The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is expanding its efforts to
determine how Vietnam veterans and their children have been affected by
exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange.
The VA will conduct its
first nationwide survey of Vietnam veterans in more than three decades
and request an outside panel of experts to continue its work studying
the health effects of Agent Orange on veterans, their children and their
grandchildren. Both initiatives were discussed Thursday in Washington
at a forum hosted by ProPublica and The Virginian-Pilot on the possible multigenerational impacts of Agent Orange.
Vietnam
veterans have argued for years that their exposure to the toxic
herbicide has damaged their health as well as their children’s. From
1962 to 1971, some 2.6 million U.S. service members were potentially
exposed to Agent Orange, which contained a dangerous strand of the
chemical dioxin. While the VA has linked Agent Orange exposure to a host
of diseases in Vietnam vets, experts and veterans advocates have
criticized the lack of research into the effects on future generations.
“I
believe that these individuals deserve an answer,” Linda Spoonster
Schwartz, the VA’s assistant secretary for policy and planning, said in
response to a question about the lack of research. “I believe that we
need to at least ask the question. … This is the right thing to do.”
ProPublica
and The Pilot have been examining the effects of Agent Orange for the
past year and have heard from more than 5,500 veterans and their
families.
Thursday’s forum – titled “A Toxic Legacy: Has Agent Orange Hurt the
Children of Vietnam Vets?” – featured veterans advocates, researchers
and policymakers. It also provided a rare opportunity for frustrated
veterans to vent directly to high-ranking VA officials.
Veterans came from as far away as Mississippi and Pennsylvania to share their stories. Pilot photographer Stephen Katz told of his own health problems, which he believes may be linked to his father’s exposure to Agent Orange.
In
one emotional exchange, Reginald Russell Sr., an Army veteran from
Suffolk, rose from the audience and accused the VA of ignoring anecdotal
evidence that Agent Orange had harmed children of vets.
Russell’s
first son, born shortly after he returned from Vietnam in 1971, died
inexplicably at 9 months old. His youngest son, born a few years later
with a heart defect, died in 2012 at 32.
Russell held up a photo of a grave marker: “That’s my child,” he said, choking up.
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