Paying Reparation to the Victims of Agent Orange…
You might have heard or know of people with diseases such as Ischemic Heart Disease, Non-Hodgkin 's Lymphoma, Respiratory Cancers, Prostate Cancer, or Soft Tissue Sarcomas. What you might not know is what caused them to get such diseases. There are many factors that can cause a person to get these illnesses that it seems nearly impossible to pinpoint the cause.
What if the answer was pretty simple and that one thing is to be blamed for increasing the chance of getting any of these diseases? This does not sound right. How can one thing be the leading cause of all these illnesses? This however is true. Many studies and reports suggest Agent Orange to be the culprit for the above diseases. Agent
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The most recent lawsuit was in 2014. 73 year old Tran To Nga, a former journalist who reported in areas sprayed with Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, claimed she suffered from diabetes and a blood disorder during her stay. Nga also claimed that she transmitted the disease to two of her daughters resulting in her first daughter of dying from heart defects at 17 months old. All of these ailments are linked, according to Tran, to her exposure of the substance. To be certain that her illness was a direct result from Agent Orange, Nga got tested. Shockingly, results from her blood sample showed that the dioxin content in her body was 16.7pg/g in 2013, much higher than the safe level of 0.7pg of dioxins per kilogram of body weight. (EPA) For many years, Nga blamed herself for her children’s illnesses. “I asked myself, what have I done to transmit this incurable disease to my children?” she told France 24 in an interview at her home in Vietnam. She later realized that she was not at fault when she visited a province and saw that thousands of children of people exposed to Agent Orange had similar disabilities and illnesses she had. "Now I know that I am not at fault,” she said. “We can identify the culprit of my children’s illnesses… It is these dioxins.” With enough scientific evidence to back her claim, Nga was able to start her legal battle with Agent Orange manufacturers. The hearing has been set to take place at the end of 2016 or early
The authors of each supporting article help prove my claim of neglect by the Department of Veteran Affairs and public for the Vietnam veterans exposed to the herbicide, Agent Orange, as well as the herbicide causing the veterans physical and psychological distress. The credibility of the articles is supported not only by the authors’ credentials but also in the reoccurrence of facts in each article. For example, concerning the disregard by the Department of Veteran Affairs of stated illness by Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange, the authors of “Agent Orange Exposure and Attributes Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans” argue “the DVA assumption is inconsistent with the scientific principles governing determinations of disease causation” (Cecil and Young, 2011). Supporting this claim, the authors of “The Use of Epidemiological Evidence on the Compensation of Veterans” argue regarding the process of Veteran Affairs connecting illnesses to Agent Orange “the current process for making presumptions is regarded by some key stakeholders, particularly the veterans service organizations and the veterans themselves, as flawed; its
On April 12, 1961, the first application of the chemical nicknamed Agent Orange was sprayed on Vietnamese foliage in an attempt to stop guerilla warfare, launching a herbicidal disaster ("Herbicidal Warfare"). The consequences of agent orange, unbeknownst to the former government officials, led to a series of catastrophic effects including, but not limited to neurobehavioral and physical anomalies of the human body. As a result of the lacking knowledge of Agent Orange, the United States and Vietnam are still cleaning up the herbicidal mess that could have been avoided (Magnuson). Decades later, scientific evidence proved that the use of the dioxin herbicide Agent Orange was linked to many physical and neurobehavior disorders (Poremba).
Schecter, Arnold, et al. "Recent Dioxin Contamination From Agent Orange in Residents of a Southern Vietnam City." FFRD. N.p., May 2011. . Rpt. in JOEM. Vol. 43. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. 5. FFRD. Web. 3 Apr. 2011.
Between 1961 and 1971, Monsanto, along with Dow Chemical and other chemical companies, provided herbicides and defoliants, including Agent Orange, to the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. As a consequence of the exposure to dioxins contained in the defoliant, the military personnel in Vietnam suffered of injuries, such as Chloracne, heart disease, prostate cancer, respiratory cancers, etc. (“Veterans' Diseases Associated with Agent Orange”) In 1980, a class-action lawsuit concerning Agent Orange was filed against Monsanto, Dow Chemical and other chemical companies, but these companies denied that Agent Orange was linked to the veterans’ medical problems. In 1984, seven of the chemical companies involved decided to settle the class-action
have been known to cause cancer. Plus how the physical and emotional stress can also have an
In comparison, “They also pointed out that factors other than exposure to the herbicide showed themselves as possible causes of some of the problems. These factors included alcohol consumption and heavy smoking.- the researchers said that they could not find among the ranch handers a set of symptoms or a pattern of symptoms to suggest a solid connection between present-day health problems and exposure to Agent Orange in the past (Dolan 76).” Although the damages of Agent Orange were given little attention, a few investigations and minor court cases attempted to settle the devastation. In an effort to research, “Maude De Victor tried to determine if Operation Ranch Hand aircraft sprayed ground
We must do everything in our power to make the world recognize that our veterans are still paying a high price for fighting the war in Vietnam. Agent Orange is slowly taking the lives of these brave veterans. The government has recognized some diseases but the rules to compensation can be complex. It was in the 1960's that we were in the process of trying to destroy vegetation and brush in Vietnam, in doing so we proceeded to contaminate one of the largest parts of the environment, Humankind. War Veterans were exposed to Agent Orange and now live their lives with a disease not necessarily curable. The question remains did these Veterans know about the hazardous effects, and how are they being compensated now? Agent Orange was the code name for a herbicide developed for the military, primarily for use in tropical climates. It destroyed covering vegetation to protect the American and allied troops from ambush. The product "Agent Orange" was named so for the orange band that was used to mark the drums it was stored in. Agent Orange "was a reddish-brown liquid containing two herbicides: 2,4,5-T was contaminated in the manufacturing process with a type of dioxin - 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, also known as TCDD."(VA Fact Sheet) The combined product was mixed with kerosene or diesel fuel and dispersed by vehicle, hand spraying, and aircraft. The term Operation Ranch Hand was the military code name for the spraying of herbicides from United States aircraft in Southeast Asia. "Between 1962 and 1971, Ranch Hand sprayed about 19 million gallons of herbicide, 11 million of which was Agent Orange."(Buckingham 2) Ranch Hand made attacks more difficult by clearing several hundred yards of vegetation in order to make ambushes more difficult and air attacks easier. There was, "more than 10% of the land area of South Vietnam was sprayed at least once, and some were sprayed repeatedly."(Boffey, 1) After several weeks the herbicides would dissolve into the soil which would contaminate the water and the vegetation. "Orange contained relatively high levels of an exceedingly poisonous contaminant known as Dioxin."(Arison, 1) Dioxin is what remained after the herbicides would dissolve; this is not a harmful substance found in nature, but rather a man made poison. The introduction to using resources: Choices and Trade-off s...
Many of these diseases originate from animal populations. Humans’ interaction with the environment, and animals contribute to the rate and prevalence of disease. All three areas are interconnected. One Health is a concept that views human, animal, and environmental health as one area of health. The three entities, when separated can hinder each other and delay progress. The opposite is also true. When public health officials recognize the correlation between human, animal, and environmental health, advancements and innovation can occur. Other public health issues are present in relation to spread of infectious disease between humans and animals. People must know how to cook animal products in order to kill pathogens. Many diseases are also transferred when humans disrupt ecosystems. These are areas where public health has the opportunity to make progress. The issues that infectious diseases cause occur across the globe. In addition, One Health concepts can be applied to populations all over the
The Vietnam and other wars have mentally and sometimes physically dismembered many veterans. Another factor that plays a role in a war-related suicide is the addition of many on-site diseases such as defoliants, Agent Orange in particular. Made up of equal parts N-Butyl Ester 2,4,-D and N-Butyl Ester 2,4,5,-T, Agent Orange made many Vietnam soldiers go insane (Vietnam Veterans, 11-10-2000). This atrocious chemical lead and still today leads to death, deformation, and diabetes. Dr. Joel E. Michalek, who deals with statistics for the air force, was the first to notice a link between Agent Orange and diabetes. But the federal government was not willing “...to spend millions of dollars on such studies”. Dr. Michael Gough, a retired biologist was quoted as saying “the conclusion I’ve come to is that there is no evidence whatsoever to support any connection between low-level dioxin exposure and any human disease”. Some say they will not do research because it is another thing “...that will be linked to the health complaints of Vietnam veterans” (Kolata, A16). There is hope still. In 1996, Clinton ordered disability benefits for Vietnam veterans suffering from prostate cancer and nerve disease associated with Agent Orange. Eventually, the government will fund more and more diseases for those who served in the war and were exposed to the substances.
Cancer is a condition in the body when there is uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells that evolve into tumors. Fatty food, smoking, and drinking all affect the chances of developing cancer. Treatments for cancer include, but are not limited to, Surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Anyone can become a victim of cancer, but we can decrease our chances of getting cancer by being more informed on the disease and how to prevent it.
... consideration, the most severe of all is the chance of death due to one of the diseases.
A few of the chronic health conditions that occur in my family are breast cancer and high blood pressure. My great grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer later in her life, this was a while ago so she did not receive the type of treatment needed. One reason being that in that time period you needed to catch it early on for them to do much with it, and the second reason being that she caught it too late. Breast Cancer is not something that she overcame, since her diagnosis no one else in the family has been diagnosed. My grandmother is getting close to the age where most women are diagnosed but it is not something that has occurred since then. High blood pressure, on the other hand, is something very common in my family. My dad, both grandfathers, and both great grandfathers either currently have or have had high blood pressure. I will be talking about statistics, preventive tactics, exercises, and environmental effects of both breast cancer and high blood pressure.
Cancer has become the one of the most feared things for human beings. The various type of cancer have been discovered and there are still a lot of it that undiscoverable. Cancer is a complex disease that have a group of disease. The cancer itself cannot be describe by words. The causes of this cancer is still not being able to be discovered fully. There are only minor factor that can lead to this disease. The carcinogens are believed to be one of the causes that lead to cancer such as asbestos, radon gas, tobacco, PVC and much more from our chemical industries. The environment especially near to the industrial that produce chemical waste can be one of the causes lead to cancer. Cancer also have relation with our age, lifestyle, and diet and also can be genetically inherited. It is believed that older people have higher tendency to get cancer than younger people. Our lifestyle and diet also plays a role causing a cancer by our daily life routine. Smoking tobacco and eating unconsciously (still in research) can also increase the possibility to get cancer especially lung cancer that cause by smoking tobacco. There are several cases, cancer were inherited from their parents. Various type of viruses such as HIV, HPV, EBV and many more virus has a high capabilities to increase the chance a patient to get a cancer because these viruses lower their body immunity to disease.
These diseases are directly related to the nutritional value of food. Junk food is taking the life of many, and the most important part of the issue is that people do not know what kind
There are many chronic illnesses. A major one is cancer, specifically thyroid cancer. One character that is shown to be struggling with thyroid cancer as a chronic disease is in the film and novel, The Fault in Our Stars. The protagonist, Hazel Grace Lancaster is diagnosed with terminal thyroid cancer, and the story sets out with the cancer having spread to her lungs. She is a Caucasian female who is possibly around high school or college age. Because of the terminal thyroid cancer, she has, she must walk around with an oxygen tank to be able to breathe.