Agent Orange was one of the herbicides and defoliants used by the U.S.
military as part of its chemical warfare program during Operation Ranch Hand
(1962–1971) in the Vietnam War. It is estimated that 3 million Vietnamese were
affected, and that 150,000 children were born with birth defects as a result
of its use.
What is Agent Orange?
So-called Agent Orange is a herbicide that contains dioxin, a highly toxic
substance that wreaks havoc on the human genome.
Chemically, the agent is a 1:1 mixture of two hormonal herbicides, 2,4-D and
2,4,5-T, which was manufactured for the Department of Defense, primarily by
Monsanto Corporation and Dow Chemical. It was later discovered that the
2,4,5-T used to produce Agent Orange was contaminated with TCDD, an
extremely toxic dioxin compound.
Agent Orange was manufactured and supplied to the U.S. armed forces by,
among others, the U.S. companies Dow Chemical and Monsanto, which is now
part of the Bayer Group.
Damage to the human body caused by Agent Orange.
Exposure to TCDD can initially cause chlorine acne, a skin lesion on the
face with pockmark-like lesions that is considered the first symptom of
severe dioxin poisoning. Dioxin poisoning can directly cause serious organ
damage, particularly to the liver.
However, TCDD also has a teratogenic effect, meaning it can harm the fetus
in the womb. The agent can cause many babies to be born with severe birth
defects or diseases even three generations after its use.
Why “Agent Orange”?
The name “Agent Orange” has nothing to do with espionage; rather, it comes
from the orange stripes used to mark the barrels. In this context, “agent”
refers to the active ingredient. Consequently, herbicides marked with a
different color were called “Agent Blue,” “Agent Green,” “Agent Pink,”
“Agent Purple,” or “Agent White.”
Agent Orange in the Vietnam War.
Vietnam War.
The Vietnam War, also known as the U.S. War in Indochina and referred to in
Vietnam as the War of Resistance Against the United States, was a military
conflict fought between 1955 and 1975 to reunify Vietnam under a communist
government. This war pitted the communist government of North Vietnam and
its allies in South Vietnam (known as the Viet Cong), backed by China and
the Soviet Union, against the government of South Vietnam, its main ally the
United States, and other allied nations.
It is estimated that a total of between 966,000 and 3,010,000 Vietnamese
died. The United States suffered 58,159 casualties and had more than 1,700
missing in action, making it the country's longest conflict until the War in
Afghanistan. It was one of the most significant wars of the Cold War.
The role of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.
During the Vietnam War, between 1962 and 1971, the U.S. military sprayed
nearly 20 million gallons (76,000,000 liters) of a mixture containing
herbicides and chemical defoliants blended with jet fuel in Vietnam, eastern
Laos, and parts of Cambodia. The program’s objective was to defoliate
forested and rural areas, depriving guerrilla fighters of cover. According
to some scholars, another objective was to forcibly drive urbanization,
destroy peasants’ ability to earn a living in the countryside, and force
them to flee to U.S.-controlled cities, thereby depriving the guerrillas of
their rural support base and food supply.
Vietnamese sources claim that 80 million liters of this toxic substance were
sprayed over a 10-year period not only in Vietnam but also in Cambodia and
Laos during “the secret war” in those two countries. According to these
official sources, nearly two million people in Vietnam may have been
affected since 1961. Three million hectares and 30,000 villages are said to
have been contaminated by the agent, whose concentration of toxic substances
is reported to be 20 to 55 times the level found in common pesticides.
The terrible consequences.
It is estimated that between two and four million people were affected by
the long-term effects, and at least 150,000 children were born with
disabilities. In addition to severe deformities, more than 20 diseases are
considered to be a direct consequence of Agent Orange, including cleft lip
and cleft palate, spinal bifida, immune deficiencies, neurological
disorders, diabetes, and Parkinson’s disease.
Cancers such as leukemia, prostate cancer, and others are also considered late
effects of Agent Orange. Although a direct link between tumor formation and
Agent Orange has not been established, dioxin has been shown to be
carcinogenic.
Furthermore, TCDD is highly persistent, so it remains in the environment for
a long time. Therefore, even more than 45 years after the end of the war,
the sprayed poison can still be found in the soil and water and,
consequently, in the food chain.
According to scientists, Agent Orange can have long-term effects lasting up
to hundreds of years, affecting tens of millions of people, and the number
of generations affected will not stop at four.
Legal actions.
As a result of its widespread use, U.S. soldiers were also exposed to Agent
Orange. Once the link between their health problems and dioxin was
recognized, affected soldiers filed class-action lawsuits against several
manufacturers.
In 1984, an out-of-court settlement was reached. The following year, seven
companies established a $180 million fund to pay compensation. This was the
largest amount ever paid in a settlement at that time. Over the next ten
years, the fund paid $197 million to 52,000 veterans and survivors.
The Vietnamese victims, on the other hand, have not received any
compensation to date. In 2005, the corresponding class-action lawsuit in the
United States was dismissed. The use of Agent Orange “was not chemical
warfare” and, therefore, did not constitute a violation of international
law.
Decontamination.
In August 2012, the U.S. government launched a cleanup program for land contaminated by Agent Orange. The first area where decontamination work began was the vicinity of the Đà Nẵng airport, which during the Vietnam War served as the airbase from which planes carrying Agent Orange took off and landed; upon their return, the planes were washed, causing the contaminated water to seep into the ground.
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