Agent Orange was one of the herbicides used during the Vietnam War by the Americans to combat the forest cover present in Vietnam and destroy North Vietnamese crops. The operation was named Operation Ranch Hand. The herbicide attacks were successful in destroying forest cover and crops, but it had terrible everlasting after effects.
Agent Orange was not the only herbicide used during Operation Ranch Hand. Other Herbicides included Agent Pink, Green, White, Purple and Blue each with their own strengths. Agent Orange is . was the most used of the herbicides. More than 13 million gallons of Agent Orange was used In Vietnam.
The most lethal part of the Agent Orange was the dioxin that would contaminate everything in Vietnam. The most of the exposure came from the food soldiers would eat, mostly meat and dairy based products. The effects ranged from causing cancer to darker skin and acne. The dioxin is also linked to immune system dysfunction, nerve disorders, muscular dysfunction, hormone disruption, and heart disease according to History.com. 2.4 million veterans soon after the war filed a lawsuit against the United States which led to the veterans getting $180 million from the chemical producing companies. The herbicide also effected Vietnam after the war. Vietnam reported that 400,000 Vietnamese people died from the herbicide. Another claim was that half a million children were born with birth defects and 2 million people contracted cancer from the attacks. To this day the effects of the chemical attacks are still present to the Vietnamese people.
The picture above shows the United States' planes spreading Agent Orange over Vietnam's jungles.
Link: https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/agent-orange-1
Word Count: 279
The picture above shows the United States' planes spreading Agent Orange over Vietnam's jungles.Link: https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/agent-orange-1
Word Count: 279
It was interesting to learn that the effects of the agent orange are still present to the Vietnamese people. That chemical must be very strong to last this long. I can't imagine unknowingly ingesting these harmful chemicals and thinking it was safe.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of Agent Orange and the others was a great idea, but the government and chemical companies did not look into the long term affects it had on people and the land. For the chemicals to still be affecting people and agriculture to this day is insane to think about. On top of this I think it is a good thing that the veterans sued the government and got money for the lasting affects.
ReplyDeleteI liked that you included lots of facts and numbers about this topic, it makes it more interesting. Also I didn't know about all the other toxins they released there but it was nice to find that out. I think it's also crazy how many of our soldiers were harmed by this toxin and that the government didn't really think of that before using it.
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