Orange Essay, Research Paper

Agent Orange

We must make everything in our power to do the universe recognize that our veterans are still paying a high monetary value for contending the war in Vietnam. Agent Orange is easy taking the lives of these brave veterans. The authorities has recognized some diseases but the regulations to compensation can be complex. It was in the 1960 & # 8217 ; s that we were in the procedure of seeking to destruct flora and coppice in Vietnam, in making so we proceeded to pollute one of the largest parts of the environment, Humankind. War Veterans were exposed to Agent Orange and now live their lives with a disease non needfully curable. The inquiry remains did these Veterans know about the risky effects, and how are they being compensated now? Agent Orange was the codification name for a weedkiller developed for the military, chiefly for usage in tropical climes. It destroyed covering flora to protect the American and allied military personnels from ambuscade. The merchandise & # 8220 ; Agent Orange & # 8221 ; was named so for the orange set that was used to tag the membranophones it was stored in. Agent Orange & # 8220 ; was a red-brown liquid incorporating two weedkillers: 2,4,5-T was contaminated in the fabrication procedure with a type of dioxin & # 8211 ; 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, besides known as TCDD. & # 8221 ; ( VA Fact Sheet ) The combined merchandise was assorted with kerosine or Diesel fuel and dispersed by vehicle, manus crop-dusting, and aircraft. The term Operation Ranch Hand was the military codification name for the crop-dusting of weedkillers from United States aircraft in Southeast Asia. & # 8220 ; Between 1962 and 1971, Ranch Hand sprayed about 19 million gallons of weedkiller, 11 million of which was Agent Orange. & # 8221 ; ( Buckingham 2 ) Ranch Hand made onslaughts more hard by uncluttering several hundred paces of flora in order to do ambuscades more hard and air onslaughts easier. There was, & # 8220 ; more than 10 % of the land country of South Vietnam was sprayed at least one time, and some were sprayed repeatedly. & # 8221 ; ( Boffey, 1 ) After several hebdomads the weedkillers would fade out into the dirt which would pollute the H2O and the flora. & # 8220 ; Orange contained comparatively high degrees of an extremely toxicant contamination known as Dioxin. & # 8221 ; ( Arison, 1 ) Dioxin is what remained after the weedkillers would fade out ; this is non a harmful substance found in nature, but instead a adult male made toxicant. The debut to utilizing resources: Choices and Trade-off provinces that & # 8220 ; The picks people have made in merely the last hundred old ages are mostly responsible for what we call the environmental crisis. & # 8221 ; ( Walker, 276 ) We made this slayer and now we are forced to populate with it. The devastation this chemical caused to the flora should hold been the first hint that what destroys nature will in due clip destroy us. We are the cause for this muss ; but we should hold been notified much earlier about the possible hazard associated with Agent Orange. Harmonizing to the Executive Summary on Operations Trail Dust and Ranch Hand, & # 8220 ; On April 17,1995 Research workers have found that during the crop-dusting of Agent Orange in southern Vietnam, dioxin degrees in human tissue were every bit high as 900 times greater in Vietnamese life in southern Vietnam than those life in Northern Vietnam where Agent Orange was non used. & # 8221 ; ( Arison5 ) It was non until 1993, when the Institute of Medicine News reported, & # 8220 ; Evidence exists associating three malignant neoplastic diseases and two other wellness jobs with chemicals used in weedkillers used in the Vietnam War, a commission of the Institute of Medicine has concluded. Those diseases are soft tissue sarcoma, non-Hodgkin & # 8217 ; s lymphoma, and Hodgkin & # 8217 ; s disease every bit good as chloracne and prophyria cutanea tarda ( PCT ) . & # 8221 ; ( Turner-Lowe1 ) An account of each disease follows: Non-Hodgkin & # 8217 ; s Lymphoma refers to any group of malignant neoplastic diseases of lymphoid tissues that multiply. These are found chiefly in the lymph nodes and the lien. The symptoms are related to painless puffiness of the lymph nodes in the cervix or inguen part. There is an attempted remedy for Non-Hodgkin & # 8217 ; s lymphoma, through chemotherapy and the hope for remittal. If this disease is non controlled, it will increasingly impair the immune system, which will take to a decease from infections. Soft tissue sarcomas are a rare signifier of malignant neoplastic disease, which are malignant tumours that will originate in the tissues of the caput, cervix and appendages. They are heavy growings that have the ability to distribute to other variety meats in the organic structure. They can be removed and the remedy rate is good every bit long as the tumours have non spread throughout the remainder of the organic structure. & # 8220 ; These soft tissue tumours have a combined mean rate of incidence of two instances per 100,000 individuals in the United States. ( Glaser, et.al.,1992 ) & # 8220 ; Porphyria Cutanea Tarda is due to a faulty enzyme in the liver involved in synthesis of the ruddy pigment in blood cells. & # 8221 ; ( Encarta, 1998 ) This consequences in the tegument being damaged by the UV beams of visible radiation. The persons effected by PCT develop a delicate tegument and frequently have blisters and bantam cysts on the countries of the tegument that are frequently exposed to the Sun. Hodgkin & # 8217 ; s Disease is characterized by normally painless but progressive expansion of lymph nodes ( or secretory organs ) and other lymphoid tissue. Hodgkin & # 8217 ; s disease most frequently occurs in people 15 to 35 old ages of age and over 50. & # 8221 ; ( Encarta1999 ) The cause of Hodgkin & # 8217 ; s is unknown. There are some general symptoms that are associated with Hodgkin & # 8217 ; s and they are fever, dark workout suits, weight loss, and loss of appetency. The result is impairment of the immune system. The determiner of this disease is done through a biopsy, which is the remotion of the hypertrophied lymph node and sent for a pathological survey. & # 8220 ; If the disease is diagnosed at an early phase and has non metastasized, radiation therapy is normally used. & # 8221 ; ( Encarta1999 ) Besides the wellness hazards to the Veterans, intelligence from the Institute of Medicine provinces, & # 8220 ; The consequences of three epidemiological ( disease ) surveies suggest that a male parent & # 8217 ; s exposure to weedkillers may set his kids at a greater hazard of being born with spina bifida, which is characterized by a malformation of the spinal column and spinal cord and can do neurological problems. & # 8221 ; ( Institute of Medicine, 1 ) With the release of information that grounds existed which linked the crop-dusting of weedkillers in Vietnam to the veterans and their kids now enduring from these diseases, there was still nil done about it. The authorities flowered the facts to their satisfaction. In 1998, 37 old ages after the Vietnam War, the San Diego-Union Tribune uncovered an unpublished survey, which was conducted about the wellness effects of Agent Orange on Vietnam veterans, that was flawed. & # 8220 ; A study showing concerns about malignant neoplastic disease and birth defects was altered, with the consequence that the hazards appeared less serious. High ranking Air Force officers interfered with the survey & # 8217 ; s informations analysis, sabotaging its scientific integrity. & # 8221 ; ( Brooks1 ) The public & # 8217 ; s concern about Agent Orange was overshadowed by the false studies that Agent Orange was non a likely nexus to malignant neoplastic disease or birth defects. So why were so many veterans being diagnosed with malignant neoplastic disease, and what about their kids? The & # 8220 ; concerns about the weedkiller & # 8217 ; s wellness effects had been raised since the early & # 8217 ; 70s, and the populace wanted cogent evidence. So Congress funded the Ranch Hand survey. Dettinger ( an Air Force Deputy Surgeon General ) helped do certain it was done by Air Force scientists. & # 8221 ; ( Brooks2 ) Finally, a survey that would assist clear up, what was traveling on with these veterans and their households. However, it was the Air Force that ended up being the receiver to reexamine the Ranch Hand Study. & # 8220 ; The Ranch Hand study & # 8211 ; looks at a group of veterans who were straight involved in spraying the majority of the about 19 million gallons of chemical defoliant in Vietnam during the war. & # 8221 ; ( Institute of Medicine, 1 ) For old ages it was cover up after screen up and the Veterans were acquiring no replies and

no justice. In 1984 the Air Force drafted two major Ranch Hand reports. One of them was withheld. The other was published, but its findings were altered. “The report that was withheld dealt specifically with reproductive health issues, and stressed birth defects and infant deaths. It showed high rates of both among children of Ranch Hand veterans.”(Brooks3) It was also found that the Ranch Hand veterans were being diagnosed with almost twice as many cancers as those who did not participate in Ranch Hand. This group had over 135% more skin cancers, yet the governmental scientists contributed this to sun exposure. In 1992 the Air Force finally acknowledged that Ranch hand was a contributor to these birth defects. In the two years since the IOM report, the Ranch Hand results have been reanalyzed by the U.S. Air Force, and this new analysis bolstered the evidence from other studies, leading to the committee’s conclusion that there is limited or suggestive evidence of an association.” (Institute of Medicine, 1) It took the Air Force 8 years to come out with this report. It is clear that the tactic of the Air Force is delay. The Air Force had withheld information about cancer and birth defects longer than they should have. These Veterans should have been notified immediately of the harm they were subject to and the harm possibly still to come. Misinformation has left behind a generation of men and women, who served in Vietnam, to start families without knowing the potential risks and now they are paying the price. Since these reports have been released the Veterans Association has been aiding in the awareness of the exposure to Agent Orange by conducting an Agent Orange screening or a dioxin analysis. The Agent Orange screening is just like a routine physical, which is useful in the early detection of disease or health problems. The Dioxin analysis is a test, which measures the dioxin levels in both the blood and the fatty tissues. However, this test is done as research and is quite expensive, which makes it less accessible to many veterans. As more information was released about the possible illnesses attributed to Agent Orange, justice was starting to be served. On October 1,1997, the Atlantic Monthly reported, “The Agent Orange Benefits Act takes effect today, entitling Vietnam veteran’s children born with the congenital birth defect spina bifida to receive up to $1,200 a month from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Congress passed the act after the National Academy of Sciences issued a report citing new evidence that veterans’ exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange.” (Atlantic Monthly, 1) It was not until after 1990 that illnesses, other than chloracne (reddening of the face), were recognized by the government to be connected to Agent Orange. Compensation for those exposed to Agent Orange was few and far between. It is through The Department of Veterans Affairs that the Agent Orange compensation list can be obtained. After 1990 this list was expanded by the Department of Veterans Affairs, to 10 diseases. Most of the diseases are cancers and the only birth defect is Spina Bifida. The veterans who are eligible are those who have a medical condition and are fit to be chosen to receive medical care at the Department of Veterans Affairs Hospitals. The veterans now receive government compensation whether they are service connected or non-service connected. It has taken 30 years for the government to finally disclose that Agent Orange has actually been a contributing factor to many of these cancers and birth defects. Men and women have been fighting, for a long time, to have some acknowledgment as to the causes from Agent Orange. To some, recognition of Agent Orange’s destruction to the human body is not enough. Something should have been done a lot sooner, these men and women should have been told about the herbicide and many cancers could have been prevented. Knowledge is the key. Agent Orange has ruined many lives. Mike Castle, a man I met on the Agent Orange website, e-mailed me a letter that demonstrates from a veteran’s perspective just what effect Agent Orange has had on man. “Dear, I became friends with the Agent Orange web site, because a friend of mine who is an Attorney is in the process of going after the chemical companies to help so many that suffer the most undignified deaths because of Agent Orange. I would be ashamed of myself to try to get payment for the small amount of cancer I have had removed compaired to those who are suffering so much. I fight for them, I cry for them, I pray for them! I have had cancer removed from my face and I have some to be removed from my chest. I cannot prove that it is a cause from the Agent Orange. I am more worried about those that are dying daily from Agent Orange. My claim would not be recognized by the VA. I do worry about as time goes by what may happen because of this and I am more worried my wife could get sick along with my daughter. I am a combat veteran I received head wounds from shrapnel and extreme explosions causing me brain damage and a seizure disorder. I am 100% totally disabled and have a huge fight with the VA over the brain damage and seizure disorder. Imagine sitting in a fox hole for 13 months of your life fighting not only your foe, but all elements of war. We were sprayed with this Agent Orange a deadly killer. Everything you touched, handled, drank or ate was contaminated. Hygiene was not present, no showers, no place safe to bath, your tooth brush was used to clean your weapon. If you were wounded chances are the Agent Orange got into your blood stream, because your close were covered with the dioxin and most time your brothers dried blood. There was no change of clothes, only more ammo and sometimes your mail. Food and water were the last things combat veterans seen. It is a life of unimaginable horror. We came home to pass this on to our families and our loved ones. As you know it stays in your fat tissue and is transmitted though your skin and through intercourse. Now we have the picture, first the veteran, then the family on and on. My friend, I want you to know that our country has turned there back on the Vietnam Veterans. We never lost a battle our leaders were and are the cowards of this country. The Vietnam Veterans are good, intelligent, caring men and women. We carry the silent killer in us and people watch us die every day. My heart is broken my body full of shrapnel and I will carry the flag, you would be surprised at those that won’t. There is a fire down below! Keep on Rocking in the Free World!” (Neil Young) Mike Castle The Environment has been effected in every way by Operation Ranch Hand. As the herbicide was sprayed it killed the plants and eventually the animals, and now it is killing those who fought for us, where is the justice? We are a large part of the environment. We are there to help shape, preserve, and even create it. Man created the dioxin in Agent Orange, and in doing so created another killer. Nature did not give us this killer, we gave it to ourselves. Mother Nature has given us her wrath, but she has never given us her poison, we seem to create it. If nature would not create something so awful that would kill off it’s species, then why did we? We are our own worst enemy; no war, mudslide, or natural disaster could ever destroy the environment the way humankind does. We kill the weeds, we kill the bugs, we cut down the trees and we keep building as the pollution keeps getting worse. Everybody has a role in nature and preservation is the key. So as you spray the ant spray all over your house just remember that you are doing to these plants and animals, just what Operation Ranch Hand has done to our families. Something that can be undone and there will never be enough justice to make up for the effects of Agent Orange.