What was Agent Orange used for in Vietnam?

Agent Orange was a tactical herbicide the U.S. military used to clear leaves and vegetation for military operations mainly during the Vietnam War. Veterans
Vietnam War. Veterans
Approximately 2.7 million American men and women served in Vietnam. During the war, more than 58,000 servicemen and women lost their lives. Vietnam Veterans represent the largest cohort of American Veterans in terms of service era.
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who were exposed to Agent Orange may have certain related illnesses.
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What did Agent Orange do to humans?

Short-term exposure to dioxin can cause darkening of the skin, liver problems and a severe acne-like skin disease called chloracne. Additionally, dioxin is linked to type 2 diabetes, immune system dysfunction, nerve disorders, muscular dysfunction, hormone disruption and heart disease.
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Why was Agent Orange used during the Vietnam War?

Agent Orange was a blend of tactical herbicides the U.S. military sprayed from 1962 to 1971 during the Vietnam War to remove the leaves of trees and other dense tropical foliage that provided enemy cover.
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Is Agent Orange and Roundup the same thing?

Answer and Explanation:

Roundup, a popular herbicide created by Monsanto, is similar to Agent Orange in that both chemicals overstimulate the growth of plants, causing... See full answer below.
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What did Agent Orange soldiers do?

United States military personnel used Agent Orange to clear trees and vegetation in fields known to hide enemies. Unfortunately, Agent Orange exposure has led to long-term health effects in many Vietnam era veterans, including multiple myeloma, Parkinson's Disease, and various types of cancer.
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Agent Orange (The Vietnam War)



What does Agent Orange do to offspring?

The children of Vietnam veterans and occasionally even their grandchildren have also dealt with significant health problems from Agent Orange exposure as well. Birth defects such as neural tube defects are the most common effects of Agent Orange in the second generation exposed to Agent Orange. That's the bad news.
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Is Agent Orange still used today?

Agent Orange was a herbicide mixture used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. Much of it contained a dangerous chemical contaminant called dioxin. Production of Agent Orange ended in the 1970s and is no longer in use.
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What are the 14 diseases associated with Agent Orange?

Here are the 14 health conditions associated with Agent Orange exposure as of 2020:
  • Chronic B-Cell Leukemia.
  • Hodgkin's disease.
  • Multiple Myeloma.
  • Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
  • Prostate cancer.
  • Respiratory Cancers.
  • Soft tissue sarcomas.
  • Ischemic heart disease.
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Where was the most Agent Orange sprayed in Vietnam?

Phu Cat Airbase

Over 3.5 million liters of Agent Orange were located on the Phu Cat base during the American war in Vietnam. Several areas of the Phu Cat base were found to have elevated levels of dioxin requiring remediation (above 1000 ppt in soil or 150 ppt in sediment).
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What did Agent Orange smell like?

“Going into Agent Orange was like it had a musty smell to it. It was a reddish-brown-colored fog that would be in the air,” said Dudich, who served much of his first tour with troops of the Republic of Vietnam.
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What birth defects are caused by Agent Orange?

Children with Other Birth Defects Caused by Agent Orange
  • “Achondroplasia.
  • Cleft lip and cleft palate.
  • Congenital heart disease.
  • Congenital talipes equinovarus (clubfoot)
  • Esophageal and intestinal atresia.
  • Hallerman-Streiff syndrome.
  • Hip dysplasia.
  • Hirschprung's disease (congenital megacolon)
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Who sprayed Agent Orange?

From 1962 to 1971, the U.S. Air Force sprayed nearly 19 million gallons of herbicides in Vietnam, of which at least 11 million gallons was Agent Orange, in a military project called Operation Ranch Hand.
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Can Agent Orange be passed on genetically?

Changes in gene expression — whether a gene for a trait is turned on or off — can be passed from one generation to the next, research shows. A 2012 study, for example, showed that gestating female rats exposed to dioxin, a byproduct found in Agent Orange, passed mutations to future generations.
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Is Vietnam still suffering from Agent Orange?

Millions of Americans and Vietnamese are still affected, directly and indirectly, by the wartime U.S. spraying of Agent Orange and other herbicides over South Vietnam.
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What does Agent Orange look like on the skin?

Symptoms include blisters on the face, arms, and hands, followed by crusting and scarring, hyperpigmentation, increased hair growth on areas exposed to the sun, and liver damage. Causes: Besides Agent Orange exposure, this skin condition can be caused by a combination of genes, lifestyle, and environmental factors.
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Who was exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam?

For the purposes of VA compensation benefits, Veterans who served anywhere in Vietnam between January 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975 are presumed to have been exposed to herbicides, as specified in the Agent Orange Act of 1991.
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How was Agent Orange cleaned?

It involves heating the soil to 335°C for several months so that the dioxins are vaporized and thereby available for extraction and treatment.In concrete terms, a pile structure 100 meters long and 70 meters wide and 8 meters high was built on airport land.
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Why did the US stop using Agent Orange?

The Dow Chemical Company maintains that at least two years before the United States halted the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam in 1971, both the Defense Department and the company were aware of evidence indicating that dioxin, a contaminant in the herbicide, might cause birth defects in the children of women exposed to ...
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Did the US compensate Vietnam for Agent Orange?

During its operation, the Settlement Fund distributed a total of $197 million in cash payments to members of the class in the United States. Of the 105,000 claims received by the Payment Program, approximately 52,000 Vietnam Veterans or their survivors received cash payments which averaged about $3,800 each.
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What are the long term effects from Agent Orange?

It took two generations and a lot of heartache among the Vietnam veteran community, but the VA's “presumptive list” of diseases that are caused by exposure to Agent Orange now includes everything from non-Hodgkin lymphoma, prostate cancer, and multiple myeloma to Parkinson's disease and ischemic heart disease.
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Can Agent Orange be passed to spouse?

Surviving spouses, dependent children and dependent parents of Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange and died as the result of diseases related to Agent Orange exposure may be eligible for a monthly payment called Dependency and Indemnity Compensation.
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How do you prove exposure to Agent Orange?

Unfortunately, there's no medical test or biological feature that can show that someone was exposed to Agent Orange or other herbicides, so the health exam cannot confirm that you were (or were not) exposed.
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Is napalm same as Agent Orange?

Agent Orange, which was used during the Vietnam War to clear dense vegetation, is a deadly herbicide with long-lasting effects. Napalm, a gel-like fuel mixture that burns slowly and more accurately than gasoline, was used in bombs.
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What cancers are caused by Agent Orange?

Does Agent Orange cause cancer?
  • Soft tissue sarcoma.
  • Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL)
  • Hodgkin lymphoma.
  • Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), including hairy cell leukemia and other chronic B-cell leukemias.
  • Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), a precursor of multiple myeloma.
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How many veterans have died from Agent Orange?

The number of Vietnam veterans affected by the chemical Agent Orange is astonishing. Roughly 300-thousand veterans have died from Agent Orange exposure -- that's almost five times as many as the 58-thousand who died in combat.
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