The History, Use, Disposition and Environmental Fate of Agent Orange

verfasst von: Alvin Lee Young

Verlag: Springer New York

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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Über dieses Buch

For almost four decades, controversy has surrounded the tactical use of herbicides in Southeast Asia by the United States military. Few environmental or occupational health issues have received the sustained international attention that has been focused on Agent Orange, the major tactical herbicide deployed in Southern Vietnam. With the opening and establishment of normal relations between the United States and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1995, the time has come for a thorough re-examination of the military use of Agent Orange and other "tactical herbicides" in Southern Vietnam, and the subsequent actions that have been taking place since their use in Vietnam.

The United States Department of Defense has had the major role in all military operations involving the use of tactical herbicides, including that of Agent Orange. This included the Department's purchase, shipment and tactical use of herbicides in Vietnam, its role in the disposition of Agent Orange after Vietnam, its role in conducting long-term epidemiological investigations of the men of Operation RANCH HAND, and its sponsorship of ecological and environmental fate studies. This book was commissioned by The Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations and Environment) with the intent of providing documentation of the knowledge on the history, use, disposition and environmental fate of Agent Orange and its associated dioxin.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Vietnam and the Agent Orange Controversy Revisited

For almost four decades, controversy has surrounded the tactical use of herbicides in Southeast Asia by the United States Department of Defense. Few environmental or occupational health issues have received the sustained international attention that has been focused on Agent Orange and its associated dioxin contaminant. However, the breadth of that controversy has spanned the gamut from alleged military use of chemical weapons, to ecological damage and public health impacts, and to social and political concerns. This spectrum of controversy has represented the crossroads of science and society, i.e., where the significance of the science is “filtered” by the perceptions of the society. Only now that much of the acrimony from that military conflict has subsided can we revisit the military’s use of tactical herbicides in Vietnam and the subsequent actions that have occurred since their use. Indeed, today the legacy issues of Agent Orange remain as one of the last contentious issues with the veterans of that war, and between the United States and Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Alvin L. Young

Chapter 2. A History of the Development and Procurement of Tactical Herbicides

Since 1980, controversy has persisted over the locations at which the Department of Defense (DOD) may have used, tested or evaluated, the herbicides containing 2,4,5-T and its associated dioxin, and “other herbicides” used in the Vietnam War. Adding to the controversy is the confusion by the public, Vietnam veterans, and by the Department of Veterans Affairs as to the distinction between “commercial herbicides” purchased by the DOD and “tactical herbicides” developed by the DOD. Contrary to historical records, many individuals thought that commercially available herbicides were purchased directly from the chemical companies and deployed to the battlefields in Vietnam. However, the use of commercial herbicides was under the jurisdiction of the Armed Forces Pest Control Board (subsequently the Armed Forces Pest Management Board), Forest Glen Station, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland. The uses and application of commercial herbicides were the responsibilities of the Base Civil Engineers, while tactical herbicides were under the control of special military units (e.g., Army Chemical Corps, and the 7th Air Force’s 12th Special Operations Squadron) specifically trained to handle and apply them in hostile military environments. The history of the military development and use of tactical herbicides dates to World War II. The lead agency in developing and testing these tactical herbicides was the US Army Chemical Corps Research Laboratories at Fort Detrick, Maryland. This Chapter describes the development and procurement of the tactical herbicides used in Vietnam.

Alvin L. Young

Chapter 3. The Military Use of Tactical Herbicides in Vietnam

The use of herbicides became a new technique in the arsenal for modern warfare when it was introduced into the armed conflict in Vietnam in 1962. “Tactical Herbicides” were used in a defensive role through defoliation. They were also used in offensive roles through crop denial and exposure of enemy weapons caches, transportation routes, and base camps. A large body of historical data exists on the use of tactical herbicides in Vietnam. The history of Operation RANCH HAND in Vietnam has been thoroughly documented in books by Buckingham in 1982 (“OPERATION RANCH HAND: The Air Force and Herbicides in Southeast Asia, 1961–1971”), and Cecil in 1986 (“Herbicidal Warfare: The RANCH HAND Project in Vietnam”).

Alvin L. Young

Chapter 4. Removal from Vietnam and Final Disposition of Agent Orange

The use of the tactical herbicide “Agent Orange” by the United States Military in South Vietnam was discontinued on 19 April 1970. On 13 September 1971, Department of Defense Secretary Melvin Laird ordered all remaining stocks of Agent Orange (and Orange II) in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) returned to the United States as quickly as possible after the US Embassy negotiated a formal transfer of title from the RVN Government. On 31 October 1971, all herbicide activities under US control were terminated. Operation PACER IVY, the removal of all remaining Orange Herbicide in South Vietnam, was completed on 28 April 1972 when approximately 5.2 million liters (25,220 drums) were off-loaded on Johnston Island in the Central Pacific Ocean. Operation PACER HO, the destruction of the Agent Orange by at-sea incineration, was conducted from May through September 1977. This Chapter describes the removal of Agent Orange from South Vietnam, its subsequent storage and maintenance, and its final disposition.

Alvin L. Young

Chapter 5. Agent Orange and its Dioxin Contamination

Much of the concern over the widespread military use of tactical herbicides in South Vietnam, especially the use of Agent Orange, stemmed from the dioxin (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, TCDD) contaminant in the 2,4,5-T herbicide. Our awareness of its toxicity, persistence in biological tissue, and environmental fate now spans at least 35 years. In that span of time, thousands of articles have been published on TCDD making it not only a chemical of intense regulatory interest but also one of the most researched molecules worldwide. The Department of Defense (DOD) has expended hundreds of million dollars in the conduct of the Air Force Health Study, on the disposal of Agent Orange (Operation PACER HO), and on the numerous remediation and environmental monitoring programs conducted at the former sites where Agent Orange was stored in Mississippi and Johnston Island. This chapter explores the history of Agent Orange and its dioxin contaminant. It also describes the analytical studies on the quantities of TCDD contained in the 2,4,5-T herbicides and the subsequent Agent Orange production, and the conflict that exists between science and social concern.

Alvin L. Young

Chapter 6. The Testing of Aerial Spray Equipment, and Ecological Impacts of the Programs at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida

The training of the aircrews, the development of the interface between the aircraft and the spray equipment, and the test and evaluation of the entire aerial spray system was the responsibility of the Air Development Test Center (ADTC) at Eglin Air Force Base (AFB), Florida. For ten years (1961–1971), Eglin AFB provided the scientific and technical support for the RANCH HAND mission in Vietnam. It was of utmost importance in the development of the aerial spray systems that the equipment be tested under the most realistic conditions possible. An array of test grids (on Test Area C-52A) was developed where the aircraft and equipment could be monitored and evaluated in the field. Moreover, a decision was made that the equipment would be tested using the tactical herbicides that were deployed for use in Vietnam. The goal was not to test the effectiveness of the herbicides, but rather the effectiveness of the equipment in disseminating a concentration of a tactical herbicide determined to be at the “minimum biologically effective ground deposition level.” This chapter is devoted to describing the test programs on Test Area C-52A, Eglin AFB, Florida, and the subsequent studies conducted on the soil persistence, environmental fate, and ecological impact of the tactical herbicides disseminated in the course of developing the aerial spray systems deployed in Vietnam. Very little information was known about the toxicity or environmental persistence of the dioxin contaminant, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), in Agent Orange prior to the late 1969. Thus, the test programs at Eglin AFB involving 2,4,5-T herbicide were conducted in the belief that the herbicide was “essentially” non-toxic and of little ecological concern.

Alvin L. Young

Chapter 7. Monitoring Studies of Former Agent Orange Storage Sites in Mississippi and Johnston Island

In 1962, the responsibility for the management of tactical herbicides was assigned to the United States Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC), and specifically to the Middletown Air Materiel Area (MAAMA), Olmsted Air Force Base (AFB), Pennsylvania (SAAMA 1968). In August 1966, the management for tactical herbicides was transferred to the San Antonio Air Materiel Area (SAAMA), Kelly AFB, Texas (Craig 1975). Management responsibilities included the procurement and shipment of all the tactical herbicides sent to Vietnam. Although the United States Army Chemical Corps, and specifically the Plant Science Laboratories at Fort Detrick, was responsible for the selection, evaluation, and purchase description of the herbicides, the Product Engineering Branch, Directorate of Aerospace Fuels, San Antonio Air Logistic Command at Kelly AFB was the organization that contracted for the tactical herbicides Orange, White and Blue through the Directorate of Procurement and Production, Defense General Supply Center, Defense Supply Agency, Richmond, Virginia (Craig 1975; Irish et al. 1969).

Alvin L. Young

Chapter 8. Agent Orange and Dioxin Remediation and the Return to Vietnam

Almost every aspect of the War in Vietnam has been controversial. It was a war that generated bitter emotions, and for the men and women who served in that War, regardless of where they were from, the memories of their experiences have lingered. Thus, the idea of returning to Vietnam by the US Government had by necessity required that many issues from that War be resolved before re-establishing diplomatic relations. Much has happened in the past 14 years. President Richard M. Nixon ordered the embargo of the “Republic of Vietnam” on April 30, 1975. President William Clinton dropped the embargo on February 3, 1994. In January 1995, the United States and Vietnam signed agreements on those claims related to the War, absolving both nations of damages incurred. On July 15, 1995, President Clinton announced normalization between the US and Vietnam and stated: “The time has come to move forward and bind up the wounds from War.” On August 5, 1995, the US Embassy was opened in Hanoi, and on April 10, 1997 Douglas “Pete” Peterson, a former POW, became the first Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Thus, the normalization and building of relationships between the United States and Vietnam has all essentially occurred in just over a decade. But when did Agent Orange become an issue between the two nations?

Alvin L. Young

Backmatter

Titel: The History, Use, Disposition and Environmental Fate of Agent Orange
verfasst von: Alvin Lee Young
Verlag: Springer New York
Electronic ISBN: 978-0-387-87486-9
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-87485-2
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-87486-9