NEWS FROM AGENT ORANGE ZONE...

1)  FINAL RULE: Disease Associated With Exposure to Certain Herbicide Agents: Peripheral Neuropathy

FINAL RULE: Disease Associated With Exposure to Certain Herbicide Agents: Peripheral Neuropathy by Agent Orange Legacy

Continue Learning:  http://agentorangezone.blogspot.com/2013/09/final-rule-disease-associated-with.html

2)  Orange Crush – Part II, An Advocates View

Part II of our veterans’ exposure to herbicides during the Vietnam War

ARMY EXPERIMENTS WITH DEFOLIANTS

The Army continued to experiment with 2,4-D during the 1950s and late in the decade found a potent combination of chemicals which quickly found its way into the Army's chemical arsenal. Army scientists found that by mixing 2,4-D and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T) and spraying it on plants, there would be an almost immediate negative effect on the foliage. What they didn't realize, or chose to ignore, was that 2,4,5-T contained dioxin, a useless by-product of herbicide production. It would be twenty more years until concern was raised about dioxin, a chemical the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would later call "one of the most perplexing and potentially dangerous" known to man. After minimal experimentation in 1961, a variety of chemical agents was shipped to Vietnam to aid in anti-guerilla efforts. The chemicals were to be used to destroy food sources and eliminate foliage that concealed enemy troop movements. 

Continue Learning:   http://agentorangezone.blogspot.com/2013/09/orange-crush-part-ii-advocates-view.html

3)  Dear Editor of The Laredo Morning Times: ...

Dear Editor:
In a suit filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., two veteran’s organizations have filed suit against the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Eric Shinseki, for failing to provide benefits to Vietnam War veterans who served aboard ship off the coast of Vietnam.
Over 100,000 of Blue Water veterans were exposed to Agent Orange through their drinking water while providing gunfire support, air support and logistic support in the territorial seas off the coast of Vietnam.

Continue Learning:   http://agentorangezone.blogspot.com/2013/09/dear-editor-of-laredo-morning-times.html

4)  Resources for Brown and Blue Water Veterans Who Need Help Proving Their Ship Was Exposed to Agent Orange

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#inbox/140e5335dc207c55

If you have a Navy or Coast Guard Vet who need help with an Agent Orange claim be sure to check the official Agent Orange ship list at http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/shiplist/list.asp.

What if the ship is NOT on the official Agent Orange Ship List?

You have to find proof the ship was in brown water.  Once you find it, submit it to ship list webpage above so they can verify the evidence and update the list.

Many ships also have an association.  Just google the ship’s name and look for an association.  For example, the USS Fred Barry is at  http://www.fredtberry.org/.  Sometimes other crew members have posted a copy of pages from their ship’s deck logs onto their association site.  Check with the association’s historian, if they have one.  These ships’ associations are a valuable resource.  Also, you might suggest to your veteran that he or she attend their  ship’s association national convention to meet up with fellow shipmates- conventions are a great place to get buddy statements.

Another way to find deck logs is at the National Archives.  That can be a time consuming process. Last resort: have the veteran  hire a professional researcher. SEE: http://www.archives.gov/research/hire-help/military.html

Continue Learning:  http://agentorangezone.blogspot.com/2013/09/resources-for-brown-and-blue-water.html