Dioxin accumulates in fatty tissue in the bodies of fish, birds and other animals. Effects of Agent Orangeīecause Agent Orange (and other Vietnam-era herbicides) contained dioxin in the form of TCDD, it had immediate and long-term effects.ĭioxin is a highly persistent chemical compound that lasts for many years in the environment, particularly in soil, lake and river sediments and in the food chain. The TCDD found in Agent Orange is the most dangerous of all dioxins. It was found in varying concentrations in all the different herbicides used in Vietnam.ĭioxins are also created from trash incineration burning gas, oil and coal cigarette smoking and in different manufacturing processes such as bleaching. In addition to Agent Orange’s active ingredients, which caused plants to “defoliate” or lose their leaves, Agent Orange contained significant amounts of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, often called TCDD, a type of dioxin.ĭioxin was not intentionally added to Agent Orange rather, dioxin is a byproduct that’s produced during the manufacturing of herbicides. Forest Service’s popular fire-fighting campaign featuring Smokey the Bear.
Some military personnel during the Vietnam War era joked that “Only you can prevent a forest,” a twist on the U.S. Herbicides were also sprayed from trucks and hand-sprayers around U.S. In all, American forces used more than 20 million gallons of herbicides in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia during the years of Operation Ranch Hand. During this process, crops and water sources used by the non-combatant native population of South Vietnam were also hit. aircraft were deployed to douse roads, rivers, canals, rice paddies and farmland with powerful mixtures of herbicides. military sprayed a range of herbicides across more than 4.5 million acres of Vietnam to destroy the forest cover and food crops used by enemy North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops. During the Vietnam War, the U.S military engaged in an aggressive program of chemical warfare codenamed Operation Ranch Hand.įrom 1961 to 1971, the U.S.
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