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Agent Orange is a herbicide used by the US in Vietnam, Cambodia and Korea. It contains dioxins, causing cancer, birth defects, liver failure, chloracne, diabetes and other health problems. Manufacturers faced lawsuits and veterans fought for recognition of “Agent Orange Syndrome.”
Agent Orange is a herbicide used by the United States in Vietnam, Cambodia and parts of Korea. As well as being very effective at killing plants, it has been shown to have a number of alarming health effects that have made it a highly controversial topic. Its major manufacturers, including Dow Chemical and Monsanto, have faced lawsuits and considerable public outrage because of their role in manufacturing this chemical.
This herbicide gets its name from the large orange drums it was shipped in. It is part of a family of so-called “rainbow herbicides,” all named for their colorful shipping containers, which were used to quickly identify various herbicides so they could be easily inventoried and used. During the Vietnam War, Agent Orange was made into an aerosol form and sprayed from aircraft.
It may seem a little strange to use a herbicide as a military weapon, but one of the reasons the United States encountered difficulties in Vietnam was the thick and abundant jungle, which protected enemy forces along with their fields. The goal of using Agent Orange was to deprive the enemy of cover, forcing them out of cover and theoretically making it easier to fight them. About 40 million pounds (about 18 million kilograms) were dropped on Vietnam alone between 1965 and 1970.
This herbicide contains dioxins, chemicals now known to be extremely harmful. Agent Orange has been directly linked to cancer, birth defects, liver failure, chloracne, diabetes, and a host of other serious health problems. Many of these conditions first surfaced in Vietnamese and Cambodian civilians, who did not understand the cause of the problem. While some might have suspected the chemical’s role in their illness, it took extensive research to uncover the truth, and it wasn’t until 2004 that the victims were compensated in a class-action lawsuit, by which time many were dead.
It has also caused problems for returning veterans, many of whom have struggled with “Agent Orange Syndrome” in themselves and their families, thanks to the residue they took home on personal possessions. Veterans fought to get the condition recognized so they could get treatment, and in 1984, an out-of-court settlement compensated the veterans. Most have not yet received the health benefits they believe they are entitled to due to exposure to Agent Orange.
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