While doing research for a reader a few months ago, I was unable to find strong information dealing with the current effects of Agent Orange on Vietnamese children. Most of what I read seemed to say that as generations pass, the dioxin levels will decrease and children being born now will be at a lower risk of suffering from the effects of Agent Orange. However, this recent article I came across focuses on a new study that has been measuring levels of the dioxin in Viet Nam.

Agent Orange was an herbicide used for ten years (1961-1971) by American troops in Viet Nam during the Viet Nam war. Agent Orange was used to defoliate dense jungle areas of Viet Nam. The herbicide released dioxins that have been proven to cause different forms of cancer and horrific genetic defects. Vietnamese civilians, soldiers and US veterans alike have all been affected by Agent Orange.

The US Department of Veterans Affairs has listed prostate cancer, respiratory cancers, multiple myeloma, type II diabetes, Hodgkin’s disease, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, soft tissue sarcoma, chloracne, porphyria cutanea tarda, peripheral neuropathy, and spina bifida in children of veterans exposed to Agent Orange as side effects of the herbicide. from Wikipedia

The study I mentioned earlier has found extremely high levels of the dioxin at the former US airbase in Danang. Tests performed this past spring showed that neighboring Than Khe’s levels were elevated, but within accepted limits. Dioxin levels three miles away were within normal range.

...blood tests found elevated dioxin levels in several dozen people who regularly fished or harvested lotus flowers from a contaminated lake on the site.

Tests also confirmed that rainwater has carried dioxin into city drains and into parts of a neighboring community that is home to more than 100,000 people, Boivin said. The levels there are only slightly elevated, but could rise if the dioxin isn't properly contained.

The levels fall off dramatically outside the base, said Charles Bailey, Vietnam representative of the Ford Foundation, which financed Hatfield's study. "Nevertheless, it's a public health threat, and it's a risk."

Thomas Boivin, the scientist who conducted the tests, along with the Vietnamese government have summarized their findings for the Associated Press. The final report by Hatfield Consultants and the Ford Foundation has not yet been released.

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