National Academy of Sciences
Between 1972 and 1982, approximately 1,500 to 2,100 U.S. Air Force (AF) Reserve personnel trained and worked on C-123 aircraft that previously had been used to spray herbicides, including Agent Orange (AO), during Operation Ranch Hand (ORH) in the Vietnam War. Samples taken from these aircraft show the presence of AO residues. Continue Reading
The single new conclusion was that there is limited or suggestive evidence of a scientifically meaningful association of stroke with exposure to the chemicals in question. Continue Reading
Although the IOM found several plausible ways by which Blue Water Navy veterans could have been exposed to herbicides, there was not enough information for the IOM to determine whether Blue Water Navy personnel were or were not exposed to Agent Orange. Continue Reading
The authoring committee found suggestive but limited evidence that exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides used during the Vietnam War is associated with an increased chance of developing ischemic heart disease and Parkinson’s disease for Vietnam veterans. Continue Reading
A new Institute of Medicine report, The Utility of Proximity-Based Herbicide Exposure Assessment in Epidemiologic Studies of Vietnam Veterans, presents the conclusions and recommendations of a committee that was convened to provide guidance to the Department of Veterans Affairs about the best use of an exposure assessment model that was developed to address this problem. Continue Reading
Because of continuing uncertainty about the long-term health effects of the sprayed herbicides on Vietnam veterans, Congress passed the Agent Orange Act of 1991. Continue Reading
Under a Congressional mandate, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies conducted a comprehensive review of the scientific literature to determine whether Vietnam veterans may be experiencing health effects associated with exposure to those herbicides or chemicals contaminating them. Continue Reading
In this report, the IOM was mandated to review “whether it is possible to identify a period of time after exposure to herbicides after which a presumption of service-connection” of respiratory cancer would not be warranted. Continue Reading
Based on this review, the committee concludes that a valid exposure reconstruction model for wartime herbicide exposures of US veterans of Vietnam is feasible. Continue Reading
This report, Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2002, is the fourth in a series examining the impact of chemical defoliants, including Agent Orange, and their contaminants on human health. Continue Reading