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more_legal_areas agent_orangeThere are up to 100,000 of the 700,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen/women who served in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990 and 1991, who, similarly to veterans that served in the Vietnam War in 1964 to 1972, complain of a number of symptoms that have been keyed the Gulf War Syndrome and the Post-Vietnam War Syndrome. The symptoms of these syndromes included reports of memory loss, balance difficulties; sleep disturbances, depression, fatigue and difficulty concentrating.
The effects veterans describe have been made since Vietnam, with complaints of Parkinsonism and Agent Orange exposure. Some medical experts that have examined both Gulf War and Vietnam War veterans think that the Post-Vietnam War Syndrome is nothing more than post-traumatic stress disorder, but other doctors believe the Parkinsonism that has been occurring in the veterans is the result of exposure to dioxins and chemicals veterans encountered while serving.
Agent Orange is a defoliating agent that was used heavily and in large quantities before veterans began to realize the illnesses and health problems they were suffering. The herbicide combinations of chemicals contained the most hazardous dioxin, tetrachlorodibenzoparadioxin, or TCDD.
There has been a large amount of publicity surrounding Agent Orange through the years and its link to neurological damage. Despite reports of Parkinsonism and Agent Orange, there still appears to be inadequate methods of determining exposure to allow epidemiologists from studying its health effects. An April 2003 Columbia University study re-examined military records from the Vietnam War, discovering 21 million gallons of herbicides were sprayed from 1961 to 1971, adding to a total of 1.84 million gallons. This figure was 10 percent greater than initial reports estimated, and over half of the herbicides sprayed were Agent Orange.
The government failed to acknowledge the dangers of Agent Orange for years, but because dioxin remains built up in the body, claims that Parkinsonism and Agent Orange are still being diagnosed are not surprising. Earlier studies have linked Agent Orange exposure to melanoma - the deadliest skin cancer - prostate cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, diabetes, as well as many other illnesses and conditions.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer categorized dioxin as a known human carcinogen, and the World Health Organization states long term exposure to dioxin is linked to impairment of the immune system, the developing nervous system, the endocrine system and reproductive functions. Although some veterans were not exposed to Agent Orange on a long-term basis, the level of concentration to the dioxin was extremely high. Storage barrels were often used for water, food and petroleum storage, as well as for barbeque pits, greatly increasing the health effects and possibility of suffering Parkinsonism and Agent Orange exposure.
In 2000, Yale School of Nursing Research Scientist, Linda Schwartz, testified before Congress, saying based on new evidence she obtained in Vietnam, it indicated that virtually all veterans who served there were exposed to Agent Orange. Often, the levels of exposure were higher than those inflicted on the men who sprayed it. Schwartz stated before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform''s Subcommittee on National Security, Veterans Affairs and International Security that “in some of the most barren spots, the concentration of soil dioxin is as high as 100,000 part per trillion,” with ten parts per trillion considered abnormal.
While reports of Parkinsonism and Agent Orange continue to be disputed, Schwartz cited evidence from a lawsuit filed by men who sprayed dioxin to clear brush in Canada as proving, “that in 1965 manufacturers knew that TCDD was, ‘dangerous,'' ‘the most toxic compound ever experienced,'' and ‘a potent carcinogen.''” To many veterans, as well as their families, now suffering the toxic effects of Agent Orange, the Parkinsonism and Agent Orange link, as well as other illnesses, is undeniable.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently ordered the Department of Veterans Affairs to pay retroactive benefits to Vietnam War veterans who were exposed to » Read More
After following a report from Parliament''s health select committee released in October, New Zealand''s government has apologized to Vietnam veterans for their exposure to Agent Orange and other defoliants from more than 30 years ago.
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The Air Force recently conducted a study that found an increased risk of prostate cancer and melanoma in Air Force veterans of the Vietnam War who were exposed to the chemical defoliant Agent Orange. The study found a cancer incidence that was 1.46 to ...