Agent Orange: Vietnam vet from Syracuse inspires bill in Congress to compensate families

U.S. Rep. Dan Maffei has introduced a bill named after Hackett's husband that would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to establish a task force on Agent Orange.

The task force would recommend how to care for and compensate Vietnam vets and their children or grandchildren who develop Agent Orange-related illnesses and birth defects.

Maffei, D-Syracuse, introduced the "Lawrence J. Hackett Jr. Vietnam Veterans Agent Orange Fairness Act" in April and is now seeking Republican co-sponsors in the House.

Continue Learning>>>
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/06/agent_orange_vietnam_vet_from_syracuse_inspires_bill_in_congress_to_compensate_f.html

Riverfront 24 aids 'Homefront' group in mission to help veterans

When Andy Irvine was diagnosed with the incurable progressive nervous system disorder 12 years ago, he led a very active life. The Southampton resident worked as an auto mechanic and long-distance trucker.

Doctors believe his Parkinson's was caused by exposure to Agent Orange while on active duty in Vietnam. The U.S. military sprayed millions of gallons of Agent Orange, an herbicide, in Vietnam. Th veterans administration recognizes Parkinson's and a host of other diseases and health problems as "presumptive diseases" associated with Agent Orange.

Continue Learning>>>http://www.riverheadlocal.com/community-news/riverfront-24-aids-homefront-group-in-mission-to-help-veterans

Agent Orange curse continues to live on

C-123 “Provider” aircraft were used to spray Agent Orange during the war, and between 1972 and 1982 were flown by USAF Reserve squadrons. Many of those reserve aircrew persons are now developing Agent Orange-related symptoms. VA refuses all medical care. That, despite studies by Columbia University and the Centers for Disease Control (among other agencies and experts) confirming the reserve aircrews’ exposure to Agent Orange residue.

Continue Learning>>>http://www.citizen-times.com/story/opinion/readers/2014/04/25/agent-orange-curse-continues-live/8152995/

Forty-plus years later, Vietnam's shadow lingers

What the government has not yet fully accepted is responsibility for the multitude of ailments Vietnam veterans have attributed to Agent Orange exposure. In 1991 the Agent Orange Act made veterans with some cancers and skin ailments eligible for medical benefits without having to prove specific exposure, but for the most part the VA has rejected claims of Agent Orange-related illness.

The Associated Press reported this week that a group of independent scientists will attempt a definitive study of whether Vietnam veterans' levels of exposure could indeed be responsible for the myriad health problems so many have suffered since, including congenital health issues in children born to those vets.

Continue Learning>>>http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2014/05/15/3105699/forty-plus-years-later-vietnams.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1

Cont
Read more here: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2014/05/15/3105699/forty-plus-years-later-vietnams.html?sp=/99/100/&ihp=1#storylink=cpy

All “It” Was Supposed To Do Was Defoliate The Trees.

Two video presentations were shown and it was explained that the original formula for Agent Orange was tested and retested to make sure it would be of no harm to humans. The fly-in-the-ointment, if you will, was when the government wanted to drastically increase the production of the defoliant and the chemical company couldn’t keep up with the demand. As a result many other chemical companies were contracted to produce it. The problem was that each company made whatever modifications they wanted to the formula to suit their needs without any oversight. The result was that the toxicity of the new Agent Orange was completely unknown, but it was treated like the original formula and considered to be “safe.” So much for that assumption. You remember the old adage “if you assume you make an ass out of you and me.”

http://eugenedailynews.com/2014/05/supposed-defoliate-trees/

Danielle Perry explained in one of the videos that she has multiple physical problems she believes developed as a result of her father’s exposure to the spray. He died from a heart attack at age 56. She also said that she carries “the weight of Vietnam on her shoulders” and she wasn’t even there.

Continue Learning>>>http://eugenedailynews.com/2014/05/supposed-defoliate-trees/

Panel to Study at Agent Orange Residue Exposure

Fred Berman, director of the Toxicology Information Center at Oregon Health and Science University, said the VA "established new laws of chemistry" in denying the C-123 veterans' exposure claims.

In response, he and others co-authored a study in the April issue of the journal Environmental Research that concluded dioxin levels in the aircraft after the war were "likely to have exceeded several available exposure guidelines."

Continue Learning>>>http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/panel-study-agent-orange-residue-exposure-23717310

Agent Orange’s effects did not discriminate

The Monday Dispatch article “Vietnam vets push for research, treatment of Agent Orange illnesses” on the effects of Agent Orange and other chemicals on soldiers in Vietnam was a welcome one. This issue largely has been ignored by the Veterans Administration under a series of presidents.

Continue Learning>>>http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/editorials/2014/05/14/1-agent-oranges-effects.html

Plymouth VVA chapter plans Agent Orange town hall

                                     FACES OF AGENT ORANGE TOWN HALL MEETING SCHEDULE


The Agent Orange town hall will feature Ed Martini, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Western Michigan University and an Agent Orange expert, and other resources, including a representative from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Martini is the author of Agent Orange: History, Science and the Politics of Uncertainty.

Continue Learning>>>;http://www.hometownlife.com/article/20140423/NEWS15/304230023/Plymouth-VVA-chapter-plans-Agent-Orange-town-hall

Effects of Agent Orange topic of veterans meeting

Faces of Agent Orange

 

 

 FACES OF AGENT ORANGE TOWN HALL MEETING SCHEDULE

It has been nearly 40 years since the Vietnam War ended but Agent Orange and the health concerns it carries are still very present among many veterans living today and even some surviving family members.

"What’s happening is our children are beginning to come down with different diseases because of Agent Orange"” explained Bruce Dobson, public affairs representative for the Lynn Vietnam Veterans of America Post 908.

Directed by the National Vietnam Veterans of America, the event will take place at Post 161, 535 Western Ave. Dobson said there will be speakers with up-to-date information concerning Agent Orange and the law. There will also be Veterans Service Officers available to assist veterans with claims.

Continue Learning:  http://www.itemlive.com/health/effects-of-agent-orange-topic-of-veterans-meeting/article_a3f2b2aa-b887-11e3-837e-001a4bcf887a.html

Ailing U.S. veteran wins payout over Agent Orange exposure in Okinawa

According to the ruling of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA), the unnamed marine alleges he came into contact with Agent Orange while transporting it in barrels and rubber bladders between U.S. military ports at Naha and White Beach — a navy installation on the island’s east coast — and a warehouse on Kadena Air Base. He also claims to have sprayed the defoliant in the Northern Training Area, in the Yanbaru jungles, to keep back foliage and reduce the risk of forest fires.

The former marine was able to identify the barrels he helped to transport as the infamous Vietnam War defoliant due to the tell-tale orange stripes painted around their middles.

Continue Learning:  http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2014/03/17/issues/ailing-u-s-veteran-wins-payout-over-agent-orange-exposure-in-okinawa/#.Uyt1l6Kpb5-

Vietnam Agent Orange

Vietnamese men near old U.S. base highly exposed to dioxins

"Our findings suggested that people living close to the former U.S. air bases might have been exposed to both Agent Orange and other sources of dioxin-like compounds"” the scientists wrote.

Scientists fortify legal basis for US claim by AO victims

A national symposium was held yesterday to shore up legal grounds to demand the US government and chemical companies take responsibility for the consequences of the Agent Orange/dioxin sprayed across Viet Nam during the American War.

High dioxin levels in Dong Nai lakes

The report said the most toxic dioxin, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), was found in samples of soil and sediment taken near lakes to the north and east of the airbase.

The contamination is believed to be caused by toxic chemicals used during the American War 1959-1975.

According to experts, the level of dioxins at the airbase is higher than at airports in Da Nang and Phu Cat, two others dioxin contaminated hotspots.

 

Vets battle VA on post-Vietnam Agent Orange claim

 
But the veterans’ appeals continued to fall on deaf ears at VA.
Their efforts recently received another shot in the arm: In an article published in Environmental Research, scientists from Columbia, OHSU, Boston University School of Public Health and elsewhere said the potential for dioxin exposure among the C-123 crews “is greater than previously believed, and inhalation, ingestion and skin absorption were likely to have occurred during the post-Vietnam era.”

Using algorithms developed by the Army and data from the 1994 samples, researchers compared estimates with available guidelines and standards.

“Our findings ... contrast with Air Force and VA conclusions and policies,” said Jeanne Stellman of Columbia University. “The VA concept of a ‘dried residue’ that is biologically unavailable is not consistent with widely accepted theories of the behavior of surface residues.”


Some Veterans who were crew members on C-123 Provider aircraft, formerly used to spray Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, have raised health concerns about exposure to residual amounts of herbicides on the plane surfaces.

Continue Learning:  http://www.airforcetimes.com/article/20140311/BENEFITS06/303110036/Vets-battle-VA-post-Vietnam-Agent-Orange-claims

RELATED POSTS>>>

Agent Orange Residue on Post-Vietnam War Airplanes

Responding to these concerns, VA asked the Institute of Medicine to study possible health effects. Results are expected in late 2014.

If you have health concerns, talk to your health care provider or local VA Environmental Health Coordinator.

Testing for Agent Orange residue on planes

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) collected and analyzed numerous samples from C-123 aircraft to test for Agent Orange. USAF's risk assessment report (April 27, 2012) (2.3 MB, PDF) found that potential exposures to Agent Orange in C-123 planes used after the Vietnam War were unlikely to have put aircrew or passengers at risk for future health problems. The report’s three conclusions:

1)  There was not enough information and data to conclude how much individual persons would have been exposed to Agent Orange.

2)  It is expected that exposure to Agent Orange in these aircraft after the Vietnam War was lower than exposure during the spraying missions in Vietnam.

3)  Potential Agent Orange exposures were unlikely to have exceeded standards set by regulators or to have put people at risk for future health problems. - See more at: http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/locations/residue-c123-aircraft/index.asp#sthash.6Q0UcRyS.dpuf

Continue Learning:  http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/locations/residue-c123-aircraft/index.asp

VA didn't pay some veterans' health costs, report says

The Department of Veterans Affairs must reimburse non-VA hospitals that provide emergency care to disabled veterans — such as for car accident injuries — if the veteran is uninsured, enrolled in VA health care and has received recent treatment at VA.

Federal law requires that such emergency expenses be covered by the federal government even if the injury or illness is not related to the veteran's service-connected disability.

But when GAO looked at a sample of 128 of these claims brought by non-VA hospitals in 2012 seeking reimbursement and that were later denied by the VA, investigators discovered mistakes in half of them, the report says.

Continue Learning:  http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/07/va-veterans-disabled-insurance-claims-denied-millennium/6133691/

Health Risks Found from Exposure to Agent Orange Residues on Military Aircraft

The study, Post-Vietnam military herbicide exposures in UC-123 Agent Orange spray aircraft, modeled flight crew’s potential exposure to dioxin, a contaminant in Agent Orange and a highly potent carcinogen. Scientists based their models on monitoring tests that found dioxin contamination in the mid-1990′s and late 2000′s, over 20 years after the planes were first repurposed. Researchers looked at how dioxin volatilizes in the air, and thus rejected the military’s presumption that "dried residues" of the chemicals are no longer a concern. "Current Air Force and Department of Veterans Affairs policies are not consistent with the available industrial hygiene measurements or with the widely accepted models for semivolatile organic compounds"” the study indicates. Conclusions of the research found that, "Inhalation, ingestion and skin absorption in aircrew and maintainers were likely to have occurred during post-Vietnam use of the aircraft"”

Continue Learning:   http://www.beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/?p=12833

New Evidence That Agent Orange's Destruction Spread to Peacetime 


U.S. Air Force Reservists Exposed To More Dioxin Than Said