Agent Orange effects topic of Santa Rosa meeting

Agent Orange effects topic of Santa Rosa meeting

A town hall meeting will be held today to discuss the health effects of exposure to Agent Orange and other chemicals on the children of Vietnam veterans.

The meeting is from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building. It is sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 223 of Santa Rosa.

Veterans officials said the government and the Institute of Medicine have acknowledged one case of a birth defect to the child of a male serviceman exposed to Agent Orange and 19 cases for the children of female service members exposed to the chemical.

The goal of the veterans group is to encourage the government to maintain a registry of the birth-defect cases and find ways to treat the defects.

— Bob Norberg