PANNA: Agent Orange and Dioxin in Vietnam: New Findings

The firm, Hatfield Consultants Ltd., has spent the past five years studying the effects of herbicides sprayed on Vietnam from 1962 to 1971. During that period as part of Operation Ranch Hand, the U.S. military carried out over 6,500 missions, spraying approximately 72 million liters of herbicides on more than 1.5 million hectares (about 10% of South Vietnam). U.S. Air Force pilots in planes and helicopters flew at about 150 feet above ground and sprayed 1,000 gallons of herbicide for every three to four acres of vegetation. Eighty percent of the defoliant settled in the tops of trees while the rest hit a lower level of vegetation or reached the ground. While the vast majority (86%) of Operation Ranch Hand's herbicides were sprayed aerially, chemicals were also sprayed from trucks, boats and even backpacks.

About one third of the area was sprayed more than once, and 52,000 hectares were sprayed more than four times. According to official U.S. reports, Operation Ranch Hand destroyed 14% of South Vietnam's forests, including 50% of the mangrove forests.

Agent Orange accounted for approximately 60% of the herbicides used by the military to destroy forests and crops during this time. This chemical was a mixture of the herbicides 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T and also contained dioxin generated during formulation of 2,4,5-T. While the two herbicides break down in the environment rather quickly, dioxin is a highly persistent compound that can remain in the environment for decades and can cause cancer and other health and developmental problems.

Dioxins found in food chain

The Hatfield study, one of the most comprehensive done on Agent Orange to date, found high levels of dioxin in the blood of Vietnamese born after the war, indicating that contaminants are being transferred through the food chain. Dioxin was also found in high levels in fish and animal tissue. The study did not determine the number of people affected, and the authors stated that epidemiological studies are needed to establish a direct link between Agent Orange and the high rate of birth deformities found among the populations studied.

Dioxin contamination related to Agent Orange was found in grass carp growing in fish ponds excavated out of the terrrain in the vicinity of a former U.S. air base. "Levels found would trigger a consumption advisory process… possibly prohibitions against consumption if they were from a location in Canada or other Western jurisdictions," the report noted.

The report recommended setting up a public health plan to ensure that people do not eat contaminated food; comprehensive studies to investigate the link between Agent Orange and health problems; international assistance to develop and implement a reforestation program; and a campaign to decontaminate affected lands.

Since the war, Vietnam has not asked for compensation, but does need help from the international community to reclaim denuded forest lands. Large areas of land that were once jungle are now covered with scrub and wild grasses and could take centuries to recover without human intervention. Vietnam also needs assistance to care for the 70,000 people who the government says have medical or physical problems caused by their exposure or their parents' exposure to Agent Orange.

U.S. veterans study flawed

Effects of Agent Orange on U.S. veterans who were in Vietnam have been investigated by the U.S. government. A study is underway to track the health of about 1,000 veterans who participated in spraying missions, comparing them to Air Force veterans that were not involved in the spraying.

However, according to a six-month investigation by the San Diego Union-Tribune, the U.S. military's US$200 million study is so flawed that it might be useless. After interviewing military scientists and reviewing meeting transcripts, government reports and internal memos, the newspaper uncovered a series of flaws in the Air Force study which began in 1979 and ends in 2006.

Problems with the study include:

The San Diego Union-Tribune quoted one of the scientists, who designed the study but was later removed from the project, as saying it was a medical crime. He also stated that the study was manipulated to downplay the health problems of Vietnam veterans. The newspaper reports that the study's findings to date have been a key factor in denying compensation to Vietnam veterans who have illnesses they claim are related to Agent Orange exposure. As of April 1998, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs had received 92,276 Agent Orange claims from veterans and their survivors. Only 5,908 of these claims were approved for compensation.

Sources: "Vietnam Study Finds Dioxin in Food Chain," Los Angeles Times, October 31, 1998. "How the Military Misled Vietnam Veterans and Their Families About the Health Risks of Agent Orange," San Diego Union-Tribune, November 1, 1998. Hatfield Consultants Ltd., http://www.hatfieldgroup.com.