The legacy of Agent Orange has long been a divisive shadow hanging over the Vietnamese community, but in South Korea too Agent Orange has been a growing cause for concern.
On Monday, USFK confirmed that Agent Orange, widely used during the Vietnam War and later to clear foliage around the DMZ dividing the two Koreas, was buried at the camp but that it was later removed. Soil samples taken years later revealed trace amounts of dioxin, a key ingredient in Agent Orange, USFK officials said.
Agent Orange has been cited for numerous health problems, including cancer, asthma, and birth defects. U.S. veterans, including those who served in Korea, have long sought treatment for related illnesses from the Veterans Administration, which just recently increased to 16 the number of diagnoses recognized as being related to the herbicide.
Image Compliments Rich Preston, Vietnam veteran
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