Vietnam Agent Orange Effects

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Introduction:

Agent Orange, an exposure tactic used by the U.S. military on the soldiers of Vietnam in the 1960s, was named after the “orange band around its storage barrel” (US Department of Veterans Affairs, 2013). As a plant killing herbicide, the purpose of Agent Orange was to kill the millions of acres of trees and vegetation that the Vietnamese used for cover against the U.S. during the Vietnam war. An estimated 20 million gallons of Agent Orange were sprayed from U.S. warplanes upon the forests of Vietnam (Hoyle, 2014). The herbicide is known for its severe environmental destruction, but also for its health defects on humans. The persistence of the dioxin in Agent Orange is concerning, for it can remain toxic in the soil for decades, and for this reason, it still affects people to this day (What Is Agent Orange?, 2018). It has been claimed that approximately “three million Vietnamese were killed or disabled by the use of Agent Orange” along with millions of United States soldiers that came home after the war, categorizing the effects of Agent Orange as a wide-spread global issue (Agent Orange, 2015).

Scientific Mechanism:

Agent Orange was composed of two chemicals, both of which were herbicides, chemicals that kill plants, to kill the trees and vegetation that the Vietnamese soldiers used for hiding during the war. It was intentional for …show more content…
Sublethal effects that Vietnamese citizens and United States veterans often suffer from due to exposure from Agent Orange and the byproduct of TCDD is chloracne, a severe acne-like skin disease that causes skin rashes, discoloration of the skin, and alteration in glucose metabolism and hormone levels. A few of Agent Orange’s most lethal effects are the high risk of cancer and reproductive damage due to the toxic emissions produced into the air and environment (ATSDR,
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