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 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 disabilities 500,000 people were born with birth effects

Effects on humans Soft-tissue sarcoma (cancer that attacks soft tissues) Respiratory cancer Chronic lymphocytic leukemia Non–Hodgkin’s lymphoma Prostate cancer Multiple 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 3 rd 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 milk There 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 life Children in Vietnam often can’t go to school, and their parents usually can’t work This 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." N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jun Sukha, Samaya Lea. "Agent Orange." American Government. ABC-CLIO, Web. 10 June "the effects of Agent Orange." bhopal.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jun Wilcox, Fred A. "Agent Orange." In Burch, Susan, ed. Encyclopedia of American Disability History. New York: Facts On File, Inc., American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. ItemID=WE52&iPin=EADH0016&SingleRecord=True (accessed June 10, 2012). Primary Source:. usd116.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jun