Makers of Agent Orange followed formula dictated by U.S. government

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/22/3514456/makers-of-agent-orange-followed.html#storylink=cpy
DA NANG, Vietnam -- James R. Clary was a young Air Force officer and scientist who designed the spray tank for the C-123 cargo planes that dispensed Agent Orange and other herbicides during the Vietnam War.
Thirteen years after the conflict ended, with serious concerns being raised in Congress about the effects of defoliants on veterans’ health, Clary dropped a startling bombshell: Military scientists had known that herbicides shipped to Vietnam were contaminated with dioxin and had “the potential for damage” to human health.
“However, because the material was to be used on the ‘enemy,’ none of us were overly concerned,” Clary wrote to then-Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D. “We never considered a scenario in which our own personnel would become contaminated with the herbicide.”
Agent Orange was produced primarily by the Monsanto Corp. and Dow Chemical. Both companies say the defoliant was made according to strict military specifications. “The government specified the chemical composition of Agent Orange and when, where and how the material was to be used in the field, including application rates,” Monsanto says.
But a 1990 report compiled by Adm. Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr. for the Department of Veterans Affairs that recommended compensation for ailing veterans who’d been exposed to Agent Orange also detailed evidence that Dow Chemical knew as early as 1964 that dioxin was a “byproduct of the manufacturing process” and that the dangers of exposure were clear.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/22/3514456/makers-of-agent-orange-followed.html#storylink=cpy

READ MORE: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/22/3514456/makers-of-agent-orange-followed.html#storylink=cpy

Environment council to host public forum on dioxin

http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_23683504/environment-council-host-public-forum-dioxin
OROVILLE — The Butte Environmental Council will conduct a public forum July 31 at Oroville library on options for testing dioxin and taking action. Beginning at 6 p.m., community leaders, agency staffs, faith and health care communities and those in local and county governments may help craft an action plan.
A short clip will be shown about waste incineration and dioxin from the new documentary "Trashed," as well as another short video featuring Linda Birnbaum, director of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, talking about the health impacts of dioxin.
BEC staff will talk about options for testing and action, and community members may discuss their priorities and concerns.
The library is at 1825 Mitchell Ave.
For information, call 538-7641 or visit www.becnet.org/public-forums.

AGENT ORANGE: Alphabetized Ship List

http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/shiplist/list.asp#P
If your vessel is not included in the Mobile Riverine Force, ISF Division 93 or listed designations (see "Find Your Ship"), check the alphabetized list of ships below.
To search for your ship, look under the first letter of the formal ship name. For example, if your ship's name is USS Dennis J. Buckley, look under the letter "D" for Dennis.
Ships will be regularly added to the list based on information confirmed in official records of ship operations. Currently there are 285 ships on this list. Ship not on the list and you think it should be?
Questions about your eligibility for disability compensation? Contact your nearest VA benefits office.
Last updated: July 2013
READ MORE: http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/shiplist/list.asp#P

EPA plans river cleanup

http://www.ourmidland.com/news/epa-plans-river-cleanup/article_611e9f6d-d8ed-55f4-bc5a-49bade2e2875.html
More than $4.5 million in work would take place to cap or remove dioxins from the Tittabawassee River south of The Dow Chemical Co.’s Michigan Operations site under a proposal from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA will host a meeting Wednesday to gather input on the plan.
The EPA has recommended a number of actions for its second phase of a comprehensive cleanup of the river, which is polluted with dioxins and furans from historic practices at Dow. Segment 2 of the river is a 4-mile stretch starting just below the Dow’s plant. Going downriver, the EPA says there are distinct “Sediment Management Areas” and “Bank Management Areas” that need to be addressed.
READ MORE: http://www.ourmidland.com/news/epa-plans-river-cleanup/article_611e9f6d-d8ed-55f4-bc5a-49bade2e2875.html

Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans

H.R.543 Latest Title: Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2013.

A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify presumptions relating to the exposure of certain veterans who served in the vicinity of the Republic of Vietnam, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Rep Gibson, Christopher P. [NY-19] (introduced 2/6/2013)

Latest Major Action: 2/15/2013 Referred to House subcommittee. Status:

Referred to the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.

H.R.1494 : Blue Water Navy Ship Accountability Act.

To direct the Secretary of Defense to review the operation of certain ships during the Vietnam Era, and for other purposes.

Sponsor: Rep Gibson, Christopher P. [NY-19] (introduced 4/11/2013)

Committees: House Armed Services; House Veterans' Affairs

Latest Major Action: 4/11/2013 Referred to House committee. Status:

Referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Who Bought This Court?

from MONSANTO...The Supreme Court of Korea has eliminated previous monetary awards and instructed a lower court to reconsider its decision that Dow Chemical and the former Monsanto Company as chemical suppliers to the U.S. government in the 1960s are liable for claims by Korean Vietnam War veterans. The lower court decision was contrary to established legal principles and U.S. precedent involving claims by Vietnam veterans.

“Our employees have great respect for the Korean, U.S. and other allied soldiers sent to any war including those in service in the Vietnam War,” said David F. Snively, Monsanto Executive Vice President and General Counsel. “It is the role of the U.S. government and the Republic of Korea to resolve any issues arising from wartime activities and both nations have implemented measures to provide support for their veterans.”
Agent Orange was a military herbicide used from 1961 to 1971 to defoliate vegetation in the Vietnamese jungles and saved the lives of allied soldiers. Nine chemical companies manufactured Agent Orange for the U.S. government. The U.S government specified the chemical composition of Agent Orange and when, where and how the material was used in Vietnam. Agent Orange received its name because of the orange band around containers of the material.
READ MORE: http://www.monsanto.com/newsviews/Pages/korean-supreme-court-reverses-and-remands-agent-orange-judgment.aspx

US firms ordered to pay over Agent Orange

http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/us-firms-ordered-to-pay-over-agent-orange-1.1546356#.UeQHpm1cVAE

Seoul - South Korea's highest court on Friday upheld a ruling ordering two US Agent Orange makers to compensate 39 Vietnam War veterans, while sending another decision back to a lower court for review.

The Supreme Court recognised the correlation between the toxic defoliant and certain skin diseases, saying the 39 victims should receive a total of 466 million won ($415 000) from Dow Chemical and Monsanto.

The veterans had complained that Agent Orange was responsible for skin diseases such as “chemical acne”, which is caused by exposure to dioxin contained in Agent Orange, the court said.

Payment is now up to the US firms, but Dow Chemical said in a statement quoted by Yonhap news agency that it disagreed with the Supreme Court's decision, arguing that the verdict was not backed by clear evidence, citing US court rulings.

The South Korean court also sent back an appeals court verdict that the two firms should compensate thousands of other veterans who claimed to have similarly suffered from exposure to defoliants used during the Vietnam War.

READ MORE: http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/us-firms-ordered-to-pay-over-agent-orange-1.1546356#.UeQHpm1cVAE

Sunshine Coast council sprays dunes with 'Agent Orange' mix to control weeds

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sunshine-coast-council-sprays-dunes-with-8216agent-orange8217-mix-to-control-weeds/story-e6frg6n6-1226678653244
COMMUNITY safety fears have been raised after it was revealed a Sunshine Coast council mixed up its own chemical brew from an ingredient used in Agent Orange and sprayed it at popular beaches to kill sand dune weeds.
The council is under fire for using the herbicide 2,4-D _ one half of the toxic defoliant blend Agent Orange from the Vietnam War that is under review by federal authorities.
For the past three years, the council has been experimenting with an off-label "tank mix" of 2,4-D and another herbicide, metsulfuron methyl, to rid sand dunes of the invasive glory lily (gloriosa superba) weed.
Fears have been raised over the safety of the brew dubbed Gloricide as federal agencies undertake a review of 2,4-D over concerns it can harm the environment and humans.
The federal environment department has recommended a ban on all "high volatile" 2,4-D products which can vapourish and travel kilometres, landing on other plants and aquatic organisms.

Human trials and real-life environmental tests are also under way on the "low volatile" 2,4-D products, with results expected at the end of the year.
In the United States, there is a push to have 2,4-D banned
READ MORE: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sunshine-coast-council-sprays-dunes-with-8216agent-orange8217-mix-to-control-weeds/story-e6frg6n6-1226678653244

The You in Me

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201303/the-you-in-me

“According to traditional thinking, the placenta acts as a barrier between a mother and a child in the womb, preventing an exchange of cells between them.  But recent research has revealed that the placenta is more porous than previously believed, says Kirby Johnson, a biologist at Tufts University.  ‘Now we know a mother and her baby have to be linked.  Cell-based communication is essential for a healthy pregnancy.’

“Overall, the placenta allows for a lot of two-way traffic, with fetal cells stealing into Mom, and maternal cells slipping into Child.  (Even tumor cells can cross over, and there are a few well-documented cases of mothers giving cancer to fetuses.)  After cells cross over, some get rounded up and killed by the new host’s immune system.  Many, however, take root in the other body, burrowing into the heart, liver, kidneys, spleen, skin, pancreas, gallbladder, and intestines, among other places.  Most of these organs house tens to hundreds of interlopers per million normal cells, but the lungs can tolerate thousands of foreign cells per million.  Fetal cells do an especially good job of colonizing Mom’s body since they often have the power, much like stem cells, to turn into multiple types of tissue, depending on where they find themselves.

“At first, researchers assumed that microchimeric transplants would harm the recipient.  Most scientists who study microchimerism also study autoimmune diseases, which occur in women three times more often than in men.  Scientists have reasoned that perhaps a mother’s immune system, in trying to exterminate fetal cells inside her, inadvertently causes collateral damage to her own tissue.  Or perhaps the fetal cells, surrounded by foreign tissue, rebel and attack the mother.  Studies have indeed linked high levels of microchimeric cells to some forms of lupus, cirrhosis, and thyroid disease.  Twin studies have also found higher levels of microchimerism in females with multiple sclerosis….

“On a more general level, given all the two-way cellular traffic, ‘the dogma of every cell in our body being genetically identical has to be revised,’ (says Gerald Udolph, a biologist at the Institute of Medical Biology in Singapore).“

From anarticle, “The You in Me,” by Sam Kean, in Psychology Today, March/April2013, pp. 70-77

Veterans Sick From Agent Orange-Poisoned Planes Still Seek Justice

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/10/agent-orange-vietnam-veterans_n_3572598.html?view=print&comm_ref=false

C-123s sprayed Agent Orange on Viet Cong crops and cover during the war.

After a fleet of C-123 airplanes dropped more than 10 million gallons of Agent Orange to destroy enemy cover and crops during the Vietnam War, the military found post-war work for the planes in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

Retired Lt Col. Paul Bailey belonged to one of those reserve units. Today, he has terminal cancer and, like his sick former co-workers, he has been denied by the Department of Veterans Affairs for Agent Orange-related veterans benefits, despite expert opinions that he was likely exposed to the lingering toxic herbicide. "Magically, once the planes left Vietnam they were no longer contaminated," said Bailey, criticizing what he sees as irrational government policy. "It's frustrating."
Between 1972 and 1982, about 1,500 men and women served aboard 34 C-123s that were previously deployed in Operation Ranch Hand, a large-scale defoliation mission in Vietnam and other countries in Southeast Asia. The planes underwent no testing or decontamination between their decade of spraying and their new state-side assignments with the Air Force Reserve, according to retired Maj. Wes Carter, who himself served aboard C-123s and has been conducting research on their toxic history. Air Force Reserve veterans also recall no warnings about contamination, or equipment to protect them from any potential aftereffects. Presumably, their superiors were themselves unaware of any danger.
READ MORE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/10/agent-orange-vietnam-veterans_n_3572598.html?view=print&comm_ref=false

Two Marine Veterans Unite Decades Later to Win VA Appeals for Exposure to Agent Orange in Subic Bay, Philippines

http://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2013/07/09/559030/10039531/en/Two-Marine-Veterans-Unite-Decades-Later-to-Win-VA-Appeals-for-Exposure-to-Agent-Orange-in-Subic-Bay-Philippines.html

Daytona Beach, FL, July 9, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marines are known for getting the job done. What seems impossible to the rest of us is not so to a Marine--whose hallmark bravery, strength, and determination carry him on the battlefield to accomplish any mission. And when service to our country comes to an end, those traits which embody the Marine are not left behind. That grit in the face of all odds prepares the veteran for a different battle at home. For many disabled veterans whose claims for service-connected disabilities are denied by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the road to victory before the Board of Veterans' Appeals (BVA) is an uphill battle. This is the story of two Marine veterans, their exposure to Agent Orange, and the fight to obtain benefits which our government promised them long ago.
Agent Orange is the name given to a blend of highly toxic herbicides the U.S. military sprayed from 1962 to 1971 in Vietnam to remove foliage that provided enemy cover. Its name is derived from the orange identifying stripe used on the 55-gallon drums in which it was stored. The U.S. government has maintained that the only place where Agent Orange was ever stored was in Vietnam and in the factory of origin, which was located in Gulfport, Mississippi.
READ MORE: http://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2013/07/09/559030/10039531/en/Two-Marine-Veterans-Unite-Decades-Later-to-Win-VA-Appeals-for-Exposure-to-Agent-Orange-in-Subic-Bay-Philippines.html

Australian Independents Will Protect Sunshine Coast Residents From Agent Orange

http://www.mysunshinecoast.com.au/articles/article-display/australian-independents-will-protect-sunshine-coast-residents-from-agent-orange,30525
Dr Patricia Petersen, Leader of the Australian Independents, said that her party will introduce new environmental legislation to protect residents from toxic chemicals which have the capacity to cause damage to animals, including aquatic animals, and humans. Dr Petersen said that Sunshine Coast Regional Council developed its own endocrine-disrupting herbicide solution, known as Gloricide, several years ago and that the solution is still being spraying haphazardly along the coast line. “The original idea was to target an invasive weed species, but it is also poisoning plants, animals and humans” she said. “Sunshine Coast Regional Council developed the solution without consulting an official chemical engineer, and without compiling a valid Material Data Safety Sheet (MDSS) in accordance with federal laws. The council also failed to gain a permit for the solution’s use, which technically makes it illegal,” said Dr Petersen. “Gloricide contains a dangerous mixture of both metsulfuron methyl, a highly-toxic herbicide, and 2,4-D, a major toxic component of “Agent Orange”, she said.
READ MORE: http://www.mysunshinecoast.com.au/articles/article-display/australian-independents-will-protect-sunshine-coast-residents-from-agent-orange,30525