News from National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and
Medicine
Nov. 15, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Hypertension Upgraded in Latest Biennial Review of Research
on Health Problems in Veterans That May Be Linked to Agent Orange Exposure
During Vietnam War
WASHINGTON -- The latest in a series of congressionally
mandated biennial reviews of the evidence of health problems that may be linked
to exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides used during the Vietnam War
found sufficient evidence of an association for hypertension and monoclonal
gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS). The committee that carried out
the study and wrote the report, Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 11 (2018),
focused on the scientific literature published between Sept. 30, 2014, and Dec.
31, 2017.
From 1962 to 1971, the U.S. military sprayed herbicides over
Vietnam to strip the thick jungle canopy that could conceal opposition forces,
destroy crops that those forces might depend on, and clear tall grass and
bushes from the perimeters of U.S. bases and outlying encampments. The most
commonly used chemical mixture sprayed was Agent Orange, which was contaminated
with the most toxic form of dioxin. These and the other herbicides sprayed
during the war constituted the chemicals of interest for the committee. The
exact number of U.S. military personnel who served in Vietnam is unknown
because deployment to the theater was not specifically recorded in military
records, but estimates range from 2.6 million to 4.3 million.
No comments:
Post a Comment