Agent Orange

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Agent Orange is the name of a specific blend of herbicides used during the Vietnam era. The military sprayed millions of gallons on trees and vegetation that provided cover for enemy forces.

Some Vietnam-era Veterans were exposed to these herbicides.  Learn how Veterans may have been exposed to Agent Orange and other herbicides during military service, including outside Vietnam.

VA and many other government departments and agencies have conducted research studies on the possible health effects of Agent Orange exposure on U.S. Veterans.

VA has recognized certain cancers and other diseases related to Agent Orange exposure.  Veterans, Veterans' children and survivors may be eligible for compensation benefits for these diseases and health care benefits.

Veterans and Agent Orange

Blue Water Navy and Agent Orange

What is Agent Orange?

Agent Orange was an herbicide used in Vietnam to defoliate plants and trees that provided cover for the enemy. The name “Agent Orange” came from the orange stripe on the 55-gallon drums in which it was stored.

There is so much information available about Agent Orange it's not possible for me to list it here.

Agent Orange on Wikipedia

Below are some of the thousands of resources I use to keep up with this constantly changing landscape of knowledge about America's use of the chemical Dioxin.

I've done the Google searching for you. If you need more, I suggest that you begin to search Google yourself.

If you're ready to do some serious reading and research, click on one or all of these links here:


Link One

Link Two

Link Three

Link Four

The Orange Stripe

The Alvin L.Young Collection On Agent Orange

The VA web site has an extensive collection of helpful data about herbicides. Click here.

Air Force Vietnam veteran wants other vets to learn about Agent Orange Registry   

When Wood suffered a heart attack two years ago, doctors at the Haley VA Hospital told him his exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam contributed to his heart disease. "This is unbelievable," Wood thought at the time.

Wood served at Air Force bases in Thailand during the war and said that agent orange, an herbicide and defoliant was used around the perimeter of the base for security.


Deadly rainbow: Veterans suffer from Agent Orange exposure   

Agent Orange is a blend of tactical herbicides the U.S. military sprayed from 1962 to 1971 during Operation Ranch Hand in the Vietnam War to remove trees and dense tropical foliage that provided enemy cover.

More than 19 million gallons of various “rainbow” herbicide combinations were sprayed, but Agent Orange was the combination the U.S. military used most often. The name “Agent Orange” came from the orange-identifying-stripe used on the 55-gallon drums in which it was stored.



Operation Ranch Hand   

Operation Ranch Hand was a U.S. military operation during the Vietnam War, lasting from 1962 until 1971. It was part of the overall chemical warfare program during the war called "Operation Trail Dust". Ranch Hand involved spraying an estimated 20 million U.S. gallons (76,000 m3) of defoliants and herbicides over rural areas of South Vietnam in an attempt to deprive the Vietnamese people of food and vegetation cover. Areas of Laos and Cambodia were also sprayed to a lesser extent. Nearly 20,000 sorties were flown between 1961 and 1971.

VA Publishes Final Regulation to Aid Veterans Exposed to Agent Orange in Korea

WASHINGTON – Veterans exposed to herbicides while serving along the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in Korea will have an easier path to access quality health care and benefits under a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) final regulation that will expand the dates when illnesses caused by herbicide exposure can be presumed to be related to Agent Orange.

 “VA’s primary mission is to be an advocate for Veterans,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki “With this new regulation VA has cleared a path for more Veterans who served in the demilitarized zone in Korea to receive access to our quality health care and disability benefits for exposure to Agent Orange.”

Under the final regulation published today in the Federal Register, VA will presume herbicide exposure for any Veteran who served between April 1, 1968, and Aug. 31, 1971, in a unit determined by VA and the Department of Defense (DoD) to have operated in an area in or near the Korean DMZ in which herbicides were applied.  

Previously, VA recognized that Agent Orange exposure could only be conceded to Veterans who served in certain units along the Korean DMZ between April 1968 and July 1969.  

In practical terms, eligible Veterans who have specific illnesses VA presumes to be associated with herbicide exposure do not have to prove an association between their illness and their military service.  This “presumption” simplifies and speeds up the application process for benefits and ensures that Veterans receive the benefits they deserve.

Click on these links to learn about Veterans' diseases associated with Agent Orange exposure at http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/diseases.asp and birth defects in children of Vietnam-era Veterans at http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/birth_defects.asp.

VA encourages Veterans with covered service in Korea who have medical conditions that may be related to Agent Orange to submit their applications for access to VA health care and compensation as soon as possible so the agency can begin processing their claims.

Individuals can go to website http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/AO/claimherbicide.htm to get a more complete understanding of how to file a claim for presumptive conditions related to herbicide exposure, as well as what evidence is needed by VA to make a decision about disability compensation or survivors benefits.

Additional information about Agent Orange and VA’s services for Veterans exposed to the chemical is available at www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange.

The regulation is available on the Office of the Federal Register website at http://www.ofr.gov/.

38 USC 1116 - Presumptions of service connection for diseases associated with exposure to certain herbicide agents; presumption of exposure for veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam

Legal Research Home > US Code > Veterans' Benefits > 38 USC 1116 - Presumptions of service connection for diseases associated with exposure to certain herbicide agents; presumption of exposure for veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam

Sec. 1116. Presumptions of service connection for diseases associated with exposure to certain herbicide agents; presumption of exposure for veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam

(a)

(1) For the purposes of section 1110 of this title, and subject to section 1113 of this title—

(A) a disease specified in paragraph (2) of this subsection becoming manifest as specified in that paragraph in a veteran who, during active military, naval, or air service, served in the Republic of Vietnam during the period beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975; and

(B) each additional disease (if any) that

(i) the Secretary determines in regulations prescribed under this section warrants a presumption of service-connection by reason of having positive association with exposure to an herbicide agent, and

(ii) becomes manifest within the period (if any) prescribed in such regulations in a veteran who, during active military, naval, or air service, served in the Republic of Vietnam during the period beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975, and while so serving was exposed to that herbicide agent,
shall be considered to have been incurred in or aggravated by such service, notwithstanding that there is no record of evidence of such disease during the period of such service.

(2) The diseases referred to in paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection are the following:

(A) Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma becoming manifest to a degree of disability of 10 percent or more.

(B) Each soft-tissue sarcoma becoming manifest to a degree of disability of 10 percent or more other than osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, or mesothelioma.

(C) Chloracne or another acneform disease consistent with chloracne becoming manifest to a degree of disability of 10 percent or more within one year after the last date on which the veteran performed active military, naval, or air service in the Republic of Vietnam during the period beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975.

(D) Hodgkin’s disease becoming manifest to a degree of disability of 10 percent or more.

(E) Porphyria cutanea tarda becoming manifest to a degree of disability of 10 percent or more within a year after the last date on which the veteran performed active military, naval, or air service in the Republic of Vietnam during the period beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975.

(F) Respiratory cancers (cancer of the lung, bronchus, larynx, or trachea) becoming manifest to a degree of disability of 10 percent or more.

(G) Multiple myeloma becoming manifest to a degree of disability of 10 percent or more.

(H) Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2).

(3) For purposes of this section, the term "herbicide agent" means a chemical in an herbicide used in support of the United States and allied military operations in the Republic of Vietnam during the period beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975.

(b)
(1) Whenever the Secretary determines, on the basis of sound medical and scientific evidence, that a positive association exists between

(A) the exposure of humans to an herbicide agent, and

(B) the occurrence of a disease in humans, the Secretary shall prescribe regulations providing that a presumption of service connection is warranted for that disease for the purposes of this section.

(2) In making determinations for the purpose of this subsection, the Secretary shall take into account

(A) reports received by the Secretary from the National Academy of Sciences under section 3 of the Agent Orange Act of 1991, and

(B) all other sound medical and scientific information and analyses available to the Secretary. In evaluating any study for the purpose of making such determinations, the Secretary shall take into consideration whether the results are statistically significant, are capable of replication, and withstand peer review.

(3) An association between the occurrence of a disease in humans and exposure to an herbicide agent shall be considered to be positive for the purposes of this section if the credible evidence for the association is equal to or outweighs the credible evidence against the association.

(c)

(1)

(A) Not later than 60 days after the date on which the Secretary receives a report from the National Academy of Sciences under section 3 of the Agent Orange Act of 1991, the Secretary shall determine whether a presumption of service connection is warranted for each disease covered by the report. If the Secretary determines that such a presumption is warranted, the Secretary, not later than 60 days after making the determination, shall issue proposed regulations setting forth the Secretary’s determination.

(B) If the Secretary determines that a presumption of service connection is not warranted, the Secretary, not later than 60 days after making the determination, shall publish in the Federal Register a notice of that determination. The notice shall include an explanation of the scientific basis for that determination. If the disease already is included in regulations providing for a presumption of service connection, the Secretary, not later than 60 days after publication of the notice of a determination that the presumption is not warranted, shall issue proposed regulations removing the presumption for the disease.

(2) Not later than 90 days after the date on which the Secretary issues any proposed regulations under this subsection, the Secretary shall issue final regulations. Such regulations shall be effective on the date of issuance.

(d) Whenever a disease is removed from regulations prescribed under this section—

(1) a veteran who was awarded compensation for such disease on the basis of the presumption provided in subsection (a) before the effective date of the removal shall continue to be entitled to receive compensation on that basis; and

(2) a survivor of a veteran who was awarded dependency and indemnity compensation for the death of a veteran resulting from such disease on the basis of such presumption shall continue to be entitled to receive dependency and indemnity compensation on such basis.

(e) Subsections (b) through (d) shall cease to be effective on September 30, 2015.

(f) For purposes of establishing service connection for a disability or death resulting from exposure to a herbicide agent, including a presumption of service-connection under this section, a veteran who, during active military, naval, or air service, served in the Republic of Vietnam during the period beginning on January 9, 1962, and ending on May 7, 1975, shall be presumed to have been exposed during such service to an herbicide agent containing dioxin or 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, and may be presumed to have been exposed during such service to any other chemical compound in an herbicide agent, unless there is affirmative evidence to establish that the veteran was not exposed to any such agent during that service.

Jim's Mailbag  Read more of Jim's Mailbag 

To: VAWatchdog dog Org

Roy Foster has sent you a message.

Date: 11/03/2012

Subject: Handling, mixing and power spraying AO on Guam

To All, I am writing this message to you in hopes that this Veterans Day 2012 you will help the many dying veterans who were directly exposed, (directly exposed not presumptively exposed as of yet) to Agent Orange herbicides which I personally handled, mixed and power sprayed on and off base at Andersen AFB, Guam from Sept 1968 to Jun 1978 . There are some on this message who are witnesses to the spraying and personally handled it. I have testified before the IOM AO Committee twice (2010 and 2012 updates).

I have met with Senator Patty Murray and her staff (Elvin Valenzuela) which was audio/video recorded by Carlos Albanese along with the IOM AO update hearing on June 28 2012 with other veterans who were directly exposed to AO in other locations like Okinawa and Ft McClellan. I highly recommend that everyone on this message meet with them, Dr. Mary Paxton of IOM AO Committee, Rick Weidman of VVA, Mokie Porter of VVA, Katrina Eagle Esq. who knows all about this as she represents many veterans directly exposed on Guam , Dr. Luis Szyfres who performed research on Guam identifying the severe contamination on Guam with TCDD Dioxin levels who was run off the island for fear of loss of tourists from Japan and had his life threatened there as well as his home and office ransacked by hired thugs to make him leave as his reports were identified by Dow Chemical and Monsanto on their INVESTOR RISK REPORTS.

The veterans and the children directly exposed have no where to turn. They are dying without help. They are dying from an Instrument of War. We must help them before it is too late. I have pleaded for several years now but upon deaf ears. I have prayed to God daily for His intervention and His Hand in the lives of those who have the power to help these brave souls. This Veterans Day would be a good time to bring their sorrow and suffering to a close and bring them peace on their last days on this earth. God Bless you all and God bless America !

MSgt LeRoy G. Foster, USAF, Retired
<RetAirForceMan@aol.com>

Vet Recalls The 'Legacy Of War That Lasts Forever'  

Harvey Hilbert enlisted in the Army in 1964. He was in the infantry, and in January 1966, he was sent to Vietnam to fight. Five months later, his unit was sent into the jungle. That was the last time he fought in Vietnam. 


@DA NANG: Perception gap over Agent Orange is déjà vu after Fukushima   

US, Vietnam Deal With Agent Orange   

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A look back at key moments during the conflict.  

Vietnam War at 50: A lesson for Afghanistan?   

Vietnam War: 50 Years Later

Vet wounded in Vietnam sues Army to get care   

AG man one of many faces of Agent Orange  

Agent Orange, United States Military Veterans, And Myelodysplastic Syndromes   

For thousands of men and women who served in the Armed Forces of the United States during the Vietnam War era, questions about causation of serious illness, especially when the diagnosis is an unusual condition such as a myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), can stir up an old ghost: the misty specter of Agent Orange.