efforts aimed at reducing safety standards (Monsanto Spent $6.3 million dollars in lobbying during the 2011 fiscal year alone – Follow this link for more information on Monsanto’s lobbying), the sale of toxic chemicals for a corporate profit is both highly immoral and very relevant to those in society who wish to assess the use of Monsanto products. Put plainly: Monsanto’s history of selling poison, labeled as a useful product, casts doubt on whether any product that they sell should be trusted.
During its early years, Monsanto produced PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyl) to be used in various industrial applications. PCBs, while very stable and good at acting as a liquid insulator, are extremely toxic to virtually all forms of life – they are carcinogenic, highly toxic, and corrosive upon contact with skin or mucus membranes. Even as evidence mounted of the toxicity of PCBs, Monsanto continued to produce them until they were forced to stop when the government banned all domestic production of PCBs in 1977.
The Monsanto Corporation has a long and sometimes unfortunate history of creating new and powerful pesticides. The infamous “Agent Orange”, used in Vietnam to destroy jungles, and the powerful pesticide DDT were two of the primary pesticides produced by Monsanto during its early years. While Agent Orange and DDT are now outlawed due to the massive damage they cause human life as well as the environment, Monsanto continued producing them for as long as the law allowed. The gigantic costs to human health and to the environment caused by the sale of Monsanto pesticides, even once they were deemed too dangerous to use, resulted in many ruined lives and destroyed ecosystems for society, but huge profits for Monsanto.
READ MORE: http://www.globalresearch.ca/from-agent-orange-to-pesticides-and-genetically-engineered-crops-why-not-to-trust-monsanto/5336444

Memorial Day 2013

Remember Traditional Memorial Day, May 30

Mother's Day for Babies

WILL YOU HELP?

BDRC has been helping mothers since 1982 and we turn to you to help fund-raise on the behalf of mothers, fathers, and their children. What better way to celebrate Mother's Day by showing mothers how appreciated they are through supporting Birth Defect Research for Children(BDRC) Mother's Day for Babies Campaign.
For the month of May we want to celebrate Mother's Day in unity. Mothers are the supporting foundation of affection and nurture in a child's life. When a child is scared and lonely they have their parents to turn to, when a mother is scared or lonely they have us to turn to. 
Listed below in the photo section is our Mother's Day for Babies campaign. It consists of a short story of a veterans' life, an Orlando Sentinel article, and fundraising ideas from. Most importantly we want you to enjoy this campaign by sharing it with the ones you love and have fun while hosting these events.
Thank you in advance and if you decide to join our campaign please contact Nina at Nina@birthdefects.org

Agent Orange ingredient in proposed new GMO crops prompts USDA halt on Monsanto, Dow

http://www.huliq.com/10178/agent-orange-ingredient-proposed-new-gmo-crops-prompts-usda-halt-monsanto-dow

Had the feds approved Monsanto's and Dow Chemical's new genetically modified crops, the Center for Food Safety said it would file suit. The Center for Food Safety has won several lawsuits against the government. USDA is supposed to issue an EIS (environmental impact statement) in the event a government regulation, like approving a new GMO crop, may potentially affect man's natural environment.
Dow Chemical wanted to push forth its new herbicide Enlist crops: cotton, soy, and corn.
Enlist, the herbicide resistant crops proposed by Dow, (soybean, cotton and corn crops) contain a substance ( 2,4-D, or 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) found in the herbicide Agent Orange. Agent Orange is cited as a cause for a neurological and other ailments suffered by those who came in contact with it during and after the Vietnam War.
GMO crops are specialties with Monsanto, Dow and farmers because GMO foods are resistant to herbicides. "Botox apples", biotech Granny Smith apples from Canada are seeking approval for sale in the U.S.
READ MORE: http://www.huliq.com/10178/agent-orange-ingredient-proposed-new-gmo-crops-prompts-usda-halt-monsanto-dow

Monsanto Wins Seed Case as High Court Backs Patent Rights

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-13/monsanto-wins-seed-case-as-u-s-high-court-backs-patent-rights.html
The U.S. Supreme Court bolstered Monsanto Co. (MON)’s ability to control the use of its genetically modified seeds, ruling that companies can block efforts to circumvent patents on self-replicating technologies.
The justices unanimously upheld an $84,456 award Monsanto won in a lawsuit against Vernon Hugh Bowman, an Indiana farmer. Rather than buying herbicide-resistant soybean seeds from a Monsanto-authorized dealer, Bowman used harvested soybeans containing the technology to plant his crops.

The case centered on a technology that has helped make Monsanto Co. the world’s largest seed company, with $14.7 billion in annual revenue, as well as a prime target for opponents of genetically modified food. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

“Bowman planted Monsanto’s patented soybeans solely to make and market replicas of them, thus depriving the company of the reward patent law provides for the sale of each article,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the court. Kagan rejected Bowman’s contention that he wasn’t legally responsible for making those replicas, dismissing what she called his “blame-the-bean defense.”

READ MORE: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-13/monsanto-wins-seed-case-as-u-s-high-court-backs-patent-rights.html

Agent Orange tied to aggressive prostate cancer risk

http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/sns-rt-us-agent-orange-cancerbre94c03u-20130512,0,795598.story
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men who were exposed to Agent Orange chemicals used during the Vietnam War are at higher risk for life-threatening prostate cancer than unexposed veterans, researchers have found.

What's more, those who served where the herbicide was used were diagnosed with cancer about five years earlier than other men, on average, in the new study.
"This is a very, very strong predictor of lethal cancer," said urologist Dr. Mark Garzotto, who worked on the study at the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Oregon.
"If you're a person who's otherwise healthy and you've been exposed to Agent Orange, that has important implications for whether you should be screened or not screened," he told Reuters Health.
But one researcher not involved in the new study said it's hard to take much away from it, given the imprecise way it measured exposure.
Agent Orange - named after the giant orange drums in which the chemicals were stored - was used by the U.S. military to destroy foliage, mainly in southern Vietnam. The herbicide was often contaminated with a type of dioxin, a potently carcinogenic chemical.
READ MORE: http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/sns-rt-us-agent-orange-cancerbre94c03u-20130512,0,795598.story

USDA says more review needed for new Monsanto, Dow GMO crops

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/10/usa-gmo-idUSL2N0DR3F520130510

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said
Friday it will extend its scrutiny of controversial proposed
biotech crops developed by Dow AgroSciences, a unit of
Dow Chemical, and Monsanto Co. after receiving an
onslaught of opposition to the companies' plans.
The news frustrated Dow officials who had hoped to have
secured regulatory approval and have their new
herbicide-tolerant corn called "Enlist" on the market by 2013 or
2014 at the latest. But 2015 is now likely the best hope for
commercialization, said Dow AgroSciences spokeswoman Kenda
Resler Friend. Farmers need the new technology to better manage
weeds, she said.
"They (regulators) have had a long time to look at the
information," said Friend. "This is something that farmers are
going to lose from."


USDA said it will conduct two separate environmental impact
statements "to better inform decision-making" on the approvals
sought by Dow and Monsanto.

READ MORE: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/10/usa-gmo-idUSL2N0DR3F520130510

Toxicity found in breast milk of mothers in dioxin-affected areas

http://vietnamnews.vn/society/239127/toxicity-found-in-breast-milk-of-mothers-in-dioxin-affected-areas.html
DONG NAI (VNS)– During the war in Viet Nam, US troops stored more than 98,000 buckets of Agent Orange at Bien Hoa airbase in the southern province of Dong Nai. After they overflowed several times, the contamination level far exceeded what regulations permitted.
Today, the breast milk of women in Bien Hoa City still contains more toxic dioxin than that of women in other areas.
In so-called dioxin "hot spots" – Da Nang, Phu Cat District in the central province of Binh Dinh –toxicity levels are even higher.
These troubling findings emerged as part of a study on dioxin's effect on newborns conducted by Kanazawa Medical University and the Dong Nai Department of Health. During the study, doctors took more than 200 blood and umbilical cord samples from babies born near the Bien Hoa airbase. They also drew breast milk samples and checked the development of the infants' nervous systems.
According to the researchers, newborns' heads in Bien Hoa City were bigger than in Da Nang; the babies who were born prematurely gained weight slowly.
READ MORE: http://vietnamnews.vn/society/239127/toxicity-found-in-breast-milk-of-mothers-in-dioxin-affected-areas.html

Superfund issues stick around

http://mtstandard.com/news/opinion/columnists/superfund-issues-stick-around/article_96d69f5a-b6ee-11e2-b5ba-0019bb2963f4.html
Butte is ill-served by the EPA's and Montana Department of Environmental Quality's (DEQ) Superfund cleanup. Apart from these agencies allowing potentially harmful tailings dust to blow around town, serious Superfund problems still plague Butte.
MONTANA POLE PLANT
Because surface water, groundwater, soils and sediments at the Pole Plant are contaminated with highly toxic dioxins, the Pole Plant is one of the most dangerous of Butte Superfund sites. Sadly, the Pole Plant cleanup isn't working.
Dioxin poses a serious human health threat. There are no safe levels of exposure to dioxin. (EPA) Dioxin has been referred to as the "most toxic chemical known." (Hazardous Waste in America, Epstein, et. al.) Lethal effects of dioxin can be seen at very low exposure levels-a millionth of a gram can kill lab animals. Dioxin causes serious cancerous and non-cancerous health effects. (World Health Organization) The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences states that the "dangers of dioxin last for decades after initial exposure."
READ MORE: http://mtstandard.com/news/opinion/columnists/superfund-issues-stick-around/article_96d69f5a-b6ee-11e2-b5ba-0019bb2963f4.html

Agent Orange Resources

Faces of Agent Orange Stories

http://www.vva.org/Committees/AgentOrange/index.html#FAO

 

Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Faces-of-Agent-Orange/187669911280144

 

Twitter

http://twitter.com/FacesOfAO

YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/user/facesofagentorange

  

Our latest video: What do you know about Agent Orange?

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV2OybAd3IY&feature=channel_video_title

 Agent Orange Zone BlogSpot

http://agentorangezone.blogspot.com/

 

Vietnam: The Secret Agent: Award Winning Documentary about Agent Orange

http://vietnamthesecretagent.com/index.php?ref=vd11

VVA Self-Help Guide to Service-Connected Disability Compensation for Exposure to

Agent Orange for Veterans and their Families

http://www.vva.org/Guides/AgentOrangeGuide.pdf

 

Mother's Day for Babies Campaign

https://www.facebook.com/notes/birth-defect-research-for-children-inc/mothers-day-for-babies-campaign/10152787423590650

BDRC has been helping mothers since 1982 and we turn to you to help fund-raise on the behalf of mothers, fathers, and their children. What better way to celebrate Mother's Day than by showing mothers how appreciated they are through supporting Birth Defect Research for Children(BDRC) Mother's Day for Babies Campaign.

For the month of May we want to celebrate Mother's Day in unity. Mothers are the supporting foundation in affection and nurture in a child's life. When a child is scared and lonely they have their parents to turn to, when a mother is scared or lonely they have us to turn to.                 
To make a one time donation please go here: https://www.givedirect.org/give/givefrm.asp?CID=510

NOTICE

Agent Orange Zone will be down for maintenance for a few days.

WATCH FOR AGENT ORANGE EXPOSURE SYMPTOMS

http://eastcountymagazine.org/node/13150
By Carolyn Ballou, California Department of Veterans Affairs
May 2, 2013 (Sacramento)--U.S. Air Force veteran George Chappell was a fuels specialist in Vietnam. He worked on all kinds of aircraft, including those used to dump the toxic herbicide Agent Orange over the jungles to expose enemy hiding places. At age 60, George was diagnosed with Stage 4 mantel cell lymphoma. He died just 18 months later. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) presumed that George’s disease was the result of his Agent Orange exposure 40 years earlier.
The USDVA presumes that 14 different diseases and disorders are related to Agent Orange exposure when diagnosed in “boots-on-the-ground” veterans and certain other veterans groups. Certain birth defects in the children of Vietnam veterans may also be the result of Agent Orange exposure.

Early diagnosis and treatment are a veteran’s best hope for cure or successful management of an Agent Orange-related disease. Following is a list of the diseases and disorders presumed by the USDVA to be related to Agent Orange exposure and the symptoms associated with these diseases:

READ THE LIST OF DISEASES HERE: http://eastcountymagazine.org/node/13150
For more information about veteran health, including military exposures, diseases and conditions, treatments, wellness and more, go to www.publichealth.va.gov/index.asp.

Six veterans plead guilty to Agent Orange benefits fraud

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-military-vet-fraud-20130502,0,3906947.story 

Six military veterans from Maryland pleaded guilty to fraud charges this week in a scheme to obtain federal military benefits and state tax breaks with faked documentation claiming they were exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, according to the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office.
The veterans allegedly paid thousands of dollars in cash to David Clark, the former deputy chief of veterans claims in the state Department of Veterans Affairs Office, in exchange for $1.4 million in fraudulent benefits and tax breaks, prosecutors said.
The veterans, some of whom never even served in Vietnam, are from multiple branches of the military, the indictment says.

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-military-vet-fraud-20130502,0,3906947.story#ixzz2SAo0Bsgj

Camp LeJeune Update

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune/hadnotpoint.html

Hadnot Point-Holcomb Boulevard Reports

During 2007–2009, ATSDR published historical reconstruction results for Tarawa Terrace and vicinity. Results for Hadnot Point, Holcomb Boulevard, and vicinity—based on information gathering, data interpretations, and water-modeling analyses—are now presented as another series of ATSDR reports supporting current health studies.

Supplements

• Supplement 1: Descriptions and Characterizations of Data Pertinent to Water-Supply Well Capacities, Histories, and Operations [PDF, 2.06 MB]
• Supplement 2: Development and Application of a Methodology to Characterize Present-Day and Historical Water-Supply Well Operations [PDF, 20.13 MB]
• Supplement 3: Descriptions and Characterizations of Water-Level Data and Groundwater Flow for the Brewster Boulevard and Castle Hayne Aquifer Systems and the Tarawa Terrace Aquifer [PDF, 4.85 MB]
• Supplement 4: Simulation of Three-Dimensional Groundwater Flow [PDF, 9.31 MB]
• Supplement 5: Theory, Development, and Application of Linear Control Model Methodology to Reconstruct Historical Contaminant Concentrations at Selected Water-Supply Wells [PDF, 5.39 MB]
• Supplement 6: Source Characterization and Simulation of Fate and Transport of Selected Volatile Organic Compounds in the Vicinities of the Hadnot Point Industrial Area and Landfill
• Supplement 7: Source Characterization and Simulation of the Migration of Light Nonaqueous Phase Liquids (LNAPLs) in the Vicinity of the Hadnot Point Industrial Area [PDF, 4.01 MB]
• Supplement 8: Field Tests, Data Analyses, and Simulation of the Distribution of Drinking Water with Emphasis on Intermittent Transfers of Drinking Water Between the Hadnot Point and Holcomb Boulevard Water-Distribution System.
•  
• READ MORE: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune/hadnotpoint.html#Chapter_A

VICTORY!

SB 380  Maryland Senate Bill Department of Health and Mental Hygiene - Workgroup on Cancer Clusters and Environmental Causes of Cancer

http://openstates.org/md/bills/2013/SB380/

UNPRECEDENTED LEGISLATIVE VICTORY FOR CANCER VICTIMS ACROSS MARYLAND

 

Annapolis, Md. (Wednesday, May 1, 2013) - Landmark victory for Frederick residents and a pastor and father of three as Maryland's Governor prepares to sign a cancer bill into law this week:

 

WHAT:       Governor Martin O'Malley will sign Cancer Cluster bill SB380E into law.

WHEN:      Thursday, May 2, 2013 at 10:30 a.m.

                 Press Conference immediately following bill signing (Joint press conference - Senator   C. Anthony Muse and Kristen Renee Foundation and Founder Randy A. White) on the House Steps.

 

WHERE:     Governor's Office

                 Maryland State House

                 100 State Circle

                 Annapolis, MD 21401

                 (410) 974-3901

 

Parking: Hillman Garage, 150 Gorman St., Annapolis, MD 21401 (Between Main St. and Duke of Gloucester). Ask for State House. 

Senate Bill 380 - Requires the department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Department of the Environment to head a workgroup including legislators and representatives, and requires the DHMH to report to the Governor and Assembly their findings by specific deadlines.

The Kristen Renee foundation and its leader Randy White, pioneered a cancer cluster investigation in neighborhoods filled with cancer cases that are believed to be linked to the Fort Detrick military base and its toxic waste site known as Area B.

Since early 2010, Pastor White began tracing his daughter Kristen's brain cancer and death in 2008 (five years ago this week) to what doctors claimed to be environmental causation.

When his children's mother was diagnosed in 2010 with Stage 4 renal cell carcinoma, and the family's former neighbors from Area B began contacting White's foundation, the group knew they were in uncharted territory. As the numbers of families reporting cancer to the Kristen Renee Foundation escalated into the hundreds, White started reaching out to senators and congressmen in a plea for legislative support.

Senator C. Anthony Muse (D) Maryland responded to that plea, soon becoming a tremendous ally and friend to the Frederick community by helping the Foundation draft the cancer bill, SB380, now set to be signed into law by Governor O'Malley on Thursday, May 2nd in Annapolis.

In a cohesive effort between Senator Muse, Randy White's Kristen Renee Foundation, Frederick county residents and Representative Ron Young, we have come through major disputes and adversity, resulting in unprecedented victory, proving to residents in Maryland that we truly care for their health and well-being.

Kristen Renee Foundation
www.kristenrenee.org
www.fightingforfrederick.org

MORE: http://openstates.org/md/bills/2013/SB380/

VA Blue Water Claims Update 22; from the RAO Bulletin 1 May 2013

During the Vietnam War, more than 20 million gallons of the herbicide Agent Orange was sprayed to remove jungle foliage. A toxic chemical in the herbicide, dioxin, was been linked to devastating health effects, including non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, prostate and other cancers, Type II Diabetes, and Parkinsons disease. In 1991, legislation was enacted that empowered the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to declare certain illnesses presumptive to exposure to Agent Orange and enabled Vietnam veterans to receive disability compensation for these related conditions. However, in 2002, the VA limited the scope of the Act to only those veterans who could provide orders for boots on the ground in Vietnam. Boots on the ground encompassed infantry and the inland waterways and harbors. As a result, veterans who served in the waters off the coast of Vietnam, commonly called blue water veterans, were forced to file individual claims with the VA to restore their benefits, which are then decided on a case-by-case basis. The VA has denied more than 32,880 over the past years. A May 2011 report issued by the Institute of Medicine concluded that plausible routes of exposure to Agent Orange exist for blue water veterans. However, legislation was needed to allow VA to extend Presumptive coverage to these veterans. Presumption would lift the burden from the individual veteran to prove direct exposure to Agent Orange - a nearly impossible task due to a lack of record keeping and the inability to know the precise location of dioxins in the air and groundwater runoff . It would also reduce backlogged VA claims by automatically covering claims for disability compensation from these veterans who are suffering from diseases that the U.S. government has linked to Agent Orange. Rep. Chris Gibson (R-NY) has introduced the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act (H.R.543) to extend coverage and associated benefits with Agent Orange exposure to this additional group of Vietnam Veterans. The National Association of Uniformed Service (NAUS) has endorsed this legislation and is encouraging the military community to ask their legislators to also support it.

They have provided an editable preformatted message at http://capwiz.com/naus/home/ for you to use to send to your legislators with the click of a button. [Source: NAUS Weekly Update 26 Apr 2013 ++]

Huge volume of dioxin-contaminated soil not buried

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/environment/72501/huge-volume-of-dioxin-contaminated-soil-not-buried.html
VietNamNet Bridge – There are still 240,000 cubic meters of soil and sludge contaminated with dioxin in Dong Nai Province’s Bien Hoa Airport area not buried, posing high risks to people’s health and the environment, said an environment official.
Speaking at a recent seminar on agent orange and dioxin held in Hanoi, Le Ke Son, deputy director of the Vietnam Environment Administration, said that consequences were very serious, but remedial measures have yet to be studied carefully.
Even the number of people inflicted by dioxin in Vietnam has not been established, Son said.
According to previously announced statistics, Vietnam has an estimated 4.8 million people with dioxin contamination.
Between 1961 and 1971, with the defoliation campaign Ranch Hand, the U.S. army sprayed over 800 million liters of herbicides in southern Vietnam. After over 40 years, the dioxin concentration in some areas has declined, but the consequences are still grave.
Vietnam has three dioxin hotspots, which are Phu Cat, Danang and Bien Hoa airbases. With supports from the U.S. government and the United Nations Development Program, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is working hard on removing dioxin at Danang and Bien Hoa airbases.
READ MORE: http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/environment/72501/huge-volume-of-dioxin-contaminated-soil-not-buried.html

Monsanto Agent Orange Vietnam

http://www.runningthecountry.com/monsanto-agent-orange-vietnam/#.UYEp7Mph4o4
Recently I watched a short movie called Agent Orange – Vietnam about the Vietnam War and something that destroyed many peoples lives. Even now, three generations later, birth defects, and other diseases are much more common. The leading cause of all of these terrible new deformities is something that Monsanto, Dow Chemicals, Uniroyal, Hercules, Diamond Shamrock, Thomson Chemical and TH Agriculture all made their own version of something called Agent Orange. Agent orange was composed of a few toxic herbicides, but Monsanto said that Agent Orange was safe for humans. Monsanto also said DDT and PCBs were safe, and now they are saying genetically modified foods are safe. Do you believe them?