8/14/2019 Effects of Agent Orange

1/4

the effects of Agent OrangeWhen? How? Who?During the second Indochina War, between 1961 and 1971,

millions of litres of toxic chemicals, including a

herbicide called Agent Orange - which contained dioxin -were sprayed over large parts of Vietnam. According to U.S.

defense records, the U.S. Air Force sprayed 72 million

litres of toxic chemicals, of which 44 million were Agent

Orange - the most toxic chemical discovered so far.

Health effectsAgent Orange and dioxin are especially harmful to human

health. Recent laboratory tests of human tissue samples

(blood, fat tissue, and breast milk) taken from exposed

veterans and people living in sprayed areas revealed levels

of dioxin higher tham levels found in people living in non-sprayed areas of Vietnam as well as people living in

industrialised countries.

Since 1990, theAgent Orange Victims Fundhas been testing

dioxin in pooled blood samples from different areas in

order to map out the average dioxin levels throughout the

country. Blood samples collected from those in northern

Vietnam have the lowest dioxin levels (2-3 ppt) and almost

all the samples collected from people in southern Vietnam,

where the chemicals were sprayed showed a much higher

dioxin level.

Most noteworthy are the levels of dioxin in breast milk.

The high level of dioxin in nursing mothers shows how

contamination spreads and bio-acumulates from mothers to

their children.

Epidemiological studies have shown an elevated rate of

diseases and disorders in people exposed to dioxin. These

include high rates of cancers, abnormalities during

pregnancies, neurological and metabolic disorders, and

especially birth defects.

How many people?

Millions of Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange

during the war. It is estimated that today approximately a

million people have disabilities or other health problems

associated with Agent Orange, according to a number of

8/14/2019 Effects of Agent Orange

2/4

pilot studies made in Vietnam. These studies estimate that

approximately 100,000 of these adversely affected people

are disabled children.

Based on the high number of people in need of assistance

and the extremely difficult situation many of them have to

face, the Vietnam Red Cross (VNRC) has set up a special

fund and taken the lead to mobilise support in order to

provide humanitarian assistance.

The people affected by Agent Orange are not only suffering

from severe disabilities and a multitude of other health

problems, but also from the associated effects of not being

able to integrate into normal life. Many children cannot go

to school and their parents are often unable to work.

And the environment?The consequences of spraying these toxic chemicals continue

to have devastating effects on the environment. Millions of

litres of Agent Orange caused a great ecological imbalance,

destroying timber, wild animals and forest products.

Without forest cover to retain water, flooding in the rainy

season and drought in the dry season has adversely affected

agricultural production. Topsoil is easily washed away,

further hindering forest recovery. While the uplands have

been and continue to be eroded, the lowlands have become

choked with sediment, further increasing the threat of

flooding.

The Agent Orange Victims Fund (AGORAVIF) works to support

families and children affected by Dow's chemicals. You can

find out more and donate to their fund by visiting

www.vnrc.org.vn. This information was adapted from Mac Thi

Hoa's original - she works with the victims at one of the

clinics set up by AGORAVIF in southern Vietnam.

Diseases and conditions linked to Agent Orange

soft tissue sarcoma

Non-Hodgkins lymphoma

Hodgkins disease

chloracne

http://www.vnrc.org.vn/http://www.vnrc.org.vn/

8/14/2019 Effects of Agent Orange

3/4

respiratory cancers (including cancers of the lung,larynx, trachea & bronchus)

prostate cancer

multiple myeloma

peripheral neuropathy(acute or subacute)

spina bifida

porphyria cutanea tarda

increased rate of primary liver cancer & oropharynx

cancer

miscarriage

still birth

premature birth

hyditiform mole & choriocarcinoma

anencephalia

microcephalia

hydrocephalia

cerebral palsy

higher rates of infant mortality

contaminated breast milk

loss of appetite

insomnia

weight loss

8/14/2019 Effects of Agent Orange

4/4

fatigue

headache

impaired vision & hearing

hepatitis

liver cirrhosis

immune-deficiency: increased rates of infectiousdiseases & malaria

intestinal diseases: gastric ulcers, gastroduodenitis

dermatitis

arteriolosclerosis, hypertension & cerebral circulationdisorders