Agent Orange studies summarized on Greenwire

[Susan Snow <sksnow@worldnet.att.net>]

The following was posted on another listserve.

Articles about 2 new Agent Orange studies were summarized in today's
Greenwire:

*17  VIETNAM:  DIOXIN DETECTED IN FOOD CHAIN -- STUDY
   Dioxin from Agent Orange -- the defoliant sprayed on jungles to
uncover enemy hiding places during the Vietnam War -- has contaminated
Vietnam's food chain, "creating serious environmental and health
problems that demand urgent international attention," a new study says.
     The study, released on 10/30 by Hatfield Consultants Ltd. of West
Vancouver, BC, is based on five years of research aimed at identifying
the effects of defoliants sprayed on Vietnam from 1962 to 1971.  The
study, considered "one of the most comprehensive" ever done on Agent
Orange, found "high levels" of dioxin in the blood of Vietnamese
children born after the war, as well as in fish and animal tissues,
indicating that the
carcinogen is being transferred through the food chain.  The study did
not attempt to determine the number of people affected, and the
researchers cautioned that further study is needed to establish direct
links between Agent Orange and health problems.
     MANY THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE AFFECTED?
     The Vietnamese government is expected to use the study to support
its claims that the 12 million gallons of chemicals dumped on South
Vietnam during the war caused "immense" harm.
The Vietnamese government says about 500,000 people have died or
contracted serious illness due to the spraying, and about 70,000 people
are suffering from mental or physical disabilities due to direct or
indirect exposure to Agent Orange.  The chemical destroyed about 14% of
South Vietnam's forests, according to official US data.
     The study calls for a public health campaign to ensure that people
do not eat contaminated food; further studies on the possible links
between Agent Orange and health problems; international assistance in
reforestation efforts; and a coordinated effort to clean contaminated
land.  No information was reported about the study's source of funding.
     Additional information is available on the Internet at
http://www.hatfieldgroup.com/spotlight/vietnam.htm (David Lamb, Los
Angeles Times, 10/31).
     US MILITARY ACCUSED OF COVERUP
     In a related story, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports the US
military withheld information about possible links between Agent Orange
and birth defects, while it also downplayed the defoliant's link to
cancer among Vietnam War veterans.
     The assertion is based on the newspaper's six-month investigation
into a $200 million Air Force study that tracked the health of 1,000
veterans who participated in sprayings of
Agent Orange.  The Union-Tribune charges that the Air Force withheld
"for years" one report that indicated a high incidence of birth defects
and infant mortality among the children of those veterans.  The
newspaper also said the military altered a second report to show little
difference in the health conditions of veterans and a comparison group
(AP/Washington Times, 11/2).
     Col. George Lathrop, who headed the Air Force study in its early
years, said the changes in the one report were "minor" and it was better
not to release sensitive data from the study prematurely (San Diego
Union-Tribune, 11/2).
###