BY KWANEISHA MCKAY

Agent Orange on Humans

Agent Orange during Vietnam War

The use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War was viable at the time, but was it worth it in the long run?

Agent Orange

Agent Orange was a code name given to the herbicide and defoliant used between 1961-1971

Used by the U.S. for its Herbicidal Warfare to kill Vietnams heavy foliage

It contained TCDD-dioxin, one of the most deadliest chemicals known to man

Monsanto is the company that created Agent Orange

“Monsanto covered up the dioxin contamination of a wide range of its products. Monsanto either failed to report contamination, submitted false information purporting to show no contamination or submitted samples to to the government for analysis which had been specially prepared so that dioxin contamination did not exist.” -- Cate Jenkins (whale.to.html)

When Agent orange was sprayed, 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to it

Resulted in 400,000 deaths and disabilities500,000 people were born with birth effects

Effects on humans

Soft-tissue sarcoma (cancer that attacks soft tissues)

Respiratory cancerChronic lymphocytic leukemia Non–Hodgkin’s lymphomaProstate cancerMultiple myeloma (cancer of plasma cells)Severe skin diseases such as chloracne and

porphyria cutanea tarda

Agent orange poisoning has resulted in many genetic deformities for generations of Vietnamese people (Sukha "Agent Orange”)

The poison dioxin entered the food source which is why birth defects aren’t uncommon in 3rd generation Vietnamese

“These Agent Orange births are normal for us ... Every now and then we have what we call a foetal catastrophe - when the number of miscarriages and deformed babies, I am afraid to say, overwhelms us.” -- Dr Pham Viet Thanh, Tu Du hospital (whale.to.html)

Dioxin also spreads through breast milkThere are high levels of dioxin in nursing

mothers and the contamination will almost always spread to the children

Epidemiological studies show elevated rate of health problems and diseases in people exposed to dioxin (bhopal.net)

Agent Orange also affects people’s social lifeChildren in Vietnam often can’t go to school,

and their parents usually can’t workThis prevents thousands of people in vietnam

from making a living

“It will take a long time to clarify the exact consequences of Agent Orange.” -- Douglas Peterson, US Ambassador to Vietnam (whale.to.html)

U.S. usually denies any responsibility to the links of Agent Orange disabilities and the U.S.

The consequences of the spraying of Agent Orange continue today

It caused a ecological imbalance, destroyed timber, wild animals and forest products

With no forest cover to hold water, flooding and droughts have badly affected agricultural production (bhopal.net)

Because of the high number of people in need of help and the difficult situation many have to face, the Vietnam Red Cross (VNRC) has created a special fund and mobilized support so they can provide humanitarian assistance (bhopal.net)

Since 1990, an org. called the Agent Orange Victims Fund has been testing blood samples for dioxin from different areas to be able to map out the average dioxin levels throughout Vietnam

Those in northern Vietnam had lower dioxin levels than the people from southern Vietnam, where Agent Orange was sprayed (bhopal.net)

Spraying Agent Orange was not worth all the lives it affects today

“We have over 50,000 children that have been born with horrific deformities; the link is clear.” -- Vu Trong Huong, director War Crimes Investigation (whale.to.html)

Works Cited

. "Agent Orange." www.whale.to. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jun 2012. <http://www.whale.to/b/agent_orange.html>. Sukha, Samaya Lea. "Agent Orange." American Government. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 10 June 2012. . "the effects of Agent Orange." bhopal.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jun 2012.

<http://www.bhopal.net/oldsite/agentorange.html>. http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/1355-agent-orange-video--monsantos-legacy-in-vietnam Wilcox, Fred A. "Agent Orange." In Burch, Susan, ed. Encyclopedia of American Disability History. New York:

Facts On File, Inc., 2009. American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE52&iPin=EADH0016&SingleRecord=True (accessed June 10, 2012).

Primary Source: . usd116.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jun 2012.

<http://www.usd116.org/ProfDev/AHTC/lessons/SteffenFel09/cartoon2.JPG>.