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A Da Nang resident catches fish and picks lotus stems from a lake which is known to have high concentrations of dioxin from Agent Orange
Photo: Tuoi Tre http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/Nature/Environment/2012/5/101097/
Experts from Vietnam and the US met at a seminar in Hanoi on May 8 to discuss the use of ‘In-Pile Thermal Desorption’ (IPTD) technology to clean up Agent Orange or Dioxin contamination from the Da Nang Airport area.
As part of a joint project between the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Vietnam Ministry of Defence, the ‘In-Pile Thermal Desorption’ technology will clear the Da Nang Airport area of dioxin contamination, said one US expert.
IPTD is an advanced technology treatment method that has been used successfully in the US, EU countries and in Asia to clean up dangerous waste pollutants to make the environment safe for millions of people and future generations.
READ MORE: http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/Nature/Environment/2012/5/101097/
from Paul E. Travis, Johnston Island Veteran
Interesting CDC Publication on TCDD (bad stuff in AO) my Lawyer found reference from 1984. It proves that TCDD can travel on dirt or dust and expose. Can help all in AO claims with VA. I had probably seen before, but had forgot about it when I was filing my VA claims.
"Nature of Occupational Exposure to TCDD"
It is not possible to estimate accurately the number of U.S. workers currently at risk of exposure to TCDD. Occupational exposure to TCDD may occur during production of TCP; in decontamination of worksites from prior production or use of TCP, 2,4,5-T, or silvex; from waste materials (such as reclaimed oil) contaminated with TCDD; or from cleanup after fires in transformers containing polychlorinated aromatics.
Dust or soil particles contaminated with TCDD can remain airborne or accumulate on indoor or outdoor work surfaces and may present a potential exposure hazard. Exposure to TCDD as a vapor will normally be negligible because of its low vapor pressure. Contact with TCDD-contaminated liquids is possible through the handling of drums or tanks containing the liquid or through dispersion of the liquid. "
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/84-104/
Foreword
Current Intelligence Bulletins are reports issued by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia, for the purpose of disseminating new scientific information about occupational hazards. A Current Intelligence Bulletin may draw attention to a hazard previously unrecognized or may report new data suggesting that a known hazard is either more or less dangerous than was previously thought.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v-dzWQOEAU&feature=youtu.be
Alan B. Oates gives an audience of veterans and veteran supporters in Silver Spring, Maryland, a look at where the legacy of Agent Orange stands today and what it may still bring to future generations that will be affected by it.
Mr. Oates is Chair of the VVA Agent Orange/Dioxin and Other Toxic Exposure Committee as well as Director of Research, Special Projects and Legislative Affairs for U.S. Military Veterans with Parkinson's (USMVP).
http://heraldnet.com/article/20120506/NEWS01/705069960/1043/COMM0605
EVERETT WASHINGTON-- For decades, the Kimberly-Clark plant provided countless jobs in Snohomish County and paper products to millions of people.
Now that it's closed, the plant is leaving behind another, not-so-positive legacy.
Dioxins -- toxic substances thought to cause cancer in humans -- have been found in the waterway next to the plant at a level 15 times higher than what the state considers safe. The dioxins in sediment under the water are a result of the bleaching process in making paper.
On land, some petroleum contamination has been found at the 66-acre plant site and under what is now a parking lot south of the plant. Oil companies used parts of the current plant site and the parking lot for petroleum storage and distribution during much of the 20th century.
Click here for a look at what's on the site now, and what's next.
http://www.examiner.com/article/gmo-is-getting-even-more-dangerous
Did you know that Dow wants to start selling a corn variety bred to be resistant to a pesticide that contains an Agent Orange chemical? In case you’re too young to remember the Viet Nam War, Agent Orange was sprayed widely over that country to kill its rainforests, to make its soldiers easier to target. Besides inflicting unthinkable environmental damage, Agent Orange harmed many Vietnamese and Americans.
The chemical (2,4-D) has been implicated in cancer, Parkinson’s disease, liver disease, reduced sperm counts, endocrine (hormone) disruption, and damage to nerves and the immune system.
MORE: http://www.examiner.com/article/gmo-is-getting-even-more-dangerous
http://earthfix.opb.org/land/article/agent-orange-dump-site-is-oregon-deserts-toxic-leg/
One of the most toxic dumps in Oregon remains in legal limbo.
A deal cut by the state with the company that owns the site has now been dropped. And the Department of Environmental Quality has no plans – or money – to clean it up.
About 60 miles north of Lakeview a barbed wire fence surrounds a patch of desert. Warning signs tell people to stay away.
Boyd Levet remembers watching in 1976 as the dump was created.
“It was probably just acres but it seemed like miles and miles of barrels just lined up in rows. It was a sight you would not expect to see in a place as beautiful as Oregon,” says Levet, who was a reporter back then for KOIN-TV.
25,513 barrels containing more than 1 million gallons of pesticide had been stacked next to Alkali Lake. They promptly started leaking.
Levet’s old news film shows the state of Oregon sent in bulldozers. They didn’t just bury the drums. They crushed them, allowing more toxins to pour out.
READ MORE: http://earthfix.opb.org/land/article/agent-orange-dump-site-is-oregon-deserts-toxic-leg/
http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2012/05/01/dow%E2%80%99s-marketing-message-missing-its-mark
If recent reports are any indication of how green marketing initiatives may be having a hard time finding their mark, it seems Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) has some lessons to learn in convincing consumers it is on a sustainable path.
The Midland, Mich.-based company was recently in the line of fire as its new herbicide and genetically modified corn project, Enlist, moves closer toward regulatory appeal.
If approved, the company will roll out the new corn seeds, alongside its 2,4-D herbicide next year. The new corn will be immune to the chemical compound, which contains 2,4-D and glyphosate. The combination will be able to kill the surrounding weeds that have become resistant to the glyphosate alone, without harming the corn itself.
READ MORE: http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2012/05/01/dow%E2%80%99s-marketing-message-missing-its-mark
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/30/MN1O1O5SS0.DTL
Washington -- Biotechnology's promise to feed the world did not anticipate "Trojan corn," "super weeds" and the disappearance of monarch butterflies.
But in the Midwest and South - blanketed by more than 170 million acres of genetically engineered corn, soybeans and cotton - an experiment begun in 1996 with approval of the first commercial genetically modified organisms is producing questionable results.
Those results include vast increases in herbicide use that have created impervious weeds now infesting millions of acres of cropland, while decimating other plants, such as milkweeds that sustain the monarch butterflies. Food manufacturers are worried that a new corn made for ethanol could damage an array of packaged food on supermarket shelves.
Some farm groups have joined environmentalists in an attempt to slow down approvals of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, as a newly engineered corn, resistant to another potent herbicide, stands on the brink of approval.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/29/MN1O1O5SS0.DTL#ixzz1tjCImgbd
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/05/02/ED1C1OB9J3.DTL
Modified crops are frightening
Nothing scared me more than the article about genetically modified crops ("Modified-crops battle picks up as doubts grow," April 30) manufactured by the same companies that make Roundup; 2,4-D; and dicamba to kill weeds ("potentially damaging all broadleaf plants in their path"), resulting in the development of hardier/drug resistant weeds; the possible contamination of organisms that are not genetically modified ("turn corn chips and cereals into mush"), vapor and rainwater runoffs; the killing of milkweeds where monarch butterflies lay their eggs; and possible long-term health and environmental effects.
The development of drug-resistant bacteria, viruses and other pathogens have been caused by the overuse of antibiotics. The use of modified crops and weed killers poses an even bigger threat to all living beings and Earth itself, all in the name of monetary gain.
Please vote in November to thwart the Obama administration's clearance of a new genetically modified corn that could flood the nation's cornfields with 2,4-D, a 1940s-era herbicide.
Charlotte Ferrey, Berkeley
We were warned
In the article on genetically modified crops, I'm concerned about a statement attributed to an Iowa State University scientist.
Ecologist John Pleasants reportedly said that the catastrophic decline in the monarch butterfly population was something "no one foresaw."
Not true. The potential for damage to the monarch population was predicted, as was the forced selection of Roundup-resistant weeds, when Monsanto first discussed its plans for Roundup.
The only effect not anticipated many years ago was how quickly this would occur.
Kenneth Koutz, Guerneville
Leggo my nachos
I don't want another complication added to my life every time I purchase nachos. Down with genetically engineered corn.
Hemant Agrawal, Santa Clara
http://www.rttnews.com/1870959/corn-modified-to-deter-agent-orange-nears-http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifusda-approval.aspx?type=cdt&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=sitemap
(RTTNews) - On the heels of Dow AgroSciences' development of genetically engineered corn, teams of farmers, scientists and consumer groups scheduled a news conference Thursday calling on Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to end Dow's regulatory application for a multi-crop project called "Enlist." These groups believe the project will cause damage to the environment and human health. Dow's new strain of corn is said to be resistant to the herbicide 2,4-D, the New York Times reported, and was submitted for U.S. regulatory approval.
The herbicide 2,4-D is also one of the active ingredients in Agent Orange, the widely known militarized defoliant cocktail that was used in Vietnamese jungles during the Vietnam War. Causing deformation in people and widespread cancers, Agent Orange impacted all those who were exposed to it.
"Most experts agree that the harm from Agent Orange was caused primarily by its other ingredient, 2,4,5-T, which was taken off the market long ago. By contrast, 2,4-D, first approved in the late 1940s, is considered safe enough for use in many home lawn care products," according to the NY Times.
The critics of Dow's new Enlist corn said opponents have sent over 350,000 letters, emails and other public comments discouraging the new strain of corn.
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com
This undated photo shows five members of the 74th Aeromedical Evacaution Squadron standing in front of one of the C-123 Providers at Westover Air Reserve Base in the early 1980s. All were medical technicians at the time. From left are: Debbie Asamoah, Maj. Gail Mas Harrington of Shrewsbury; Susan Linenkemper of Lancaster; Cindy Lapa; and Marlene Wilson.
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/04/study_questions_if_agent_orang.html
An Air Force study determined Westover Air Reserve crews were unlikely to have fallen ill from being exposed to Agent Orange while flying planes formerly used in the Vietnam War.
At the same time, the study said there is not enough data to made a definite determination if mechanics, pilots, medical crews and others were exposed to a high enough level of the dangerous chemical in the 10 years they flew the C-123 Providers.
The Air Force report, released Monday, was sparked by congressional inquiries and lobbying from crew members who served at Westover in Chicopee and flew the planes from 1972 to 1982.
“At this time we conclude that the discernible information suggests the potential Agent Orange exposures¦...¦were unlikely to have exceeded acceptable regulatory http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifstandards or have predisposed persons¦...¦to experience future adverse outcomes,” the report said.
But it said the tests were too few, too limited and too late — most were not taken until 12 years or more after the planes were flown at Westover.
The first known air samples were taken in 1979, but they did not test for dioxin, the hazardous chemical in Agent Orange. Surface samples taken in 1994 on one former Westover plane came back saying the plane was “highly contaminated.” In 1996, samples taken on 17 planes tested positive for dioxin.
READ MORE: http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/04/study_questions_if_agent_orang.html
