Dec 18, 2004
Dioxin Compensation for Vietnam Veterans Still Costing Billions
By Paul Recer
The Associated Press


WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States sprayed more than 19 million gallons of defoliant over the jungles of Vietnam, a tactic designed to kill the forests and deny cover to the enemy.

The chemical worked. Miles of vegetation withered and died.

It also exposed an estimated 3 million U.S. troops and millions more Vietnamese to dioxin, the same toxic chemical reportedly used to poison Viktor Yushchenko, a candidate in the disputed presidential election in the Ukraine.

Experts say it is unlikely that many, if any, Americans absorbed the dose Yushchenko ingested. Tests confirmed by three labs in the Netherlands and Germany showed that Yushchenko had 100,000 units of the poison per gram of blood fat, the second-highest concentration on record.

Mark A. Brown, a toxicologist who heads the environmental agents service of the Veterans Affairs Department, said it is uncertain just how much dioxin that U.S. troops absorbed from their exposure to dioxin-contaminated Agent Orange in Vietnam.

A study years after the war ended suggested that U.S. ground forces probably had blood levels of dioxin in the range of five parts to 10 parts per trillion.

Troops handling the herbicide - named Agent Orange for the color of a stripe on 55-gallon shipping drums - may have developed blood levels of about 20 parts per trillion.

While a small dose in comparison to that given Yushchenko, it was enough, according to some studies, to cause cancer, diabetes, nerve damage and other diseases in susceptible individuals. Studies also linked the toxin to a birth defect, spina bifida, in children of troops who served in Vietnam.

Based on these studies, Congress instructed the department to assume that any of a long list of diseases developed by Vietnam veterans could be considered as caused by Agent Orange.

In effect, the government decided that the diseases were at least as likely to have been caused by dioxin in Agent Orange as they were to have been caused by anything else. Therefore, veterans were entitled to compensation and medical care without having to prove their disorder was caused by the herbicide.

At first, the diseases were relatively rare cancers, Brown said. Over time, new disorders were added. Today, the list includes 23 types of soft tissue cancer, four respiratory cancers, multiple myeloma, Hodgkin's disease, prostate cancer and a nerve disorder.

Under President Clinton, Congress added diabetes to the list. An estimate at the time, Brown said, was that the addition of diabetes - a lingering disease that is expensive to treat - added $3 billion every five years to the Agent Orange compensation costs to Vietnam veterans.

"Since all of the other diseases were relatively rare and less expensive to treat, the addition of diabetes completely dwarfed all the other disorders," Brown said.

The government also began providing for the treatment of children with spina bifida who were born to Vietnam veterans. The coverage was virtually for a lifetime, said Brown, and covered rehabilitation, special training and even wheelchairs. He said about 1,000 children - now adults - receive that benefit.

Some veterans have been judged disabled because of their contact with Agent Orange. Disability payments can range from $108 a month to almost $3,000 a month, depending on the level of disability and the number of dependents supported by the veteran.

Just how much the VA is paying to compensate for Agent Orange exposure and for medical care of diseases linked to the herbicide is difficult to determine, department spokesman Jim Benson said.

He said agency records do not put Agent Orange exposure into a separate category from other types of medical or disability payments. As a result, he said, a veteran may receive disability compensation for both Agent Orange exposure and for combat wounds. There is no way to tease those apart and give a total for the cost of the herbicide alone, said Benson.

"They are all considered service-related," he said.

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On the Net:

Veterans Affairs Department data on compensation rates: http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/Rates/comp01.htm

AP-ES-12-18-04 1302EST

This story can be found at: http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGB8P9O3W2E.html

# Go Back To The Story
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Maybe they should think before using them. Just like the vaccines that are hurting
soldiers now.

gmanders777 The good ol' VA pays Veterans effected with Agent Orange illnesses Service Connected disabilities when they croak from said illnesses in most cases. Reason why, they save beaucoup piaster ($$$) by paying a survivor benefit if the Vet has a survivor. The following diseases are now on VA's Agent Orange list: chloracne, Hodgkin's disease, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, porphyria cutanea tarda, respiratory cancers (lung, bronchus, larynx and trachea), soft-tissue sarcoma, acute and subacute peripheral neuropathy, prostate and adult-onset diabetes.

In addition, monetary benefits, health care and vocational rehabilitation services are provided to Vietnam veterans' offspring with spina bifida, a congenital birth defect of the spine. VA presumes that all military personnel who served in Vietnam and who have one of the listed diseases were exposed to Agent Orange. Now try getting that disability for Service Connection from AO from Uncle Sammy. It is like pulling teeth out of a grizzly bear--for sure. Now get this, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi has decided to extend benefits to Vietnam veterans with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

“Compelling evidence has emerged within the scientific community that exposure to herbicides such as Agent Orange is associated with CLL,” Principi said. “I’m exercising my legal authority to ensure the full range of VA benefits is available to Vietnam veterans with CLL.”

The ruling means that veterans with CLL who served in Vietnam during the Vietnam War don’t have to prove that illness is related to their military service to qualify for Department of Veterans Affairs disability compensation. Additionally, for more than 20 years, VA has offered special access to medical care to Vietnam veterans with any health problems that may have resulted from Agent Orange exposure, and this decision will ensure higher-priority access to care in the future. *Get that one, IN THE FUTURE" - the future in the VAMC could mean forever and a day. Now get this gmanders777 - Principi ordered the development of regulations to enable VA to begin paying compensation benefits once a final rule takes effect. Publication of that regulation is expected in the near future. VA will publish further details, when available, on its Web site at http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/benefits/herbicide/.

In the meantime, veterans with questions about health-care, compensation and survivor benefits may call a toll-free help line at 1-800-749-8387 for information. VA also encourages Vietnam veterans who have not done so to request a subscription to Agent Orange Review, VA's free newsletter that will keep them abreast of developments on this issue and other policies and scientific findings in the future.

Newsletter subscription information is available from the help line number above. Back issues and additional information about Agent Orange are available at another VA Web site at http://www.va.gov/agentorange/.

Now, that there is the stake in the heart for Veterans with diseases from AO. That is the way the VAMC turns down claims and backlogs them for years until the Vet dies from said diseases. See how this government supports the Vets? LOL Same Ol' - Same Ol', gmanders777 - for sure. Frequently Asked Questions About
Agent Orange


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What was Agent Orange?
Agent Orange was a herbicide developed for military use. Chemically, the product was a 50/50 mix of two herbicides, 2,4,-D (2,4, dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) and 2,4,5-T (2,4,5 trichlorophenoxyacetic acid). These herbicides were both developed as weed killers in the 1940's, and were effective against broad leaf plants and several crops.

Why did the military use herbicides?
Herbicides were developed to be deployed in enemy areas to deny cover and concealment to the enemy. In dense terrain particularly, the use of herbicides to destroy covering vegetation was to protect American and allied troops from ambush or other undetected movement of the enemy.

Prior to it's introduction for use in Vietnam, was Agent Orange used in the United States?
Yes. During the testing phase of Agent Orange, use tests were carried out at Fort Detrick, Maryland, Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, and Camp Drum in New York. Other testing was also conducted in Thailand in the early 1960's. For information on other herbicides used in Vietnam, go here: The Fifteen Herbicides Used in Vietnam http://www.lewispublishing.com/herbs1.htm

Why was the product called Agent Orange?
The name signifies orange identifying bands that were used on the fifty-five gallon drums the product was shipped in. Other herbicides were also used in Vietnam, and were known by color coded names too, such Agent White, Agent Blue, Agent Purple, Agent Pink and Agent Green were also used.

Who were the manufacturers who produced Agent Orange for the military?
Dow, Monsanto, Diamond Shamrock Corporation, Hercules Inc., Uniroyal Inc., T-H Agricultural & Nutrition Company, and Thompson Chemicals Corporation. These companies were subjects of a class action lawsuit filed originally in 1979 and settled out of court in 1987 for $180 million. The official name of the lawsuit was Multidistrict litigation 381 (MDL 381), and was designated In re Agent Orange Product Liability Litigation.

I want (or I had) an "Agent Orange Test", sometimes thought to be given by the VA -- What is this?
There is no such thing as an Agent Orange Test. This is often confused with two things:

1. The Agent Orange screening physical given at VA Medical Centers: This test is nothing more that a general physical which includes examination, X-rays and blood work. It does not detect Agent Orange exposure. This physical is useful only as any routine physical is useful in early detection of disease or health problems. The VA does keep these results in a registry.

2. Dioxin analysis of the blood or fatty tissue: There are sophisticated tests which will measure dioxin levels in both blood and fatty tissues. (Dioxin is the unwanted byproduct in Agent Orange). These tests are research-oriented only, and have never been available on a large-scale or clinical basis. The VA does not perform these tests. Only a few laboratories in the world are able to do this testing, and it is usually quite expensive, around $1500-$2000 per test.

Can I sue the government or the chemical companies?
No. Title 38 of the United States Code prohibits veterans from suing the government for injuries suffered while in the military. A class action suit was filed in behalf of veterans in 1979 against the chemical companies and settled out of court. The final funds in this legal action were distributed by 1992. Additional attempts to sue the manufacturers have been attempted, and have been prohibited by the courts. The most strongly fought of these legal battles, Ivy vs. Diamond Shamrock was supported in behalf of the plaintiff by attorney generals in all fifty states, the Supreme Court, however, refused to hear the arguments and that case ended in 1992. In the parlance of the court, the issue is "res judicata" or "the matter is settled".
http://www.lewispublishing.com/faq.htm

If the government tells you it won't hurt you and you believe

it then I have a bridge to sell you. It started over 20 years ago

screw the vets out of everything.

W by far is the worse !

Why do these "military" people on this forum, think they are entitled to "scream" in their messages??????
This is very difficult to read and give me the feeling of being into the army!

mistral
I do not have any problem with what you call "MILITARY PEOPLE" screaming. LOL mistral, have you ever thought that just some of these "MILITARY PEOPLE" might just be a little PO'D?? It is not hard to read, and maybe if you get the feeling like your in the Army, you might just scream yourself. There is a lot to scream about these days mistral. What the "SHRUB" is doing to our country and our G.I.'s are enough to make anybody scream! You want to be heard, then SCREAM! You must of heard the squeaky gear gets the grease---right. So SCREAM mistral --SCREAM! Lets hear what you have to say! Go for the Brass mistral --the podium is yours!