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Introduction and Background
Pages 1-4

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From page 1...
... After a scientific report concluded that a contaminant of one of the primary chemicals used in the herbicide called Agent Orange could cause birth defects in laboratory animals, US forces suspended use of the herbicide; they subsequently halted all herbicide spraying in Vietnam in 1971. In response to concerns about the possible health consequences of wartime exposure to herbicides, Congress passed Public Law 102-4, the Agent Orange Act of 1991.~ The legislation directed the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to request that the National Academy of Sciences conduct a comprehensive review and evaluation of available scientific and medical information regarding the health effects of exposure to Agent Orange, other herbicides used in Vietnam, and their components, inCodified as 38 USC§1116.
From page 2...
... of the National Academies conducted the review and in 1994 published a comprehensive report titled Veterans and Agent Orange: Health Effects of Herbicides Used in Vietnam (IOM, 1994~. The committee responsible for the 1994 report encountered a severe lack of information about the exposures of individual Vietnam veterans to herbicides and found that this lack of information had hampered previous attempts to study the effects of exposure to herbicides on the health of Vietnam veterans.
From page 3...
... Its initial work resulted in the report Scientific Considerations Regarding a Request for Proposals for Research Characterizing Exposure of Veterans to Agent Orange and Other Herbicides Used in Vietnam (IOM, 1997~. The report which comprised a statement of work, criteria for selecting researchers, and an appendix providing background information for potential respondentswas released to the public on March 18, 1997.
From page 4...
... The progress reports were to include: "a description of the overall progress; descriptions of the specific work accomplished, including problems encountered and corrective actions; pertinent data or other information in sufficient detail to explain significant results achieved and any preliminary conclusions resulting from analysis and scientific evaluation of data accumulated to date; and a description of the work to be accomplished over the following six months" (page 10~. Progress reports were presented in public meetings of the committee to disseminate the information to a larger audience and facilitate interaction between the committee and the researchers.


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