Full Transcript for Episode 4: Agent Orange

was, like I mentioned earlier, 50 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:26,400 the use of herbicides in the context of war was nothing new. Allied forces had already 51 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:33,920 been collaborating in exploring the applied uses of defoliating agents during and after 52 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:43,320 World War II. In fact, in 1950, Britain used herbicides in Malaya, or present-day Malaysia. 53 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:50,880 Now Malaya was still a British colony at that time, and herbicidal warfare was used to counter 54 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:59,520 communist guerrilla forces during the Malayan Emergency. Now this Malayan Emergency consisted 55 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:08,600 of roadside ambushes by the Communist Malayan National Liberation Army, or MNLA, and these 56 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:16,840 were a great danger to British troops. Because of the vegetation used by the National Liberation 57 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:25,880 Army, the British had experimented with defoliants in order to take it away and annihilate food 58 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:34,720 crops as well. The use of defoliants was ultimately dropped due to the cost, and the manual removal 59 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:40,460 of the leaves was favored. Nonetheless, a significant amount of additional research 60 00:08:40,460 --> 00:08:46,720 and development was compiled in the process by Britain on the use of defoliants in the 61 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:55,000 context of war. And this information was consistently relayed to the US. In fact, journalist Judith 62 00:08:55,000 --> 00:09:05,120 Pereira and Andy Thomas from the New Scientist wrote an article in 1985 claiming that Britain 63 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:12,200 had been cooperating closely with the US in all areas of chemical and biological warfare 64 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:21,480 research since 1942. Now the leading agency in developing and testing these tactical herbicides 65 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:30,560 was the US Army Chemical Corps Research Laboratories at Fort Detrick, Maryland. All of this was 66 00:09:30,560 --> 00:09:37,520 actually summed up and editorialized in Pereira and Thomas' article. And they had this to 67 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:47,120 say, the British experiments in Malaya established 2,4-D and 2,4-5-T as defoliants rather than 68 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:52,920 anti-crop agents. They also showed that a combination of the two was more effective 69 00:09:52,920 --> 00:10:01,160 than either one alone, and that aerial application was the best means of dissemination. All of 70 00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:07,480 this information was duly conveyed to the US. In the last few months of the war in Korea, 71 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:14,480 with information filtering through Britain, the US actually began defoliation trials in 72 00:10:14,480 --> 00:10:23,880 Korea using a mixture of 2,4-D and 2,4-5-T. These trials were so successful that it revived 73 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:31,760 the United States own defoliation

program. And so with Britain's help, the stage had been set for 74 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:39,080 the massive use of defoliance in Vietnam, which would end up being the ultimate testing ground 75 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:47,120 for the military use of herbicides and Agent Orange in particular. Now Britain and the US 76 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:52,520 had been toying with the idea of using herbicides as part of the war strategy prior to the Vietnam 77 00:10:52,520 --> 00:11:02,120 War. As I mentioned earlier, Britain had just set the precedence in the Malaya conflict. Now during 78 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:09,320 the Vietnam War, US soldiers felt like they were being decimated by an invisible enemy, 79 00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:17,880 which the Viet Cong insurgents would attack and then swiftly retreat into dense jungle, 80 00:11:17,880 --> 00:11:27,000 and this created a climate of fear. In 1961, echoing this sentiment, South Vietnamese President 81 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:35,640 Gông Đình Điêm asked the United States to help defoliate the lush jungle that was facilitating 82 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:42,320 the concealment of his enemies, which happened to be the communist Viet Cong. Citing the British 83 00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:49,680 precedent, President Kennedy was advised to proceed. As cited by Clyde Haberman in his 84 00:11:49,680 --> 00:11:57,640 article for the New York Times published in 2014, he had to say, to the political and military 85 00:11:57,640 --> 00:12:06,120 strategists in Washington, using vegetation-killing chemicals was a legally sound and necessary way 86 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:14,680 to save American and South Vietnamese lives. In short, many officials supported the use of 87 00:12:14,680 --> 00:12:21,400 defoliance as a war tactic, but the public's knowledge of the use of herbicides in the war 88 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:30,400 actually hinged on certain beliefs. One was the use of defoliance was meant to deprive communist 89 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:38,840 insurgents of cover. The second belief was that it was meant to starve them out by decimating their 90 00:12:38,840 --> 00:12:47,720 crops. And the final, most important, was to save the lives of American soldiers as well as innocent 91 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:55,880 Vietnamese civilians. So this was the pitch that the US government relayed to the public. Ultimately, 92 00:12:55,880 --> 00:13:05,120 in 1962, Operation Ranch Hand had begun. The motto for the ranch hands, which were the soldiers 93 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:15,200 executing the defoliant runs, was similar to that of the forest fire motto here in the US. You know 94 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:21,160 that one that goes, only you can prevent forest fires? Yeah, well, theirs was a little bit different. 95 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:30,040 It went like this, only you can prevent a forest. And prevent a forest they did. As reiterated by 96 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:37,160 Scott Bucamp for his article in the Task and Purpose Military Blog, the difference with the 97 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:44,400 use of Agent Orange lies in its scope, not in its concept. Now the US military ended up spraying 98 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:53,040 nearly 20 million US gallons of these chemicals over Southeast Asia. And this was just in a short 99 00:13:53,040 --> 00:14:06,440 period of about 10 years between 1961 and 1971. Earlier on in 1962 to 1964, large-scale defoliation 100 00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:14,160 missions used Agent Green, Pink, and Purple. And these were the test years of Operation Ranch Hand. 101 00:14:14,160 --> 00:14:24,000 Now let's break down the actual test years of Operation Ranch Hand. So Agent Green was 100% 102 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:37,440 in Butylester 2457. And they used approximately 8200 gallons of this chemical. Now Agent Pink was 103 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:54,800 100% 245T, which is 60% in Butylester 245T and 40% Isobutylester 245T. So they're just tweaked 104 00:14:54,800 --> 00:15:08,560 chemical formulations of a Butylester. And approximately 123,000 gallons was used of this chemical. And the 105 00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:22,560 last of the test year chemicals was Agent Purple. And Agent Purple was 50% 245T and 50% in Butylester 106 00:15:22,560 --> 00:15:34,240 244T. And they used approximately 144,000 gallons of this chemical. At the end of this testing run, 107 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:43,320 the US government decided that Agent Purple was actually the closest inconsistency to Agent Orange. 108 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:52,800 But they strove for something just a little bit more effective. And that's where in 1965 the use 109 00:15:52,800 --> 00:16:05,840 of Agent Orange began. Now Agent Orange is 50% in Butylester 24D and 50% in Butylester 245T. And the 110 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:20,800 usage of this chemical far surpassed all chemicals used combined prior. And it was 11,700,000 gallons. 111 00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:30,680 Now while that was the most widely and effective used chemical herbicide, there were two other 112 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:39,080 fairly effective agents that were used. And those were Agent Blue and Agent White. Agent Blue was 113 00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:51,000 sprayed over the course of 1962 into 1971. And this one was used solely for crop destruction. And it 114 00:16:51,000 --> 00:17:02,520 is a mixture of 65.6% organic arsenicicol, cocodylic acid, and sodium salt cocodylate. And within that 115 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:14,760 nine years of usage, 2,166,000 gallons were ultimately used. Now finally we get to Agent White. 116 00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:27,200 And that began replacing Agent Orange in 1966. It was 21.2% triisopropanolamine salts of 2,4-D and 117 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:39,160 5.7% picloram. And the remaining ingredients were inert binders and surfactants. And they ultimately 118 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:49,200 used 5,240,000 gallons of this chemical. Now the goals of spraying herbicides in South Asia were 119

00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:57,760 to defoliate the jungle to expose the enemy and destroy their concealment options, remove brush 120 00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:05,120 around sensitive areas such as military bases, remove vegetation around roads and canals to avoid 121 00:18:05,120 --> 00:18:13,000 ambushes, and to decimate the food crops of insurgents. Now aside from using these chemicals 122 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:21,040 for these purposes, there was another policy that was theorized and elaborated by Samuel P. 123 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:30,280 Huntington in 1968 for an article in Foreign Affairs. And it explains the forced urbanization 124 00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:38,280 of the inhabitants of rural newly deforested lands. Robbed of livelihoods and food sources, 125 00:18:38,280 --> 00:18:44,760 the support base for the Viet Cong would be eliminated. Samuel P. Huntington goes on to say, 126 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:53,320 the Viet Cong is a powerful force which cannot be dislodged from its constituency so long as the 127 00:18:53,320 --> 00:19:01,240 constituency continues to exist. Peace in the future must be based on accommodation, direct 128 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:09,080 application of mechanical and conventional power on such a massive scale as to produce a massive 129 00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:19,000 migration from countryside to city. And so reading this kind of implies another goal. And this was 130 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:26,840 to displace the support base of the Viet Cong to urban centers. And it also implies that the 131 00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:36,080 Vietnamese civilians were strategically targeted or at least that their displacement was a welcomed 132 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:44,440 effect. Now let's take a look at how the US deployed these chemicals and to what extent they 133 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:54,640 were ultimately used. Now 95% of herbicides were deployed from low-flying C123 cargo planes which 134 00:19:54,640 --> 00:20:02,600 had been outfitted with spraying equipment. And this equipment would be comprised of MC1 hourglass 135 00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:13,840 pump systems and 1000 gallon chemical tanks. The remaining 5% of application was done by helicopters, 136 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:24,800 trucks, boats, and by hand via backpack spreaders. Now all in all over 80 million liters of Agent Orange 137 00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:35,280 were applied. And this of course was spread out over 6542 spraying missions within the Operation 138 00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:44,760 Ranch Hand. Overall herbicides were sprayed on 24% of southern Vietnam. And that's 5 million acres 139 00:20:44,760 --> 00:20:56,400 of upland and mangroves that were destroyed along with 500,000 acres of crops. Eventually the public 140 00:20:56,400 --> 00:21:05,320 becomes aware of the use of herbicides and the fact that they are affecting Vietnamese civilians. 141 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:13,320 As I mentioned at the top of this episode, the Vietnam War was in direct

opposition to the growing 142 00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:22,480 anti-war peace and love sentiment on American soil. And up until this point the brutality and the scope 143 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:31,160 of the herbicidal warfare program was not yet fully exposed to the American public. So the government 144 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:41,760 initially held firm. The outward goal was always to turn the tide on the Viet Cong. And Agent Orange 145 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:51,400 was pegged as relatively safe for humans and animals according to the US military. In 1962, 146 00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:57,840 the US military began targeting food crops using Agent Blue like I had discussed previously. In 147 00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:06,800 1964, the Federation of American Scientists officially stated its opposition to the use of 148 00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:14,080 herbicides in Vietnam on the grounds that their use was not discriminating between fighting forces 149 00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:23,280 and civilians. And it also represented biological and chemical warfare. Arthur Galston, the man 150 00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:30,080 who actually discovered the defoliants and was later contracted by the US Army to study their use, 151 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:38,640 had also stated his ethical objections to the use of Agent Orange when he discovered the US 152 00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:46,440 military's plan to use them in Vietnam. According to Coco and Verwey, the American public was not 153 00:22:46,440 --> 00:22:53,760 made aware of the crop destruction programs until 1965. And it was then believed that crop 154 00:22:53,760 --> 00:23:02,720 spraying had begun that spring. In 1965, 42% of all herbicide spraying was dedicated to food crops. 155 00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:09,360 And at the same time, members of the US Congress were told crop destruction is understood to be 156 00:23:09,360 --> 00:23:17,320 more important, a more important purpose. But the emphasis is usually given to the jungle 157 00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:27,880 defoliation in public mention of the program. So essentially, behind closed doors, those in charge 158 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:37,800 know what is going on, but the public is being shown a very small side of the ultimate scheme 159 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:48,160 at hand. It wasn't until March 1966 that the first official acknowledgement of the programs came from 160 00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:55,040 the State Department. Because crops were being destroyed, the Viet Cong would source food supplies 161 00:23:55,040 --> 00:24:05,120 from rural civilian villages. A 1967 analysis by the Rand Corporation, which is a military think tank, 162 00:24:05,120 --> 00:24:13,000 came to the conclusions that the civilian population seems to carry nearly the full burden 163 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:22,520 of the crop destruction program. And it was, and they estimated that over 500 civilians experienced 164 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:29,360 crop loss for every ton of rice denied to the Viet Cong. Now, according to the report by the 165 00:24:29,360 --> 00:24:38,640 American Association for the Advancement of Science, by 1970, they estimated 600,000 people 166 00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:46,920 had been disrupted by the defoliation campaign. As time passed, Agent Orange ultimately fell out 167 00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:55,240 of favor. A report compiled by Young and Reggiani in 1988 actually marks the beginning of public 168 00:24:55,240 --> 00:25:04,720 concern toward Agent Orange as starting in the fall of 1969. This report also said that Young 169 00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:13,640 and Reggiani were inclined to state the birthday of the Agent Orange history as a matter of public 170 00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:21,440 concern in the fall of 1969, when the results of a study commissioned by the National Institute of 171 00:25:21,440 --> 00:25:29,360 Health became known. Now, meanwhile, reports that Agent Orange had produced birth defects in humans 172 00:25:29,360 --> 00:25:38,400 had already been published in June of 1969 in Vietnamese newspapers. The National Institute of 173 00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:45,880 Health study that was just mentioned had been undertaken by Bionetics Research Laboratories 174 00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:54,280 in Bethesda, Maryland. And this study was conducted between 1965 and 1968. And it had discovered 175 00:25:54,280 --> 00:26:04,160 malformations in test animals caused by 245T. And the results of the Bionetics studies on mice 176 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:11,760 seemed therefore to support the assumption that Agent Orange could cause birth deformities and 177 00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:22,960 propose a probable threat to man, as suggested by Vietnamese newspapers. As early as 1966, 178 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:32,360 resolutions were introduced by the United Nations charging that the US was violating the 1925 Geneva 179 00:26:32,360 --> 00:26:40,800 Protocol by using chemical and biological weapons. Now, the US defeated most of these resolutions, 180 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:49,880 stating that the British had set precedence during the Malayan emergency conflict. In 1969, 181 00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:59,800 UN resolution number 2603A declared that the use of chemical agents in a manner used by the US in 182 00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:11,080 Vietnam was a violation of the 1925 Geneva Protocol and deemed a war crime. The UN General Assembly 183 00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:20,440 actually passed this resolution by a vote of 82-3. Moving on a year, in 1970, the American 184 00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:28,640 Association for the Advancement of Science set up a commission of four scientists with the task of 185 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:36,920 assessing the effects of large-scale use of herbicides on the ecology and the population 186 00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:46,480 of South Vietnam. In December of that same year, the scientists had this to say, quote, 187 00:27:46,480 --> 00:27:52,920 the herbicide sprayed in South

Vietnam had destroyed the vegetation of the territory and 188 00:27:52,920 --> 00:28:01,120 the food which was needed by the civilian population, but also there was the possibility that either or 189 00:28:01,120 --> 00:28:11,600 both 245T and its associated dioxin had caused birth defects in the population of that region. 190 00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:19,960 Aside from the American Association for Advancement of Science's study, three others were also 191 00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:28,840 conducted. One was by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of South Vietnam, and they looked 192 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:39,880 at maternity hospital records of 22 hospitals over the 10-year period from 1960 to 1970, and they 193 00:28:39,880 --> 00:28:47,880 showed that no differences in the incidence and frequency of stillbirths and congenital malformations 194 00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:57,400 were found. But the study had been shown to have several biases because birth records were not very 195 00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:04,800 reliable. Now the second of these studies was by a committee appointed by the National Academy of 196 00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:13,920 Sciences once again. Now this committee conducted a comparative study and investigation to determine 197 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:21,920 the ecological and biological dangers deriving from the use of herbicides and of the defoliation 198 00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:30,680 program carried out by the Department of Defense in South Vietnam. And this report was submitted to 199 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:39,600 the government in February of 1974, and it also found no evidence substantiating the occurrence 200 00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:49,240 of herbicide-induced defects. But it should be noted that at the time of the report's submission, 201 00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:59,520 the most definitive aspect of the examination had not yet been completed. So I'm not really sure why, 202 00:29:59,520 --> 00:30:08,760 but they submitted an unfinished report to the government and drew conclusions from that. Now 203 00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:16,680 the final study was directed by the Tho Thanh Tung, director of the Vai Du Hospital in Hanoi, 204 00:30:16,680 --> 00:30:25,720 North Vietnam, and was published in 1971. This was a group of 903 South Vietnamese exposed to herbicides 205 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:35,920 in the North showed a high frequency of Down syndrome and malformed children. So it's interesting 206 00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:43,920 to see that these studies and reports coming out of Vietnam are showing that these chemicals 207 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:52,640 caused malformed children, Down syndrome, and stillbirths, but every other report from 208 00:30:52,640 --> 00:31:01,000 international and other national groups are showing that there's no connection. Now like I 209 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:08,760 just briefly mentioned earlier, the American Association of Advancement of Sciences had 210 00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:15,040 already came out and said that there was a connection between these herbicides and dioxin 211 00:31:15,040 --> 00:31:21,760 in particular and birth defects, and they went on to adopt a resolution which stated that recent 212 00:31:21,760 --> 00:31:31,480 studies had shown that both 2,4-D and 2,4-5-T could cause birth deformities in experimental animals, 213 00:31:31,480 --> 00:31:39,640 thus supporting the conclusion that 2,4-5-T posed a threat to public health while 2,4-D was 214 00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:47,000 possibly dangerous. Now these studies were brought to the attention of the White House in 1969, 215 00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:57,200 and on April 15th, 1970, it was announced that the use of Agent Orange would be suspended. And it 216 00:31:57,200 --> 00:32:04,680 really wasn't long after that the defoliation and crop destruction was actually completely stopped 217 00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:15,800 in June of 1971. Now that we kind of have some history of the herbicides, I would like to get 218 00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:22,040 into the health impacts. Now the chemical components that make up Agent Orange and the 219 00:32:22,040 --> 00:32:28,280 rainbow herbicides were already being used domestically as I stated in the beginning of 220 00:32:28,280 --> 00:32:35,960 this episode. The use of tactical herbicides like Agent Orange and the rainbow herbicides was not 221 00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:47,680 new. What was new was the scope of the application of Agent Orange. And so this includes the size of 222 00:32:47,680 --> 00:32:55,440 the territory that was affected, the quantities that were used, and the frequency of use. The 223 00:32:55,440 --> 00:33:04,160 second act of Agent Orange history is the implication that TCDD, which remember is dioxin, 224 00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:13,880 present in the 2,4,5 T acid was actually highly toxic to humans. So another factor into the scope 225 00:33:13,880 --> 00:33:22,000 of the application of Agent Orange was the concentration levels of Agent Orange were 226 00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:31,920 sometimes 50 times more elevated than the actual recommended dosages. So the scope of use of Agent 227 00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:41,040 Orange during the war affecting both the Vietnamese people and veterans returning home were as 228 00:33:41,040 --> 00:33:49,800 follows. The Vietnamese, both those fighting for the north and the south, as well as civilians, 229 00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:58,760 according to the government of Vietnam, they make the claims that 4 million of its citizens have 230 00:33:58,760 --> 00:34:06,560 been exposed to Agent Orange and 3 million people have birth defects or other health problems 231 00:34:06,560 --> 00:34:15,640 directly related to dioxin. Now when it comes to the Red Cross, which is an NGO, they claim that 232 00:34:15,640 --> 00:34:23,960 3 million people have been affected by a dioxin, including at least 150,000 children born with 233 00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:32,440 serious birth

defects. But the United States doesn't really legitimize any of these claims 234 00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:40,840 and states that they are unreliable. In a study titled Long-Term Health Impact of Agent Orange, 235 00:34:40,840 --> 00:34:51,400 Evidence from the Vietnam War by DT Lee, TM Pham, and S. Polacek, published in March of 2022, 236 00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:59,720 states the following findings. Significant linkage between a wartime herbicide exposure 237 00:34:59,720 --> 00:35:07,600 and detrimental health outcomes of Vietnam civilians, a standard deviation increase in 238 00:35:07,600 --> 00:35:17,360 herbicide exposure yielded a 19.75% greater likelihood of having a related health issue. 239 00:35:17,360 --> 00:35:25,920 Significant effects are associated with altered blood pressure, disease, and mobility impairments. 240 00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:35,680 And finally, the effects predominant in children, infants, and those in utero before the herbicide 241 00:35:35,680 --> 00:35:46,680 missions ended. The war officially ended in 1975, but veterans were coming home long before then, 242 00:35:46,680 --> 00:35:55,680 and even after then. It's estimated that 2.5 million soldiers were exposed to the chemicals 243 00:35:55,680 --> 00:36:04,440 used in the herbicidal warfare strategy of the Vietnam War. At the time, most soldiers had a 244 00:36:04,440 --> 00:36:14,160 typical tour of duty that lasted a minimum of one year. And following the war, or following 245 00:36:14,160 --> 00:36:21,920 their deployments, some veterans began to develop health problems, and in time more and more veterans 246 00:36:21,920 --> 00:36:29,280 reported serious illness and claimed that their children were being born with birth defects. 247 00:36:29,280 --> 00:36:37,840 It was in 1977 that veterans actually began to file claims at different offices of the Veterans 248 00:36:37,840 --> 00:36:44,560 Administration stating that they suspect their illnesses were born out of the exposure to Agent 249 00:36:44,560 --> 00:36:53,640 Orange. One such office was the Chicago branch of the VA where a woman named Maude De Victor worked 250 00:36:53,640 --> 00:37:02,960 as a benefits counselor. In 1977, De Victor was contacted by the wife of Charles Owen, a Vietnam 251 00:37:02,960 --> 00:37:12,080 veteran who believed his terminal cancer was the result of his exposure to Agent Orange. After 252 00:37:12,080 --> 00:37:19,040 learning that Charles had succumbed to his illness and that the VA had refused his widow's claim, 253 00:37:19,040 --> 00:37:26,960 De Victor began doing some digging. She reached out to Alvin L. Young, a major in the US Air Force, 254 00:37:26,960 --> 00:37:35,640 who was a specialist in plant physiology. De Victor did this because she wanted to know what 255 00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:45,360 types of herbicides were actually used, and Young responded to her question explaining the use and 256 00:37:45,360 --> 00:37:54,880 toxicity of Agent Orange, which De Victor recorded. Once she had discovered this, she began noting that 257 00:37:54,880 --> 00:38:02,640 there was a pattern of cancers and other illnesses suffered by these Vietnam veterans, and she was 258 00:38:02,640 --> 00:38:10,160 able to link this exposure to Agent Orange. When the VA got wind of what she was doing, they asked 259 00:38:10,160 --> 00:38:18,080 her to cease any investigation at once and focus on her duties, but nevertheless she persisted. 260 00:38:18,080 --> 00:38:27,360 Here's what happened next, as quoted by a report by the Institute of Medicine. Soon after someone 261 00:38:27,360 --> 00:38:35,080 contacted Bill Curtis, a local television reporter, about De Victor's inquiries on veterans' exposure 262 00:38:35,080 --> 00:38:45,480 to Agent Orange. On March 23, 1978, WBBM, a CBS affiliate in Chicago, aired Curtis's documentary, 263 00:38:45,480 --> 00:38:52,920 Agent Orange, the Deadly Fog. Subsequently, local and national media began to report on 264 00:38:52,920 --> 00:39:00,640 Agent Orange and veterans' complaints with more frequency. And it was at this point the 265 00:39:00,640 --> 00:39:13,440 floodgates had been opened. In early 1978, Paul Ruddershane went on the Today Show, and Paul was 266 00:39:13,440 --> 00:39:22,160 a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, and he recounted how he would routinely fly through clouds of 267 00:39:22,160 --> 00:39:30,000 herbicides being sprayed by C-123 bombers. He went on to talk about how he watched the jungles and 268 00:39:30,000 --> 00:39:38,000 mangroves get decimated by Agent Orange. But most pugnant of all was what he said in regards to his 269 00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:46,080 own health, which was of no concern at the time. I died in Vietnam, but I didn't even know it. 270 00:39:46,080 --> 00:39:55,240 Moving on, the US Army had insisted that Agent Orange was relatively non-toxic to humans and 271 00:39:55,240 --> 00:40:04,040 animals. Unfortunately, Paul Ruddershane died of cancer that year. It had invaded his colon, liver, 272 00:40:04,040 --> 00:40:15,040 and abdomen, and he was only 28 years old. Now back to this IOM report, prior to his death, 273 00:40:15,040 --> 00:40:22,040 Paul Ruddershane had read a news account about Maude DeVictor's data correlating health problems 274 00:40:22,040 --> 00:40:28,440 in Vietnam veterans and exposure to Agent Orange. It continues on saying, 275 00:40:28,440 --> 00:40:35,480 convinced that he had identified the cause of his illness, he contacted Edward Gorman, 276 00:40:35,480 --> 00:40:42,720 a personal injury lawyer on Long Island, and requested that he file a suit in a New York 277 00:40:42,720 --> 00:40:49,960 court naming Dow, Monsanto, and Diamond Shamrock as defendants. Now remember, 278 00:40:49,960 --> 00:40:55,320 these were the chemical companies that manufactured the ingredients for Agent Orange. 279 00:40:55,320 --> 00:41:04,600 In 1979, Ruddershane's complaints was upgraded to a class

action lawsuit named Agent Orange Product 280 00:41:04,600 --> 00:41:15,000 Liability Suit and was ultimately settled out of court for $180 million. Now the plaintiffs, 281 00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:22,360 of course, never publicly accepted any responsibility and cited immunity as military 282 00:41:22,360 --> 00:41:28,280 contractors. So conflicting statements by companies like Dow suggest that to a degree, 283 00:41:28,280 --> 00:41:35,040 both the companies and the government were aware of the dangers of the chemicals used on account 284 00:41:35,040 --> 00:41:43,520 of the presence of dioxin. According to a quote from 1983 in the New York Times article on the 285 00:41:43,520 --> 00:41:51,440 subject by David Burnham, he claims, the Dow Chemical Company maintains that at least two 286 00:41:51,440 --> 00:42:00,080 years before the United States halted the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam in 1971, both the Defense 287 00:42:00,080 --> 00:42:07,720 Department and the company were aware of evidence indicating that dioxin might cause birth defects 288 00:42:07,720 --> 00:42:16,040 in the children of women exposed to the defoliant. He further says that Dow stated in court papers 289 00:42:16,040 --> 00:42:23,720 that by 1969, the company and the government were aware of a National Cancer Institute study 290 00:42:23,720 --> 00:42:31,760 showing that dioxin caused birth defects in mice. And the unusual contention by the chemical company 291 00:42:31,760 --> 00:42:39,240 that had earlier knowledge of the dangers of dioxide is part of what is known as a government 292 00:42:39,240 --> 00:42:46,680 contractor defense. So if Dow can prove that it manufactured the herbicide according to Defense 293 00:42:46,680 --> 00:42:53,960 Department specifications and that both parties were aware of the hazards, then the company could 294 00:42:53,960 --> 00:43:03,080 not be held liable for any damages that may have been caused by the herbicide. And lastly, he reports 295 00:43:03,080 --> 00:43:09,960 that the company said the government continued to spray the dioxin contaminated herbicide in Vietnam 296 00:43:09,960 --> 00:43:18,040 despite evidence of the potential danger because the defoliation program was regarded as a military 297 00:43:18,040 --> 00:43:25,000 necessity, which meant the government justified the program as a method of denying the Viet Cong 298 00:43:25,000 --> 00:43:33,120 food and of clearing areas around American bases. In other words, both the government and the 299 00:43:33,120 --> 00:43:41,080 companies knew of the health hazards of dioxin and its presence in the chemicals used to create 300 00:43:41,080 --> 00:43:49,080 these herbicides. The lawsuit also raised the issue that dioxin was perhaps contaminating people 301 00:43:49,080 --> 00:43:57,240 domestically. When it came down to Vietnam, the government actually dragged its feet when it came 302 00:43:57,240 --> 00:44:04,880 to claiming responsibility. And I'll give

you a brief timeline of bills and laws passed that 303 00:44:04,880 --> 00:44:13,920 facilitated the care of veterans. In 1981, medical treatment was first provided with the congressional 304 00:44:13,920 --> 00:44:24,440 passing of the Veterans Health Care Training and Small Business Loan Act. In 1984, financial 305 00:44:24,440 --> 00:44:31,800 compensation came through the Veterans Dioxin and Radiation Exposure Compensation Standards Acts. 306 00:44:31,800 --> 00:44:41,120 This was nice, but there was a lack of scientific consensus at the time. Congress had later passed 307 00:44:41,120 --> 00:44:49,080 several measures to address the issues of disability compensations that affected Vietnam 308 00:44:49,080 --> 00:44:58,440 veterans. The Agent Orange Act of 1991 stated veterans affairs was contracted with the Institute 309 00:44:58,440 --> 00:45:05,800 of Medicine, which is now the National Academy of Sciences, to compensate veterans according to 310 00:45:05,800 --> 00:45:14,640 regular scientific findings. The National Academy of Sciences was to publish new findings every two 311 00:45:14,640 --> 00:45:24,320 years. And I have a list of several of those findings. Now the first list I have consists of 312 00:45:24,320 --> 00:45:34,080 diseases and conditions presumptively service-connected with exposure to that Agent Orange. In this list, 313 00:45:34,080 --> 00:45:45,880 I'll give the name of the disease or condition and when the published date was. So for this Agent Orange, 314 00:45:45,880 --> 00:45:56,600 findings for chloracne were published in 1994. Also in 1994 was non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, soft-tissue 315 00:45:56,600 --> 00:46:09,080 sarcoma, and Hodgkin's disease. Now in 2003, chronic lymphocytic leukemia was published and in 2009, 316 00:46:09,080 --> 00:46:20,120 chronic B-cell leukemia was published. When it came to limited or suggestive evidence of association 317 00:46:20,120 --> 00:46:31,160 to Agent Orange, there was a longer list. The first was respiratory cancer, which was lung, bronchies, 318 00:46:31,160 --> 00:46:41,080 larynx, and trachea. And these findings were published in 1994. Also in 1994 was multiple myeloma, 319 00:46:41,080 --> 00:46:51,840 porphyria, cutanotarta. In 1996, just two years later, published findings were for prostate cancer, 320 00:46:51,840 --> 00:47:02,960 early onset peripheral neuropathy, and spina bifida in the children of exposed veterans. Now there 321 00:47:02,960 --> 00:47:12,680 weren't any other study findings released until the year of 2000. And in 2000, they found limited 322 00:47:12,680 --> 00:47:23,280 or suggestive evidence for type 2 diabetes. Now six years later, they discovered limited and 323 00:47:23,280 --> 00:47:32,720 suggestive evidence for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which is ALS, if you all remember the ALS. I 324 00:47:32,720 --> 00:47:40,800 ice bucket challenge. That's what that ALS stands for. A year later, for some reason they didn't go 325

00:47:40,800 --> 00:47:49,120 every two years, they decided to go one year. They discovered a connection with AL amyloidosis. And 326 00:47:49,120 --> 00:47:59,200 finally in 2009, they discovered ischemic heart disease and Parkinson's disease. So jumping back 327 00:47:59,200 --> 00:48:08,000 a bit, in 1995, diplomatic relationships with Vietnam were sort of normalized. But it wasn't 328 00:48:08,000 --> 00:48:16,240 until 2012 that cleaning projects were inaugurated in places such as US air bases in Vietnam. 329 00:48:16,240 --> 00:48:24,080 Ultimately, it was decided that in order to make Agent Orange history, the remediation of hot spots 330 00:48:24,080 --> 00:48:33,280 needed to be undertaken in places other than US air bases. In this sense, the diplomatic relations 331 00:48:33,280 --> 00:48:42,080 between Vietnam also went by way of ecological remediation. Unfortunately, this doesn't change 332 00:48:42,080 --> 00:48:50,800 the fact that American veterans and the people of Southeast Asia still suffer with the long-term 333 00:48:50,800 --> 00:49:00,240 effects of the Agent Orange to this day. Aside from human health effects, the impact of Agent 334 00:49:00,240 --> 00:49:08,880 Orange on the ecology of Vietnam cannot be understated. Dioxin was identified as a persistent 335 00:49:08,880 --> 00:49:15,840 organic polluter, or POP, by the Environmental Protection Agency. Dioxin can remain in the soil 336 00:49:15,840 --> 00:49:23,760 long after the initial contamination. According to the study titled Long-Term Fate of Agent Orange 337 00:49:23,760 --> 00:49:34,080 and Dioxin, TCDD Contaminated Soils and Sediments in Vietnam Hot Spots by Kenneth Olson and Louis 338 00:49:34,080 --> 00:49:43,600 W. Morton, while the compound itself has a half-life of only a few weeks after application, 339 00:49:43,600 --> 00:49:54,240 the dioxin it contains persists in surface soils for 1-15 years and in subsurface soils for up to 340 00:49:54,240 --> 00:50:02,480 100 years. It should be noted that hot spots containing high levels of dioxin have been 341 00:50:02,480 --> 00:50:11,600 identified such as around the US air bases of Bien Ho and Da Nang. The long-lasting effects 342 00:50:11,600 --> 00:50:20,560 of this dioxin in the ecology of Vietnam have been permanent deforestation, soil erosion from 343 00:50:20,560 --> 00:50:28,720 that deforestation, flooding, widespread loss of mangrove forests, the emergence of invasive plants 344 00:50:28,720 --> 00:50:36,160 and animals, loss of the region's ability to store carbon, changes to the local climate, 345 00:50:36,160 --> 00:50:47,360 and loss of biodiversity. It's estimated that between 1956 and 1970, 30% of mangrove forests 346 00:50:47,360 --> 00:50:57,520 in southern Vietnam were destroyed. Grasslands and bamboo ended up replacing the large trees, 347 00:50:57,520 --> 00:51:04,800 and these are actually invasive species. According to an article by David M. Kuchta 348 00:51:04,800 --> 00:51:14,720 for Treehugger, unlike dense forests, grasslands and shrublands have lower rates of evapotranspiration. 349 00:51:14,720 --> 00:51:20,160 They take up less water from the soil and release less of it through their leaves. 350 00:51:20,160 --> 00:51:27,040 Less water uptake by plants increases runoff and erosion, sending more silt and pollution 351 00:51:27,040 --> 00:51:35,760 into waterways. Less evaporation means less cloud cover, less rain, and drier air, which increases 352 00:51:35,760 --> 00:51:43,040 ambient temperatures and warms the planet. Furthermore, forests including mangrove forests 353 00:51:43,040 --> 00:51:50,000 are important carbon sinks and among the world's most threatened ecosystems. Without adequate tree 354 00:51:50,000 --> 00:51:58,000 cover or deep root systems, erosion helps distribute dioxin in soils further than the initial source of 355 00:51:58,000 --> 00:52:05,680 contamination. Stepping back for a second, we can look at Kenneth Olson and Louis W. Morton's study 356 00:52:05,680 --> 00:52:15,120 just a little bit more. It indicates that dioxin made its way into waterways near those US airbases 357 00:52:15,120 --> 00:52:22,720 that were highly contaminated. And they state, Bien Ho Air Force Base, 40 kilometers northeast 358 00:52:22,720 --> 00:52:31,680 of Ho Chi Minh City, continues to be one of the mega hotspots where after 48 years of the dioxin 359 00:52:31,680 --> 00:52:39,680 tcdd levels in fish and shrimp are still high and fishing is banned in ponds and lakes 360 00:52:39,680 --> 00:52:48,080 adjacent to the airbase. Now there is no doubt that was a lot of information so let me kind of 361 00:52:48,080 --> 00:52:55,920 recap a little bit. Clyde Haberman pointedly says in his New York Times article, there is no shortage 362 00:52:55,920 --> 00:53:04,640 of programs initially deemed essential and safe only to produce unwelcome consequences. And this 363 00:53:04,640 --> 00:53:13,840 reflects the use of Agent Orange. Initially it was deemed essential and safe to use but ultimately 364 00:53:14,480 --> 00:53:22,960 it produced very unwelcomed and long-lasting consequences. Such that it appears that the price 365 00:53:22,960 --> 00:53:32,480 paid for wanting to overcome the enemy in Vietnam is still being paid for to this day. Now the true 366 00:53:32,480 --> 00:53:40,080 price was paid by the Vietnamese civilians and American veterans as well as the natural systems 367 00:53:40,080 --> 00:53:48,800 affected by the contamination of dioxin. At the end of the day it begs the question, were the 368 00:53:48,800 --> 00:53:57,680 consequences worth it? I'm hoping there was something in this episode for all of us to take away. 369 00:53:57,680 --> 00:54:04,720 I know there was some information in there that I was not aware of before doing this episode. 370 00:54:04,720 --> 00:54:14,640 Before I head out I would like to thank my researcher and writer Chloe Kibbe. She's doing 371 00:54:14,640 --> 00:54:24,880 a wonderful job and I look forward to keep on working with her. Up for next week we are 372 00:54:24,880 --> 00:54:34,400 crossing the Pacific and landing in Japan. On March 11th, 2011 the largest earthquake ever 373 00:54:34,400 --> 00:54:43,360 recorded in Japan causes massive devastation and the ensuing tsunami decimates the Tohoku region 374 00:54:43,360 --> 00:54:50,000 of northeastern Honshu. On top of the already horrific destruction and loss of life, 375 00:54:50,000 --> 00:54:58,960 the natural disaster also gives rise to a nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant. 376 00:54:58,960 --> 00:55:06,320 The Fukushima disaster is considered the second worst nuclear disaster in history, forcing the 377 00:55:06,320 --> 00:55:15,360 relocation of over 100,000 people. Make sure to tune in next week. It's going to be another great 378 00:55:15,360 --> 00:55:22,720 episode. And as always, thank you for listening. 379 00:55:45,360 --> 00:55:46,320 you