Veterans and Agent Orange Health Effects of Herbicides Used in Vietnam (1994) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
3 The U.S. Military and the Herbicide Program in Vietnam
3 The U.S. Military and the Herbicide Program in Vietnam
Pages 74-110
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 74... ...
Air Force sprayed nearly 19 million gallons of herbicides in Vietnam, of which at least 11 million gallons was Agent Orange, in a military project called Operation Ranch Hand. An additional quantity (1.6 million gallons has been documented)
|
From page 75... ...
Although detailed records of demographic information were not compiled during the Vietnam era, some federal estimates are available. In addition, data from several national surveys of the Vietnam veteran population supplement the government estimates.
|
From page 76... ...
Because there is no master list of the millions of veterans who served during the Vietnam era, studies of Vietnam veterans must create their own sampling frames from which samples of veterans can be selected and from which national estimates can be generated. These estimates of the national Vietnam veteran population are necessary for epidemiologic studies of veterans that attempt to quantify the risk of various health effects for the entire veteran population based on the results observed in representative samples.
|
From page 77... ...
Military Strength in Vietnam and Quantities of Herbicides Sprayed: 1960-1973 N f Quantity of Herbicide Sprayed (million gallons)
|
From page 78... ...
Army ground combat troops who served in III Corps during 1967-1968, Marines who served in I Corps, or Air Force Operation Ranch Hand personnel. The results of such studies are limited to the group under study and do not necessarily apply to the entire Vietnam veteran population.
|
From page 79... ...
Therefore, the DVA estimate of the number who served in the Vietnam theater is restricted, based on use of the Vietnam Service Medal as an indicator of service. Various demographic data on veteran populations, in addition to employment and disability statistics, are reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
|
From page 80... ...
According to BLS estimates of the veteran population in 19891990, veterans who were between 40 and 44 years of age comprise the single largest age cohort of male Vietnam era veterans; 38 percent of male Vietnam era veterans and 43 percent of male Vietnam theater veterans were born between 1946 and 1950 (see Table 3-3~. These statistics on the current age distribution of Vietnam veterans corroborate findings from several recent veteran surveys (Fischer et al., 1980; Kulka et al., 1988; CDC, 1989; U.S.
|
From page 81... ...
Other than IV Corps, where 7 percent served, military personnel in Vietnam were relatively evenly distributed throughout the four military regions of the country. Approximately 80 to 85 percent of male Vietnam veterans were white, 10 to 12 percent black, and the remaining Hispanic or other (Fischer et al., 1980; Kulka et al., 1988; U.S.
|
From page 82... ...
Draftees were more likely to see heavy combat in Vietnam, compared to those who enlisted and served in other parts of the theater (Fischer et al., 1980; Kulka et al., 1988~. No differences among racial or ethnic groups were found for either service in the Vietnam theater or exposure to combat.
|
From page 83... ...
Very little information on the demographic characteristics of women veterans exists (Schwartz, 1987~. The National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (Kulka et al., 1988)
|
From page 84... ...
In December 1961, President Kennedy authorized the use of herbicides, and on January 12, 1962, the first U.S. Air Force herbicide missions of Operation Ranch Hand were flown over South Vietnam (Warren, 1968; MACV, 1972~.
|
From page 85... ...
Together these tapes of herbicide sprays account for approximately 20 million gallons of herbicides used in Vietnam from 1962 to 1971. Operation Ranch Hand The defoliation program in Vietnam began on December 4, 1961, when President Kennedy authorized the Secretary of Defense to test the military effectiveness of the defoliation of several lines of communication (MACV, 1968~.
|
From page 86... ...
The control of the use of herbicides was a joint effort by the government of South Vietnam and the United States. Authorization in Saigon and at the Corps level was mandatory for all Ranch Hand crop destruction and defoliation operations by fixed-wing aircraft (MACV, 1969b; NAS, 1974~.
|
From page 87... ...
. Ranch Hand aircraft were also responsible for the spraying of insecticides to control malaria-carrying mosquitoes, and began spraying in South Vietnam in 1966.
|
From page 88... ...
. It was reported that 44 percent of the land area of Southeast Asia (primarily South Vietnam)
|
From page 89... ...
According to military herbicide records, more than 1.1 million gallons of Agent Blue was dispensed in the DOD herbicide program. Approximately onehalf of all Agent Blue was used for crop destruction missions; it was the agent of choice for destruction of rice crops.
|
From page 90... ...
According to military estimates of herbicide use, 90 percent of Agent Orange was used in Ranch Hand forest defoliation missions; 8 percent was used in Ranch Hand crop destruction missions; and 2 percent was sprayed from the ground around base perimeters and cache sites, waterways, and communication lines (NAS, 19741. Mangrove forests were especially sensitive to the effects of Agent Orange a single application killed them (NAS, 1974~.
|
From page 91... ...
It is the unknown concentration of TCDD in Agent Orange that is of particular concern. Of all the herbicides used in South Vietnam, only Agent Orange was formulated differently from the materials for commercial application that were readily available in the United States (Young et al., 1978~.
|
From page 92... ...
According to information on Ranch Hand spray missions, 80 percent of herbicides sprayed in the herbicide program (1962 to 1971' were applied during the period from 1966 to 1969. As the military use of herbicides in Vietnam intensified, various questions were raised concerning the legality, morality, and possible long-term consequences of the program.
|
From page 93... ...
In September 1971, the Department of Defense directed that all surplus Agent Orange in South Vietnam be removed and that the entire 2.2 million gallons be disposed of by an environmentally acceptable method. The 1.37 million gallons in South Vietnam was moved to Johnston Island, in the Pacific Ocean, for storage (Buckingham, 19821.
|
From page 94... ...
During the entire operation, approximately 1,250 military personnel served in Ranch Hand units. Although the Air Force maintained complete records of its Operation Ranch Hand fixed-wing herbicide missions, documentation of spraying conducted on the ground by boat, truck, or backpack and authorized at the unit level was less systematic.
|
From page 95... ...
report that the actual number "may be in the thousands since at least 100 helicopter spray equipment units were used in South Vietnam, and most military bases had vehicle-mounted and backpack spray units available for use in routine vegetation control programs." The dregs of the 55-gallon drums were pumped into smaller drums and sent to military camps for local defoliation of crops and control of perimeter foliage (Dux and Young, 1980~. According to official documents, the "small-scale use of herbicides, for example around friendly base perimeters, were at the discretion of area commanders.
|
From page 96... ...
. The HERBS and Services HERBS Tapes A log of the aerial herbicide applications was maintained by the Chemical Operations Division, United States MACV, from data received from the various bases that supported herbicide missions.
|
From page 97... ...
The committee conducted an inventory of the herbicide operations and constructed maps of the herbicide missions based on data recorded on the HERBS tapes. The HERBS tapes contain information on 6,539 herbicide missions and 17.6 million gallons of herbicides sprayed during operations for the period August 1965 through February 1971.
|
From page 98... ...
The Services HERBS tape contains data on helicopter spray missions prior to 1968, backpack, and other ground sprayings by Army personnel. When combined with the HERBS tapes on herbicide operations from August 1965 through February 1971, these two tapes account for 19.2 million gallons of herbicides sprayed in Vietnam.
|
From page 99... ...
Military Region 1 1 1 ~ \ Military Region IV 0 |u Minh ~ .J Pa Mau Peninsula / 1I Military Region 11 ~ 1 J ~ ,_r 99 50 100 150 200 km 1 1 1 1 FIGURE 3-1 South Vietnam during the Vietnam conflict.
|
From page 100... ...
Army, 19721. The enemy infiltration terminated in base camps within South Vietnam; several were located near the Cambodian border and others were located near Saigon.
|
From page 101... ...
fretl~s rem - Crop ~he- D.folhat Gram ~ Ual~aows ma Fit ~1/~1 ~ ~ j J E: ~r~ ~ FIGURE 3-2a Herbicide defoliation missions in Vietnam as recorded on HERBS tape.
|
From page 104... ...
estimated that 57 percent of the Rung Sat Special zone had been sprayed. Another heavily sprayed area, the Ca Mau Peninsula at the southern tip of South Vietnam, was almost entirely covered with dense mangrove forests up to 1968.
|
From page 105... ...
Boundary Major Rivers and Canals 1 T7~ Sand i': Coconut _~ Mangrove Limit 1 0 1 2 3 4 IHHHHH I I i I STATUTE MILES 1000 0 1000 3000 SOOO ~ H H i'8HH I I I I I METERS FIGURE 3-3 Herbicide spray missions (1966-1967) in the Rung Sat Special Zone.
|
From page 106... ...
base camps and outlying fire support bases. Aerial spraying of herbicides by Operation Ranch Hand accounted for approximately 86 percent of all spraying, and existing computerized records indicate which herbicides were used and where.
|
From page 107... ...
Units and individuals other than the members of the Air Force Ranch Hand, such as the Army Chemical Corps, were also likely to have handled or sprayed herbicides around bases or lines of communication. Considerable quantities of herbicides were also sprayed from boats and ground vehicles, as well as by soldiers wearing back-mounted equipment.
|
From page 108... ...
Presented to the Institute of Medicine Committee to Review the Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans of Exposure to Herbicides. Illinois Agent Orange Committee, Vietnam Veterans of America.
|
From page 109... ...
1990. Mortality and morbidity among Army Chemical Corps Vietnam veterans: a preliminary report.
|
From page 110... ...
U.S. Ground Troops in South Vietnam Were in Areas Sprayed with Herbicide Orange.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.