CarissaReulbach

TheLastingLegacyofAgentOrange

PhamThiLuyenwasonly13yearsoldonOctober21,1967,whenAmerican
soldiersstormedhervillageofTrieuAiandmassacredadozencivilians,includingher
father.PhamThiLuyenisonlyoneofthemillionsofVietnamesewhoseliveswere
destroyedbytheVietnamWar(Madar,2013).Thisisonlyoneofthemanyincidentsthat
portraystheUnitedStatesbrutalityandinconsiderationasitbombed,gunneddown
civilians,anddecimatedVietnamthroughoutthewar.
InSouthKoreatherewere300,000orphans,800,000childrenwholostoneor
bothparents,and131,000warwidows(CostoftheVietnamWar)duetothewar.
Familieswereleftdestroyed.JournalistNickTursetellsthestoriesofdozensof
Vietnamesewhoseliveswereruinedbythewar.Tursedescribesthestoryof"Nguyen
ThiLam,avillagerfromtheMekongDelta,whowasgunneddownbyU.S.helicopters
onthemorningofMay20,1968whileatworkinthericepaddiesshelostherleftleg,
hersisterinlawlostherlife."
Alongwiththegreatnumberofciviliandeathsduetotheconflict,muchofthe
landwasdestroyed,resultinginstarvationandcompletechangestothelifestylesof

Vietnamesecivilians.Accordingto
TheAmericanConservative
,"Inthenorthernmost
provinceofSouthVietnam,QuangTri,only11outof35,000villageswerenotdamaged
bybombingorartillery"(Madar,2013).MillionsofbombcratersspotVietnam.Notto
mentionthe150,000to300,000tonsofunexplodedordnancestrewnaboutIndochina,
stillkillingmanyhundredsoffarmers(CostoftheVietnamWar).
Oneofthemostdamagingaspectsofthewarwasthe18,000,000gallonsof
poisonouschemicalherbicidessprayedover6millionacresofforestandcroplandsin
SouthVietnamalone,whichledtocountlessenvironmentalandhealthissues.
TheUnitedStatesuseddangerouschemicals,suchasoneknownasAgentOrange
toeliminateforestcoverforNorthVietnameseandVietCongtroops,aswellascrops
thatmightbeusedtofeedthem.However,thisdidnotjusteliminateforestcover,it
causedissuesthatwerefargreater.
AgentOrangeisapowerfulmixtureofchemicaldefoliantsusedbyU.S.during
theVietnamWarthatwasnamedfortheorangestripepaintedonthe55gallondrums.It
wasoneofseveralRainbowHerbicidesused,alongwithAgentsWhite,Purple,Pink,
GreenandBlue(AgentOrange,2015).
"U.S.planessprayedsome11millionto13milliongallonsofAgentOrangein
VietnambetweenJanuary1965andApril1970"(AgentOrange,2015).TheUnited
Statescalledtheirprogramofdefoliation,OperationRanchHand,whichsprayedmore
than19milliongallonsofherbicidesover4.5millionacresoflandinVietnamfrom1961
to1972.

AgentOrangecontainedthechemical,dioxin,whichisthemostcommonlyused
oftheherbicidemixturesandmosteffective,andwasveryefficientinVietnamasit
resultedin"nearly5millionacresofdenudedorheavilydefoliateduplandandcoastal
forestsinsouthernVietnam"(MakingAgentOrangeHistory,2012).
AgentOrangedamagedsome500,000acresofriceandothercrops,makinglives
forthepeopleofVietnamverydifficultevendecadesafterthewar.Theseenvironmental
effectswillcontinuetoaffectthemforyears,astakescenturiestoreproducethe
ecologicallybalancedmixoffloraandfaunathatoncethrivedthere.
Evenfourdecadeslater,manyecosystemshavenotyetrecovered.Ithasbeen
proventhatthelossoftrees,biologicaldiversityandusablecroplandhasslowed
developmentandledtoeconomicstagnation,povertyandmalnutrition.
Initially,thevillagerswereabletoharvestthedeadmangrovesforfuel,butnow,
thereislittletheycangainfromtheseforests.ManyVietnamesewhohaddependedupon
forestcropsandhuntinglosttheirlivelihoods,andbarrensoilsbecameheavilyeroded,
losingfertility,andmanypeasantswereforcedtoabandonedtheirlands.Theysuffered
poverty,unemployment,andmalnutritionasaresult(MakingAgentOrangeHistory,
2012).

TheUnitedStatessprayedthesetoxicchemicalsalloverVietnam,destroying
millionsofhomeswithlittleconsiderationfortheseVietnamesecivilians.AlltheUnited

Statescaredaboutwaswinningthewar.Theydidn'tconsiderthelivesofthepeoplewho
livedintheareastheyweredestroying.
Toaddtothoseissues,AgentOrangedidnotjustcausedamagetothe
environment,italsocauseddamagetotheVietnamesepeople.Dioxinhasbeenshownto
behighlytoxiceveninminutedoseshumanexposuretothechemicalcouldbe
associatedwithserioushealthissuessuchasmusculardysfunction,inflammation,birth
defects,nervoussystemdisordersandeventhedevelopmentofvariouscancers.
Dioxinispersistentorganicpollutantthatistoxicovermanydecadesduetothe
factthatitisnotwatersolubleanddoesnotdegradeeasily.Itischemicallystableand
retainedinhumanfattytissue,whichallowsittoalterthecomplexcellularandchemical
balancesinvolvedinbodilyfunctioningandreproductiveprocesses.Thegeneticeffects
mayevenskipagenerationandreappearinthirdorsubsequentgenerations(Making
AgentOrangeHistory,2012).
ExposuretoAgentOrangehasbeenobservedtocauseserioushealthissues,such
astumors,birthdefects,rashes,psychologicalsymptoms,andcancer.Itwasfirstnoticed
whenincreasingnumberofreturningVietnamveteransandtheirfamiliesbegantoreport
arangeofafflictions,includingrashesandotherskinirritations,miscarriages,
psychologicalsymptoms,Type2diabetes,birthdefectsinchildren,andcancerssuchas
Hodgkinsdisease,prostatecancer,andleukemia(AgentOrange,2015).
TheU.S.InstituteofMedicinesJuly2009reportcitedsufficientevidenceof
associationbetweenexposuretoAgentOrange/dioxintovariousillnessesandconditions
,includingsofttissuesarcoma,nonHodgkinslymphoma,chroniclymphocyticleukemia
(includinghairycellleukemia),Hodgkinsdisease,chloracne,prostatecancer,multiple
myeloma,amyloidosis(abnormalproteindeposits),Parkinsonsdisease,porphyria
cutaneatarda(abloodandskindisorder),ischemicheartdisease,hypertension,Type2
diabetes,peripheralneuropathy,cancerofthelarynx,lung,bronchiortrachea,andspina
bifidainexposedpeoplesoffspring.
TheVietnameseRedCrossalsoassociatesthefollowingwithexposuretodioxin:
livercancer,lipidmetabolismdisorder,cleftlip,cleftpalate,clubfoot,hydrocephalus,

neuraltubedefects,fuseddigits,musclemalformations,paralysis,andsome
developmentaldisabilities.
Between2.1and4.5millionVietnamesecivilianslivedinareassprayedwith
dioxincontaminatedherbicidesatthetimeofspraying,and2.8millionU.S.veterans
whohadbootsonthegroundinVietnamfrom1962to1975wereexposedto
dioxincontaminatedherbicides,includingAgentOrange.Inaddition,manypeoplestill
liveinornearhotspots,wheretheirexposurecontinues(MakingAgentOrange
History,2012).
VietnameseRedCrossestimatesthat"uptothreemillionVietnamesehave
sufferedhealtheffectsfromdioxinexposure,ofwhomatleast150,000arechildrenwith
birthdefects.""Fearofbirthdefectshascreatedaclimateofanxietyforwomenof
reproductiveage,anddoctorssayabortionsinVietnamhaveskyrocketedinrecentyears"
.OneVietnamesewomen,NguyenGriffiths,says"IhavenevermetaVietnamese
womanwhodoesnotworryaboutthat"(Schultz,2011).
AgentOrangeruinedthelivesofmillionsofVietnamese,bothfromthe
environmentaleffectsandthehealthissuesthatresultedfromexposuretoAgentOrange.
ThesenumbersonlyaddtothemillionsofinnocentVietnamesecivilianskilledbythe
UnitedStatesthroughoutthewar,including"theprogrammaticslaughterofover500
Vietnamesewomen,children,andelderlymencarriedoutonMarch16,1969by
AmericalDivisionsCharlieCompany,1stBattalion,20thInfantry"(Madar,2013).
ThroughouttheVietnamwar,theUnitedStateswereinsensitiveandbrutal.There
aremillionsofrecordedciviliancasualtiesduetotheVietnamWar,butthatdoesnot
evenputintoconsiderationthemillionsofVietnameseindirectlyaffectedbythewar,
suchasthemillionssufferingtheeffectsofAgentOrange.AgentOrangewasan
unethicalweaponusedbytheUnitedStatesduringtheVietnamWar,thatinadditionto
themassiveenvironmentalimpact,resultedinamultitudeofserioushealthissuesinthe
Vietnamesecivilians.

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