Why the US Military thought Agent Orange was Safe

[KCAC]

I am a Vietnam Vet, and have been angry for decades that the Military so freely used very toxic Herbicides not only as a weapon but also inside our bases for vegetation control with no safeguards or warnings to us at the time.  I recently ran across this report "A Review of the Herbicide Program in South Vietnam" written by the Sceintific Advisory Group in 1968 which appears to be the main Science Group advising the US and US Military at the time.  This declassified report was written for the Navy and states how safe these herbicides were.  Here is an example of a paragraph.  If nothing else, it makes me feel somewhat better about our military leaders at the time.  They were reading these reports, thus seeing no reason NOT to use the stuff around the US troops.

 

2. It should be emphasized that these chemicals are non-toxic, noncorrosive (except for Blue which is slightly corrosive in nature), and generally not harmful to any fnrm of human or animal life. The aircrews are exposed to it daily and, in the U. S., defoliants of this type are used on over 400 million acres annually. Defoliants, in general, have been used for the past 20 years with,,Lt ill effects and ARVN troops have been exposed to it for the past few yeaz: without harm. Defoliants are nonpoisonous and food or water may be consumed without fear of resulting effects. Reportably, some RANCH HAND personnel have actually ingested some of the agents during demonstrations to show that there is no danger. The spray does not poison the soil, which may be replanted after irrigation or replowing.

Link:

http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/779797.pdf  

Edited January 16, 2017 by KCAC
correction

[Buck52]

On behalf of all the men and women in uniform Including  myself  that were in Vietnam or around Vietnam including blue water Veterans..I say this report is B.S.

[MikeHunt]

^^^ QFT

Their propaganda is now a damning mea culpa -

... aircrews exposed to ... daily

400 million acres

... personnel have ingested ...

Don't forget, it wasn't only tactical herbicides, commercial was over, and incorrectly, used as well.

[KCAC]

The report was surely BS.  But if you look at the credentials at the time in 1968.  If the Nation's scientists were telling this to our Military leaders in a secret report.  Why would the Military think it is BS?

There is very detailed info info in this old report, including captured VC were saying they were scared of the chemicals being sprayed. But then goes on to say our Ranchhand crews were drinking it.

I doubt in 1968 the Military asked the Sceintific Advisory Group to write a classified secret report and make it full of BS to prove the stuff was safe. I think this guy Warren who wrote the report, believed it to be true. There is much data in this regarding the effectiveness of the tactical program.  That paragraph was near the end in the adendum on page B1.  I left Thailand with skin issues, I was told for 40 years that no tactical defoliants were used in Thailand.  Then the story changes, they did spary in Thailand but only inside the bases.  I was pretty pizzed off on that.  If the military commanders were reading reports like this, I feel a little less pizzed at them.  My Thai base was the SAC base and clearly had the &%*# sprayed everywhere near the B-52's, & KC-135s.  This was taken by the Navy in 1969

[Buck52]

AGENT ORANGE: VETERAN HEALTH ISSUES AND LEGAL BATTLE

Questions regarding Agent Orange arose in the United States after an increasing number of returning Vietnam veterans and their families began to report a range of afflictions, including rashes and other skin irritations, miscarriages, psychological symptoms, Type-2 diabetes, birth defects in children and cancers such as Hodgkin’s disease, prostate cancer and leukemia.

In 1979, a class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of 2.4 million veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange during their service in Vietnam. Five years later, in an out-of-court-settlement, seven large chemical companies that manufactured the herbicide agreed to pay $180 million in compensation to the veterans or their next of kin. Various challenges to the settlement followed, including lawsuits filed by some 300 veterans, before the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed it in 1988. By that time, the settlement had risen to some $240 million including interest. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush signed into law the Agent Orange Act, which mandated that some diseases associated with defoliants (including non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas, soft tissue sarcomas and chloracne) be treated as the result of wartime service and helped codify the VA’s response to veterans with conditions related to their exposure to Agent Orange.

EFFECTS OF AGENT ORANGE ON VIETNAM

In addition to the massive environmental impact of the U.S. defoliation program in Vietnam, that nation has reported that some 400,000 people were killed or maimed as a result of exposure to herbicides like Agent Orange. In addition, Vietnam claims half a million children have been born with serious birth defects, while as many 2 million people are suffering from cancer or other illness caused by Agent Orange.

In 2004, a group of Vietnamese citizens filed a class-action lawsuit against more than 30 chemical companies, including the same ones that settled with the U.S. veterans in 1984. The suit, which sought billions of dollars worth of damages, claimed that Agent Orange and its poisonous effects left a legacy of health problems and that its use constituted a violation of international law. In March 2005, a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, dismissed the suit; another U.S. court rejected a final appeal in 2008.

TAGS

VIETNAM WAR

VIETNAM WAR TECH

VIETNAM WAR WEAPONS

 

[KCAC]

Buck, or anyone,

When do you think the US military surely knew it was very unsafe?  The 1973 CHECO report on Thai base defenses says after a semi successful (3 B52s damaged in Jan 72) attack at U-Tapeo, it caused the USAF to increase base defense and add 400 land mines at U-T but no defoliants were avialable until June of 72.  The report clearly implies that the USAF were still spraying it on U-T and Korat in Thailand that late.I think this CHECO report is why the VA finally admited Thai Vets were exposed to AO, but they say you have to prove you were on the perimeter.  At U-Tapeo, the perimeter the NVA apparantly escaped from was a beach.  And the USAF made a large rec center on that perimeter open to all base personnel. If you look closely above the T, you see a security guard tower in the background.  All vegetation uphill from this area to the nearby Flight line was obvously heavily sprayed.  We just thought it was stuff legal Stateside.  Which I think it was, but 25 times+ stronger.

 

[broncovet]

Hopefully, you will see the pattern here:

1.  In the 1960's, in Grand Junction Colorado and other places, the government assured residents that Uranium mill tailings were "safe" and gave them away to homeowners as free dirt good for filling in what ever holes in your yard that needed fill dirt, and backfilling your cement, and foundation.  

Years later, Grand Junction became a "Superfund" cleanup site when it was discovered that mill tailings emitted toxic radon gas, and other harmful cancer causing chemicals.  It all had to be cleaned up and cost billions and billions to remove this radioactive soil.

2.  You already mentioned Agent Orange and that government blooper.

3.  Ask Alex Graham how safe Jet guns are for vaccinations.  That is how he got killer Hep C, as did thousands and thousands of other Veterans.  Remember, the government thought jet guns were safe.

4.  Fast forward to Genetically modified food products. (GMO).  The government says this is safe, but has not done any long term testing.  Interestingly, other countries, such as Europe, and specifically England and other places GMO's are banned.  There is no "mandantory labeling" of GMO corn or vegetables in England because these products are banned.  All food in England is what we could consider "organic".  They are healtier and live longer than we do.  So, why is it not banned in the US?   Lobbyists from the seed companies convinced the FDA these products are safe without any long term tests.  The FDA bought it and here, we tried to at least force a label that identified whether food was GMO or not.  It lost.  The food companies dont even have to tell us if its GMO food or not.  

Do you see the pattern here???