www.agentorangequiltoftears.com
Why?
To recognize, remember & honor all the Veterans that have been affected by Agent Orange
Who Is Invited?
Everyone is invited to participate in this joint effort of coordinating balloons, doves or butterflies to be released all across the nation.
In an effort to coordinate this:
**The amount of items you choose to release is totally up to you!
**If you choose not to actually release the balloons please join with us by flying or decorating with them on this day.
**We ask that everyone releases their items at 1 p.m.est
**If you choose balloons they should be Orange in color & preferably made of latex due to environmental concerns.
*** (Please check with your local agencies about any laws or regulations) ***
A/O Victims & Widows Support Network, Inc.
P.O. Box 90 Davenport, Florida
www.agentorangequiltoftears.com
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
VND 1.2 Billion for Agent Orange Victims
http://www.ngocentre.org.vn/?q=node/5421
VND 1.2 Billion for Agent Orange Victims
A total of VND 1.234 billion has been mobilised, together with medicine and other supplies donated by philanthropists, social organisations, and businesses inside and outside the country, for Agent Orange victims in Vietnam.
This was announced at a ceremony held on November 30 to mark the first anniversary of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)’s fund for Agent Orange victims.
The amount was contributed by hundreds of agencies, organisations and individuals. VNA officials, reporters and editors alone contributed VND 312 million to the fund.
The VNA’s fund to support AO victims, entitled 'For Easing the pain of Agent Orange Victims, has reached out to more than 1,000 families of Agent Orange victims across the country.
Also on this occasion, the fund received the Greek Government’s EUR 20,000 donation, handed over to Tran Mai Huong, VNA vice general director and head of the fund’s management board, by Greek Ambassador to Vietnam Platon Alexis Hadjimichalis.
The fund operators on this occasion also received EUR 10,000 from the Greek Embassy in Vietnam, which will be for the Da Nang city’s Association of Agent Orange Victims (EUR 5,000) and the Vietnamese Disabled Association (EUR 5,000).
The overseas Vietnamese community in Greece sent VND 18 million and Australia’s Rotary International also donated 20 wheel-chairs.
*
VND 1.2 Billion for Agent Orange Victims
A total of VND 1.234 billion has been mobilised, together with medicine and other supplies donated by philanthropists, social organisations, and businesses inside and outside the country, for Agent Orange victims in Vietnam.
This was announced at a ceremony held on November 30 to mark the first anniversary of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)’s fund for Agent Orange victims.
The amount was contributed by hundreds of agencies, organisations and individuals. VNA officials, reporters and editors alone contributed VND 312 million to the fund.
The VNA’s fund to support AO victims, entitled 'For Easing the pain of Agent Orange Victims, has reached out to more than 1,000 families of Agent Orange victims across the country.
Also on this occasion, the fund received the Greek Government’s EUR 20,000 donation, handed over to Tran Mai Huong, VNA vice general director and head of the fund’s management board, by Greek Ambassador to Vietnam Platon Alexis Hadjimichalis.
The fund operators on this occasion also received EUR 10,000 from the Greek Embassy in Vietnam, which will be for the Da Nang city’s Association of Agent Orange Victims (EUR 5,000) and the Vietnamese Disabled Association (EUR 5,000).
The overseas Vietnamese community in Greece sent VND 18 million and Australia’s Rotary International also donated 20 wheel-chairs.
*
Greek Ambassador Donates to Agent Orange Fund
Vietnam News Agency Fund Aids 1,000 Agent Orange Victims
http://www.ngocentre.org.vn/?q=node/5422
The Vietnam News Agency’s (VNA) AO/Dioxin Relief Fund has helped over 1,000 AO/Dioxin victims’ families in cities and provinces across the country since its establishment last December 1. More than VND1.23 billion (US$77,100) has been raised. Wheelchairs and drugs have also been donated to the fund in an effort to relieve the enduring pain of AO/Dioxin victims.
"I am very happy to receive a wheelchair today for my daughter – the first one in her life," said 66-year-old war veteran Nguyen Van Hoa at a ceremony to celebrate the fund’s first birthday yesterday.
His 23-year-old daughter, Nguyen Thi Huong, can neither move her body nor communicate with others – the result of toxic chemicals sprayed by US troops on Hoa’s body when he fought on Quang Tri battlefield in 1972.
Like Hoa’s family, many AO/Dioxin victims have received a total sum of VND720 million ($45,000), among other assistance. The fund has also helped various provincial AO/Dioxin victim organisations and educational centres for disabled children.
"One year is not a long time, but the fund has received donations and support from hundreds of organisations and individuals. The support comes not only from our nation, but from many other countries throughout the world," said the fund’s chairman, VNA Deputy General Director and VNS Editor-in-Chief Tran Mai Huong.
At yesterday’s ceremony, Greek Ambassador to Viet Nam, Platon Alexis Hadjimichalis, on behalf of his president and government, presented EUR 20,000 to the fund and another EUR10,000 to the Da Nang AO/Dioxin Victims Association and the Viet Nam Association for the Handicapped.
Famous Vietnamese pianist Dang Thai Son and the National Symphony Orchestra donated all VND48 million ($3,000) they earned from their two-day classical concert earlier this year to the fund.
Viet Nam has recorded over 3 million AO/Dioxin victims so far.
http://www.ngocentre.org.vn/?q=node/5422
The Vietnam News Agency’s (VNA) AO/Dioxin Relief Fund has helped over 1,000 AO/Dioxin victims’ families in cities and provinces across the country since its establishment last December 1. More than VND1.23 billion (US$77,100) has been raised. Wheelchairs and drugs have also been donated to the fund in an effort to relieve the enduring pain of AO/Dioxin victims.
"I am very happy to receive a wheelchair today for my daughter – the first one in her life," said 66-year-old war veteran Nguyen Van Hoa at a ceremony to celebrate the fund’s first birthday yesterday.
His 23-year-old daughter, Nguyen Thi Huong, can neither move her body nor communicate with others – the result of toxic chemicals sprayed by US troops on Hoa’s body when he fought on Quang Tri battlefield in 1972.
Like Hoa’s family, many AO/Dioxin victims have received a total sum of VND720 million ($45,000), among other assistance. The fund has also helped various provincial AO/Dioxin victim organisations and educational centres for disabled children.
"One year is not a long time, but the fund has received donations and support from hundreds of organisations and individuals. The support comes not only from our nation, but from many other countries throughout the world," said the fund’s chairman, VNA Deputy General Director and VNS Editor-in-Chief Tran Mai Huong.
At yesterday’s ceremony, Greek Ambassador to Viet Nam, Platon Alexis Hadjimichalis, on behalf of his president and government, presented EUR 20,000 to the fund and another EUR10,000 to the Da Nang AO/Dioxin Victims Association and the Viet Nam Association for the Handicapped.
Famous Vietnamese pianist Dang Thai Son and the National Symphony Orchestra donated all VND48 million ($3,000) they earned from their two-day classical concert earlier this year to the fund.
Viet Nam has recorded over 3 million AO/Dioxin victims so far.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Toxin in Agent Orange still polluting South Vietnam, study says
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-tc-nw-vietnam-0912-0913sep13,0,7307758.story
By Jason Grotto Tribune reporter
September 13, 2009
HANOI, Vietnam - -- Results from a new study show that herbicides used by U.S. forces during the Vietnam War continue to pollute the environment and pose a health threat more than three decades after the last shots were fired.
Between 1961 and 1971, the U.S. military released more than 19 million gallons of herbicides in South Vietnam to destroy enemy crops and deny an elusive adversary cover by defoliating dense mangrove forests and triple canopy jungles.
What few knew at the time was that some of the herbicides contained a highly toxic form of dioxin, known as TCDD. The toxin was an unintended byproduct created while manufacturing mixtures such as Agent Orange, the most widely used of a handful of herbicides contaminated with TCDD.
Environmental scientists from a Canadian firm last week presented the findings from the study, which documents that high levels of TCDD from the herbicides still contaminate soil inside a former U.S. airbase in Da Nang as well as sediment from a lake that abuts it.
The study uses TCDD's chemical fingerprint to trace its movement through the food chain, from the soil and lake sediment to the fat of fish and ducks to the blood and breast milk of humans.
In the most extreme cases, the study found TCDD levels in Da Nang residents that were more than 50 times the World Health Organization standards. Because infants and expectant mothers appear to be the most susceptible, the high levels in breast milk are considered especially troubling.
Conducted by Vancouver-based Hatfield Consultants with funding from the Ford Foundation and assistance from the Vietnamese government, the study is the most definitive evidence to date that dioxin from the herbicides remains in the environment and threatens the health of those living close to the airbase, many of whom weren't even alive during war.
The findings may help focus the concern over toxic chemicals that were dispersed over roughly 10 percent of South Vietnam.
"The work we have done really demonstrates that this is a manageable problem," said Thomas Boivin, president of Hatfield. "We now know where the contamination is coming from; we just need the international financial support to get on with the cleanup."
Since the end of the war, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Institute of Medicine and hundreds of scientific studies have linked TCDD to numerous cancers and other illnesses.
jgrotto@tribune.com
'Hot spots'
Da Nang is one of three major "hot spots" identified by Hatfield Consultants and Vietnamese scientists during the past 15 years, areas where millions of gallons of herbicides were stored and loaded onto planes and helicopters that blanketed huge swaths of Vietnam with mixtures now outlawed in the U.S. because of their threat to human health.
Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune
Friday, September 11, 2009
US, Vietnam in joint study of Agent Orange health damage
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iZKHov-GCQvw1YkghN5b0FZXBIsw
(AFP) – 1 day ago
HANOI — US and Vietnamese experts will jointly study the impact of the wartime herbicide Agent Orange on the health of people living in three major "hotspots," officials said Thursday.
A decision to establish the health task force came during annual talks at which officials from the two nations discussed Agent Orange and its cancer-linked component dioxin, they said.
The first job of the task force will be to collect information on "the negative impact" of dioxin on people living around former US airbases in Danang, Bien Hoa and Phu Cat, said Le Ke Son, co-chair of the Joint Advisory Committee (JAC) meetings.
During the Vietnam War, US forces stored Agent Orange at the bases and loaded it onto airplanes for defoliation missions.
"The goal of the task force is to prevent exposure in the hotspot areas and... propose ways to help people who were exposed in the hotspots in the past," Son said.
Asked how many people had been exposed in Danang, he said "it's a difficult question" that requires costly further study.
"But in principle we still list the people who live around the hotspot area as subjects who need attention and care," Son said.
Since last year's JAC meeting the United States has begun assisting disabled people in the Danang area, US ambassador Michael Michalak said.
"As we continue to work on those projects we look forward to receiving the advice from the health task force of the JAC," Michalak said, adding he was pleased that terms of reference for the task force had been agreed to.
At Vietnam's request, the US is focusing its assistance on the Danang site.
Both sides last year established an environmental task force, and in June they began testing "bio-remediation", the use of biological organisms to destroy dioxin at the Danang airport, Michalak said.
Vietnam has blamed dioxin for a spate of birth deformities and says about three million of its citizens are victims of herbicides sprayed by US forces.
The US has said there has been no internationally-accepted scientific study establishing a link between Agent Orange and Vietnam's disabled and deformed.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.
(AFP) – 1 day ago
HANOI — US and Vietnamese experts will jointly study the impact of the wartime herbicide Agent Orange on the health of people living in three major "hotspots," officials said Thursday.
A decision to establish the health task force came during annual talks at which officials from the two nations discussed Agent Orange and its cancer-linked component dioxin, they said.
The first job of the task force will be to collect information on "the negative impact" of dioxin on people living around former US airbases in Danang, Bien Hoa and Phu Cat, said Le Ke Son, co-chair of the Joint Advisory Committee (JAC) meetings.
During the Vietnam War, US forces stored Agent Orange at the bases and loaded it onto airplanes for defoliation missions.
"The goal of the task force is to prevent exposure in the hotspot areas and... propose ways to help people who were exposed in the hotspots in the past," Son said.
Asked how many people had been exposed in Danang, he said "it's a difficult question" that requires costly further study.
"But in principle we still list the people who live around the hotspot area as subjects who need attention and care," Son said.
Since last year's JAC meeting the United States has begun assisting disabled people in the Danang area, US ambassador Michael Michalak said.
"As we continue to work on those projects we look forward to receiving the advice from the health task force of the JAC," Michalak said, adding he was pleased that terms of reference for the task force had been agreed to.
At Vietnam's request, the US is focusing its assistance on the Danang site.
Both sides last year established an environmental task force, and in June they began testing "bio-remediation", the use of biological organisms to destroy dioxin at the Danang airport, Michalak said.
Vietnam has blamed dioxin for a spate of birth deformities and says about three million of its citizens are victims of herbicides sprayed by US forces.
The US has said there has been no internationally-accepted scientific study establishing a link between Agent Orange and Vietnam's disabled and deformed.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.
Vietnam after Agent Orange - 10 Sept 09
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vybg5NHnT8E
Al Jazeera - Sep 10, 2009
As children across Vietnam continue to be born with genetic defects, this edition of 101 East discusses the legacy of Agent Orange...
Al Jazeera - Sep 10, 2009
As children across Vietnam continue to be born with genetic defects, this edition of 101 East discusses the legacy of Agent Orange...
4th meeting on Agent Orange between U.S., Vietnam ends
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/10/content_12031686.htm
HANOI, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- The fourth annual meeting of the United States-Vietnam Joint Advisory Committee (JAC) on Agent Orange (AO) ended here on Thursday. Full Article at Xinhua
HANOI, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- The fourth annual meeting of the United States-Vietnam Joint Advisory Committee (JAC) on Agent Orange (AO) ended here on Thursday. Full Article at Xinhua
Survey: Dioxin levels high in Vietnam near US base
Survey: Dioxin levels high in Vietnam near US base
http://www.ap.org/
By BEN STOCKING (AP) – 11 hours ago
HANOI, Vietnam — New environmental tests confirm extremely high levels of dioxin, the toxic ingredient of Agent Orange, in people, fish and soil near a former U.S. air base where American troops stored the herbicide during the Vietnam War.
"Time is of the essence" to finish cleaning up the site, now home to the Danang airport, where dioxin levels in the soil, sediment and fish were 300 to 400 times higher than internationally accepted levels, the survey by the Canadian environmental firm Hatfield Consultants said.
The survey also found that temporary containment measures jointly implemented by the U.S. and Vietnam in 2007 have apparently resulted in lower dioxin levels in people who live near the site.
Agent Orange is perhaps the war's most contentious legacy. Vietnam says 1 million to 4 million of its citizens were exposed to it and many suffered serious health consequences. The United States, which sprayed the herbicide on jungles to deprive Vietnamese troops of ground cover, says further scientific study is needed to fully understand the health links.
The new survey was shared this week with members of a joint U.S.-Vietnam advisory committee on Agent Orange, which held its fourth annual meeting in Hanoi this week.
The Associated Press obtained a copy. The firm released the findings to Vietnamese officials on Friday. Vietnamese officials declined to comment, and US officials could not be reached.
"Dioxin levels at this location continue to exceed all international standards and guidelines for these toxic chemicals," said Thomas Boivin, president of Hatfield, which conducted the study with the Vietnamese government.
The survey said dioxin poses a potential health risk to roughly 100,000 people who live in neighborhoods next to the airport, but it poses no immediate threat to the vast majority of the city's nearly 1 million people or the Danang International Airport terminal, which sits on the sprawling site.
Hatfield first conducted tests at the site in 2006, but took another round of samples earlier this year after learning that Agent Orange had been stored in a section of the airport that had previously been untested.
The study was funded by the Ford Foundation and commissioned by Vietnamese environmental officials, who are working with their American counterparts to address the environmental and health effects of dioxin at several Agent Orange "hotspots" in Vietnam.
After years of disagreement, the two sides began working together in 2006 to address problems linked to the herbicide, and they began their efforts in Danang.
The Hatfield study found that people who work at the Danang airport or eat fish from lakes near the former Agent Orange storage sites were the most likely to have elevated dioxin levels in their blood.
In all, Hatfield took 410 samples of soil, sediment and fish at the Danang site, as well as 171 samples of human blood and breast milk from people who live near it.
The results showed about 50 people who previously lived on the site and ate fish from a contaminated lake there had extraordinarily high levels of dioxin.
People who live in neighborhoods adjacent to the airport also had elevated dioxin levels but not nearly as high as those who lived on the site, the study found.
Two years ago, Vietnamese officials warned people to stop fishing at the Danang site.
Dioxin attaches itself to soil and sediment and remains in the environment for generations. Although not absorbed by crops such as rice, it concentrates in the fat of fish and other animals that ingest it and can be passed to humans through the food chain.
Earlier tests by Hatfield showed that dioxin levels were safe across most of Vietnam with the exception of about a half-dozen Agent Orange hotspots where U.S. troops used to mix, store and load Agent Orange onto planes.
The Hatfield report said Agent Orange areas at former air bases in Bien Hoa and Phu Cat also require cleanup.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
http://www.ap.org/
By BEN STOCKING (AP) – 11 hours ago
HANOI, Vietnam — New environmental tests confirm extremely high levels of dioxin, the toxic ingredient of Agent Orange, in people, fish and soil near a former U.S. air base where American troops stored the herbicide during the Vietnam War.
"Time is of the essence" to finish cleaning up the site, now home to the Danang airport, where dioxin levels in the soil, sediment and fish were 300 to 400 times higher than internationally accepted levels, the survey by the Canadian environmental firm Hatfield Consultants said.
The survey also found that temporary containment measures jointly implemented by the U.S. and Vietnam in 2007 have apparently resulted in lower dioxin levels in people who live near the site.
Agent Orange is perhaps the war's most contentious legacy. Vietnam says 1 million to 4 million of its citizens were exposed to it and many suffered serious health consequences. The United States, which sprayed the herbicide on jungles to deprive Vietnamese troops of ground cover, says further scientific study is needed to fully understand the health links.
The new survey was shared this week with members of a joint U.S.-Vietnam advisory committee on Agent Orange, which held its fourth annual meeting in Hanoi this week.
The Associated Press obtained a copy. The firm released the findings to Vietnamese officials on Friday. Vietnamese officials declined to comment, and US officials could not be reached.
"Dioxin levels at this location continue to exceed all international standards and guidelines for these toxic chemicals," said Thomas Boivin, president of Hatfield, which conducted the study with the Vietnamese government.
The survey said dioxin poses a potential health risk to roughly 100,000 people who live in neighborhoods next to the airport, but it poses no immediate threat to the vast majority of the city's nearly 1 million people or the Danang International Airport terminal, which sits on the sprawling site.
Hatfield first conducted tests at the site in 2006, but took another round of samples earlier this year after learning that Agent Orange had been stored in a section of the airport that had previously been untested.
The study was funded by the Ford Foundation and commissioned by Vietnamese environmental officials, who are working with their American counterparts to address the environmental and health effects of dioxin at several Agent Orange "hotspots" in Vietnam.
After years of disagreement, the two sides began working together in 2006 to address problems linked to the herbicide, and they began their efforts in Danang.
The Hatfield study found that people who work at the Danang airport or eat fish from lakes near the former Agent Orange storage sites were the most likely to have elevated dioxin levels in their blood.
In all, Hatfield took 410 samples of soil, sediment and fish at the Danang site, as well as 171 samples of human blood and breast milk from people who live near it.
The results showed about 50 people who previously lived on the site and ate fish from a contaminated lake there had extraordinarily high levels of dioxin.
People who live in neighborhoods adjacent to the airport also had elevated dioxin levels but not nearly as high as those who lived on the site, the study found.
Two years ago, Vietnamese officials warned people to stop fishing at the Danang site.
Dioxin attaches itself to soil and sediment and remains in the environment for generations. Although not absorbed by crops such as rice, it concentrates in the fat of fish and other animals that ingest it and can be passed to humans through the food chain.
Earlier tests by Hatfield showed that dioxin levels were safe across most of Vietnam with the exception of about a half-dozen Agent Orange hotspots where U.S. troops used to mix, store and load Agent Orange onto planes.
The Hatfield report said Agent Orange areas at former air bases in Bien Hoa and Phu Cat also require cleanup.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Oregon's plans for Alkali Lake herbicide dump raise concerns
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/09/oregons_plans_for_vietnamera_h.html
by Scott Learn, The Oregonian
Wednesday September 02, 2009, 7:39 PM
Oregon environmental regulators have cut a tentative deal with a herbicide manufacturer that makes taxpayers responsible for roughly three-quarters of monitoring and cleanup costs at Alkali Lake, one of Oregon's most contaminated dump sites.
The proposed agreement between Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality and the company would also keep in place up to 1.4 million gallons of herbicide production waste and a current gravel cap over the waste. That's instead of paying millions to clean up the site as favored by Lake County commissioners and the Oregon Natural Desert Association.
• For video of waste drums being bulldozed, go to this site:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVHMoeV597c
If a cleanup ends up being required down the line, expenses could go as high as $49 million, costing taxpayers up to $39 million.
As the Vietnam War raged, a Portland herbicide manufacturer now owned by Bayer CropScience shipped 25,000 barrels of highly toxic and in some cases carcinogenic waste to southeast Oregon's high desert from 1969 to 1971, including components of the Agent Orange herbicide widely used in the war.
In 1974, the state took over the site, later crushing and burying the leaking barrels, a low-cost option that scientific advisers opposed. Shallow groundwater at the site has since been contaminated, with a plume covering 40 acres.
DEQ officials said the proposed deal was the best Oregon could get without suing Bayer CropScience, in part because Oregon regulators signed off on using the Lake County site, now owned by the state, as a herbicide dump four decades ago.
The remoteness of the site also greatly reduces risks to people and animals, the state says, eliminating the need for expanded cleanup.
But critics call it a sweetheart deal for Bayer CropScience, which reported more than $8 billion in sales last year. They also want the dump cleaned up.
"The whole purpose of the hazardous waste remediation statute is to clean up hazardous sites and put the polluter on the hook," said Dave Becker, staff attorney for the desert association. "Instead, Bayer is only on the hook for a quarter of the costs, and they are immunized from having DEQ go back after them if 10 to 15 years from now it turns out original cleanup wasn't sufficient."
The proposed agreement would have Bayer CropScience pay $700,000 of a $2.45 million tab for state's past work at the site and expected future work.
The future work, estimated to cost about $200,000, is limited to monitoring groundwater at the site and maintaining an existing gravel cap over the 10-acre contamination zone.
If additional costs arise -- either through damage claims or a more complete cleanup of the site -- the state would pick up more than three-quarters of the bill.
Cost estimates to clean up or remove the soil range from $33 million to $49 million, a DEQ consultant said. Under the terms of the consent agreement, Oregon would pay $39.3 million of cost for the most expensive option, trucking soil to an offsite landfill.
The arrangement doesn't sit well with many in Lake County, said County Commission Chairman Bradley Winters, who noted that monitoring wells pull up groundwater samples the color of cherry Kool-Aid.
A 2005 risk assessment by a DEQ consultant concluded that risks from exposure to contaminated groundwater or wind-blown dust from the site fell below state and federal standards for people and animals, in part because of the site's remote location.
The state owns nearly 400 acres around the contaminated area, which sits 35 miles from Christmas Valley, the nearest town. It's surrounded with just under 4 miles of barbed wire fence. The groundwater plume does not appear to have moved for a decade, said DEQ project manager Bob Schwarz. And off-site tests indicate the gravel cap is containing contaminated dust.
The state initially asked Bayer CropScience to cover half the costs, said Jeff Christensen, manager of DEQ's emergency response and environmental cleanup program.
But the negotiations were complicated, Christensen said. The contamination happened long ago, many facts are contested, the state played a role and Bayer was unwilling to admit legal liability under state and federal cleanup laws.
"In my judgment, this is probably the best we can hope for through a negotiated process," Christensen said.
In a statement, Bayer CropScience called the proposed agreement "fair and appropriate."
The Crag Law Center, which represents the desert association, wants DEQ to hold public hearings in Portland and Lake County, and to conduct a more in-depth evaluation of potential harm from the site.
The public comment period on the proposed consent order ends today. Dick Pedersen, DEQ's director, would have to sign it, and a Lake County circuit judge would have to approve it.
Scott Learn: scottlearn@news.oregonian.com
by Scott Learn, The Oregonian
Wednesday September 02, 2009, 7:39 PM
Oregon environmental regulators have cut a tentative deal with a herbicide manufacturer that makes taxpayers responsible for roughly three-quarters of monitoring and cleanup costs at Alkali Lake, one of Oregon's most contaminated dump sites.
The proposed agreement between Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality and the company would also keep in place up to 1.4 million gallons of herbicide production waste and a current gravel cap over the waste. That's instead of paying millions to clean up the site as favored by Lake County commissioners and the Oregon Natural Desert Association.
• For video of waste drums being bulldozed, go to this site:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVHMoeV597c
If a cleanup ends up being required down the line, expenses could go as high as $49 million, costing taxpayers up to $39 million.
As the Vietnam War raged, a Portland herbicide manufacturer now owned by Bayer CropScience shipped 25,000 barrels of highly toxic and in some cases carcinogenic waste to southeast Oregon's high desert from 1969 to 1971, including components of the Agent Orange herbicide widely used in the war.
In 1974, the state took over the site, later crushing and burying the leaking barrels, a low-cost option that scientific advisers opposed. Shallow groundwater at the site has since been contaminated, with a plume covering 40 acres.
DEQ officials said the proposed deal was the best Oregon could get without suing Bayer CropScience, in part because Oregon regulators signed off on using the Lake County site, now owned by the state, as a herbicide dump four decades ago.
The remoteness of the site also greatly reduces risks to people and animals, the state says, eliminating the need for expanded cleanup.
But critics call it a sweetheart deal for Bayer CropScience, which reported more than $8 billion in sales last year. They also want the dump cleaned up.
"The whole purpose of the hazardous waste remediation statute is to clean up hazardous sites and put the polluter on the hook," said Dave Becker, staff attorney for the desert association. "Instead, Bayer is only on the hook for a quarter of the costs, and they are immunized from having DEQ go back after them if 10 to 15 years from now it turns out original cleanup wasn't sufficient."
The proposed agreement would have Bayer CropScience pay $700,000 of a $2.45 million tab for state's past work at the site and expected future work.
The future work, estimated to cost about $200,000, is limited to monitoring groundwater at the site and maintaining an existing gravel cap over the 10-acre contamination zone.
If additional costs arise -- either through damage claims or a more complete cleanup of the site -- the state would pick up more than three-quarters of the bill.
Cost estimates to clean up or remove the soil range from $33 million to $49 million, a DEQ consultant said. Under the terms of the consent agreement, Oregon would pay $39.3 million of cost for the most expensive option, trucking soil to an offsite landfill.
The arrangement doesn't sit well with many in Lake County, said County Commission Chairman Bradley Winters, who noted that monitoring wells pull up groundwater samples the color of cherry Kool-Aid.
A 2005 risk assessment by a DEQ consultant concluded that risks from exposure to contaminated groundwater or wind-blown dust from the site fell below state and federal standards for people and animals, in part because of the site's remote location.
The state owns nearly 400 acres around the contaminated area, which sits 35 miles from Christmas Valley, the nearest town. It's surrounded with just under 4 miles of barbed wire fence. The groundwater plume does not appear to have moved for a decade, said DEQ project manager Bob Schwarz. And off-site tests indicate the gravel cap is containing contaminated dust.
The state initially asked Bayer CropScience to cover half the costs, said Jeff Christensen, manager of DEQ's emergency response and environmental cleanup program.
But the negotiations were complicated, Christensen said. The contamination happened long ago, many facts are contested, the state played a role and Bayer was unwilling to admit legal liability under state and federal cleanup laws.
"In my judgment, this is probably the best we can hope for through a negotiated process," Christensen said.
In a statement, Bayer CropScience called the proposed agreement "fair and appropriate."
The Crag Law Center, which represents the desert association, wants DEQ to hold public hearings in Portland and Lake County, and to conduct a more in-depth evaluation of potential harm from the site.
The public comment period on the proposed consent order ends today. Dick Pedersen, DEQ's director, would have to sign it, and a Lake County circuit judge would have to approve it.
Scott Learn: scottlearn@news.oregonian.com
Subject: Proposed Rule - Herbicide Exposure and Veterans With Covered Service in Korea
http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#documentDetail?R=09000064809fa168
SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to amend its
adjudication, medical, and vocational rehabilitation and employment
regulations to incorporate relevant provisions from the Veterans Benefits
Act of 2003. Specifically, this document proposes to amend VA’s regulations
regarding herbicide exposure of certain veterans who served in or near the
Korean demilitarized zone and regulations regarding spina bifida in
their children. It also proposes to amend VA’s medical regulations by correcting
the Health Administration Center ’s hand-delivery address.
DATES: Comments must be received by VA on or before September 22, 2009.
SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) proposes to amend its
adjudication, medical, and vocational rehabilitation and employment
regulations to incorporate relevant provisions from the Veterans Benefits
Act of 2003. Specifically, this document proposes to amend VA’s regulations
regarding herbicide exposure of certain veterans who served in or near the
Korean demilitarized zone and regulations regarding spina bifida in
their children. It also proposes to amend VA’s medical regulations by correcting
the Health Administration Center ’s hand-delivery address.
DATES: Comments must be received by VA on or before September 22, 2009.
Agent Orange Causes Genetic Disturbance In New Zealand Vietnam War Veterans, Study Shows
This is a small sample study reported in Science Daily in 2007. While it is a small sample and does not have the 'power' of a study with a large sample, the results are interesting
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070419103733.htm
ScienceDaily (Apr. 21, 2007) — A study published in the journal "Cytogenetic and Genome Research" shows that exposure to Agent Orange, and other defoliants, has led to genetic disturbance in New Zealand Vietnam War veterans which continues to persist decades after their service.
From July 1965 until November 1971, New Zealand Defence Force Personnel fought in the Vietnam War. During this time more than 76,500,000 litres of phenoxylic herbicides were sprayed over parts of Southern Vietnam and Laos to remove forest cover, destroy crops and clear vegetation from around military installations. The most common of these defoliant sprays is known as 'Agent Orange', and has been shown to lead to adverse health effects and cause genetic damage in humans. The current study aimed to ascertain whether or not New Zealand Vietnam War veterans show evidence of genetic disturbance arising as a consequence of their now confirmed exposure to these defoliants.
A sample group of 24 New Zealand Vietnam War veterans and 23 control volunteers were compared using an SCE (sister chromatid exchange) analysis. The results from the SCE study show a highly significant difference (P < 0.001) between the mean of the experimental group (11.05) and the mean of a matched control group (8.18). The experimental group also has an exceptionally high proportion of cells with high SCE frequencies above the 95th percentile compared to the controls (11.0% and 0.07%, respectively).
The study therefore concludes that the New Zealand Vietnam War veterans studied here were exposed to a harmful clastogenic substance(s) which continues to exert an observable genetic effect today, and suggest that this is attributable to their service in Vietnam.
From July 1965 until November 1971, New Zealand Defence Force Personnel fought in the Vietnam War. During this time more than 76,500,000 litres of phenoxylic herbicides were sprayed over parts of Southern Vietnam and Laos to remove forest cover, destroy crops and clear vegetation from around military installations. The most common of these defoliant sprays is known as 'Agent Orange', and has been shown to lead to adverse health effects and cause genetic damage in humans. The current study aimed to ascertain whether or not New Zealand Vietnam War veterans show evidence of genetic disturbance arising as a consequence of their now confirmed exposure to these defoliants.
A sample group of 24 New Zealand Vietnam War veterans and 23 control volunteers were compared using an SCE (sister chromatid exchange) analysis. The results from the SCE study show a highly significant difference (P < 0.001) between the mean of the experimental group (11.05) and the mean of a matched control group (8.18). The experimental group also has an exceptionally high proportion of cells with high SCE frequencies above the 95th percentile compared to the controls (11.0% and 0.07%, respectively).
The study therefore concludes that the New Zealand Vietnam War veterans studied here were exposed to a harmful clastogenic substance(s) which continues to exert an observable genetic effect today, and suggest that this is attributable to their service in Vietnam.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070419103733.htm
ScienceDaily (Apr. 21, 2007) — A study published in the journal "Cytogenetic and Genome Research" shows that exposure to Agent Orange, and other defoliants, has led to genetic disturbance in New Zealand Vietnam War veterans which continues to persist decades after their service.
From July 1965 until November 1971, New Zealand Defence Force Personnel fought in the Vietnam War. During this time more than 76,500,000 litres of phenoxylic herbicides were sprayed over parts of Southern Vietnam and Laos to remove forest cover, destroy crops and clear vegetation from around military installations. The most common of these defoliant sprays is known as 'Agent Orange', and has been shown to lead to adverse health effects and cause genetic damage in humans. The current study aimed to ascertain whether or not New Zealand Vietnam War veterans show evidence of genetic disturbance arising as a consequence of their now confirmed exposure to these defoliants.
A sample group of 24 New Zealand Vietnam War veterans and 23 control volunteers were compared using an SCE (sister chromatid exchange) analysis. The results from the SCE study show a highly significant difference (P < 0.001) between the mean of the experimental group (11.05) and the mean of a matched control group (8.18). The experimental group also has an exceptionally high proportion of cells with high SCE frequencies above the 95th percentile compared to the controls (11.0% and 0.07%, respectively).
The study therefore concludes that the New Zealand Vietnam War veterans studied here were exposed to a harmful clastogenic substance(s) which continues to exert an observable genetic effect today, and suggest that this is attributable to their service in Vietnam.
From July 1965 until November 1971, New Zealand Defence Force Personnel fought in the Vietnam War. During this time more than 76,500,000 litres of phenoxylic herbicides were sprayed over parts of Southern Vietnam and Laos to remove forest cover, destroy crops and clear vegetation from around military installations. The most common of these defoliant sprays is known as 'Agent Orange', and has been shown to lead to adverse health effects and cause genetic damage in humans. The current study aimed to ascertain whether or not New Zealand Vietnam War veterans show evidence of genetic disturbance arising as a consequence of their now confirmed exposure to these defoliants.
A sample group of 24 New Zealand Vietnam War veterans and 23 control volunteers were compared using an SCE (sister chromatid exchange) analysis. The results from the SCE study show a highly significant difference (P < 0.001) between the mean of the experimental group (11.05) and the mean of a matched control group (8.18). The experimental group also has an exceptionally high proportion of cells with high SCE frequencies above the 95th percentile compared to the controls (11.0% and 0.07%, respectively).
The study therefore concludes that the New Zealand Vietnam War veterans studied here were exposed to a harmful clastogenic substance(s) which continues to exert an observable genetic effect today, and suggest that this is attributable to their service in Vietnam.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Agent Orange Causes Genetic Disturbance In New Zealand Vietnam War Veterans, Study Shows
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070419103733.htm
ScienceDaily (Apr. 21, 2007) — A study published in the journal "Cytogenetic and Genome Research" shows that exposure to Agent Orange, and other defoliants, has led to genetic disturbance in New Zealand Vietnam War veterans which continues to persist decades after their service.
From July 1965 until November 1971, New Zealand Defence Force Personnel fought in the Vietnam War. During this time more than 76,500,000 litres of phenoxylic herbicides were sprayed over parts of Southern Vietnam and Laos to remove forest cover, destroy crops and clear vegetation from around military installations. The most common of these defoliant sprays is known as 'Agent Orange', and has been shown to lead to adverse health effects and cause genetic damage in humans. The current study aimed to ascertain whether or not New Zealand Vietnam War veterans show evidence of genetic disturbance arising as a consequence of their now confirmed exposure to these defoliants.
A sample group of 24 New Zealand Vietnam War veterans and 23 control volunteers were compared using an SCE (sister chromatid exchange) analysis. The results from the SCE study show a highly significant difference (P < 0.001) between the mean of the experimental group (11.05) and the mean of a matched control group (8.18). The experimental group also has an exceptionally high proportion of cells with high SCE frequencies above the 95th percentile compared to the controls (11.0% and 0.07%, respectively).
The study therefore concludes that the New Zealand Vietnam War veterans studied here were exposed to a harmful clastogenic substance(s) which continues to exert an observable genetic effect today, and suggest that this is attributable to their service in Vietnam.
Adapted from materials provided by Karger Medical And Scientific Publishers, via AlphaGalileo.
ScienceDaily (Apr. 21, 2007) — A study published in the journal "Cytogenetic and Genome Research" shows that exposure to Agent Orange, and other defoliants, has led to genetic disturbance in New Zealand Vietnam War veterans which continues to persist decades after their service.
From July 1965 until November 1971, New Zealand Defence Force Personnel fought in the Vietnam War. During this time more than 76,500,000 litres of phenoxylic herbicides were sprayed over parts of Southern Vietnam and Laos to remove forest cover, destroy crops and clear vegetation from around military installations. The most common of these defoliant sprays is known as 'Agent Orange', and has been shown to lead to adverse health effects and cause genetic damage in humans. The current study aimed to ascertain whether or not New Zealand Vietnam War veterans show evidence of genetic disturbance arising as a consequence of their now confirmed exposure to these defoliants.
A sample group of 24 New Zealand Vietnam War veterans and 23 control volunteers were compared using an SCE (sister chromatid exchange) analysis. The results from the SCE study show a highly significant difference (P < 0.001) between the mean of the experimental group (11.05) and the mean of a matched control group (8.18). The experimental group also has an exceptionally high proportion of cells with high SCE frequencies above the 95th percentile compared to the controls (11.0% and 0.07%, respectively).
The study therefore concludes that the New Zealand Vietnam War veterans studied here were exposed to a harmful clastogenic substance(s) which continues to exert an observable genetic effect today, and suggest that this is attributable to their service in Vietnam.
Adapted from materials provided by Karger Medical And Scientific Publishers, via AlphaGalileo.
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