One of the issues – among many having to do with our
exposure to herbicides during the Vietnam War - that has received insufficient
attention is the matter of the exposure in those Naval personnel referred to as
the “Blue Water Navy” – those Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps
personnel who served off the coast of South Vietnam; but, within range and
often sight of the coast whose exposure to herbicides is unique and around
which veterans’ advocates are currently engaged in a battle with the federal
government. The following is taken from a scientific presentation given by the
author to the first ever joint US-Vietnam Conference on the use of herbicides
in Vietnam, held in March 2002, in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Background
Much
of South Vietnam is covered with very dense jungle vegetation. This dense
vegetation was used as cover by the forces opposing the United States and South
Vietnamese armies. One means of
counteracting this tactic was the use of herbicides to kill and defoliate
vegetation. Herbicides were widely used
to destroy enemy cover, food crops and to clear United States base perimeters
of vegetation. These chemicals were
applied by airplanes(Operation Ranch Hand), helicopters, trucks, riverboats and
individual backpacks.
Three million acres of
South Vietnam were sprayed with 50,000 tons of Agent Orange and other
herbicides, containing over 500 pounds of dioxin. Because herbicides were used in Vietnam to
destroy crops and defoliate jungle cover, the military used 27 times more herbicide
per unit area than most domestic applications, which are primarily used to
prevent weed growth. Dioxin is the focus
of veterans’ health concerns because of its toxicity. However, many different chemicals with the
potential for producing health problems were used in Vietnam.
Veteran Exposures
There are a variety of means by which veterans could have
been exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam.
Veterans may have taken part in the actual spraying which involved
airplanes, helicopters, in Vietnam river boats, trucks or backpacks. They may
also have been exposed to Agent Orange by consuming contaminated food or
drinking water. Veterans could have been
in areas while spraying occurred or in areas that were recently sprayed and
areas that were sprayed and then burned.
Burning increases by 25% the dioxin toxicity of the Agent Orange
present.
EARLY RESEARCH
Agent Orange had its genesis as a defoliant in an obscure
laboratory at the University of Chicago during World War II. Working on
experimental plant growth at the time, Professor E.J. Kraus, chairman of the
school's botany department, discovered that he could regulate the growth of
plants through the infusion of various hormones. Among the discoveries he made
was that certain broadleaf vegetation could be killed by causing the plants to
experience sudden, uncontrolled growth. It was similar to giving the plants
cancer by introducing specific chemicals. In some instances, deterioration of
the vegetation was noticed within 24-48 hours of the application of the
chemicals.
Paul Sutton -Veteran Advocate
