Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans and Agent Orange Exposure

摘要

Since the end of the Vietnam War, veterans have reported numerous healtheffects. Herbicides used in Vietnam, in particular Agent Orange, that contained the highly toxic chemical 2,3,7,8-tetrachloro- dibenzo-p-dioxin(also referred to as TCDD), have been associated with a variety of cancers and other long-term health effects. The Agent Orange Act of 1991established a presumption of herbicide exposure for veterans who served in Vietnam and who developed one or more of the diseases associated withAgent Orange exposure. Such a presumption is necessary for a Vietnam veteran to receive disability compensation if he or she has an Agent Orange-associated disease. On the basis of the Institute of Medicine's (IOM's) Veterans and Agent Orange (VAO) reports and other information, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has recognized the following 14 health effects as being associated with Agent Orange and other herbicideexposure: acute and subacute peripheral neuropathy, multiple myeloma, ALamyloidosis, non-Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL), chloracne, Parkinson's disease, chronic B-cell leukemias, porphyria cutanea tarda, diabetes mellitus (type 2), prostate cancer, Hodgkins disease, respiratory cancers, ischemic heart disease, and soft-tissue sarcoma.