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Agent Orange Linked To Bladder Cancer And Hypothyroidism

By Louis Babcock
Published on: 08:57 PST, Mar 11, 2016

New reviews of research into Agent Orange is showing that veterans who have been exposed to the poisonous agent are more likely to develop hypothyroidism or bladder cancer. It is no longer believed that offspring of exposed veterans are more likely to be born with spina bifida.

“[The inclusion of] spina bifida in the limited or suggestive category of association was based on preliminary findings from [an ongoing Air Force study]. However, to date, a complete analysis of the data from that study for neural tube defects has not been published … [and] no subsequent studies have found increases in spina bifida with exposure to components of the herbicides sprayed in Vietnam.”

On Thursday, the Institute of Medicine released a report about the effects of exposure to Agent Orange and they also encouraged the Department of Veterans Affairs to give a service-connected disability designation to veterans who exhibit “Parkinson’s-like symptoms” but do not have Parkinson’s Disease.

The research on Agent Orange that prompted this report by the Institute of Medicine is from 2012 to 2014. The determination about bladder cancer and hypothyroidism was made based on data obtained from a study of veterans that served in the Vietnam War. The panel upgraded the link between bladder cancer and hypothyroidism to Agent Orange exposure from “inadequate or insufficient evidence” to “limited or suggestive evidence.” Due to this new report, thousands of veterans will now be able to get treatment and disability from the VA.

It is stated that 2.6 million soldiers served in Vietnam. Agent Orange was sprayed on an estimated 20 percent of the jungles in Vietnam in order to deprive the enemy soldiers a place to hide and attack from. Many of the 2.6 million soldiers who served in Vietnam were exposed to Agent Orange.

Soldiers who served in Vietnam have been having to fight the VA in order to prove that their health issues are due to exposure to Agent Orange. Retired Navy Cmdr. John Wells, executive director of Military-Veterans Advocacy, has been fighting for soldiers who were on ships in the bays, harbors, and territorial seas of Vietnam.

“There was no magic, invisible Agent Orange filter at the mouth of the rivers. We have documented proof of its presence in Nha Trang Harbor, 20 years after the war. That evidence has been presented to the VA. The distillation system which produced drinking water and water for the boilers did not remove the dioxin — it enriched it.”

What is Agent Orange?

Agent Orange is an herbicide that is made up of equal parts of 2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. This powerful combination of chemicals created an herbicide that was used by United States soldiers on the vegetation in Vietnam in order to eliminate places for the enemy to have cover. During the course of the Vietnam War, 19 million gallons of Agent Orange were sprayed across 4.5 million acres in Vietnam.

It has been estimated that over 400,000 people in Vietnam were killed or seriously injured due to exposure to Agent Orange. Vietnam also claims that over 500,000 children were born with serious birth defects and 2 million of their citizens have cancer. These conditions are said to also be related to exposure to Agent Orange.

In 2004, a class action lawsuit was filed against United States companies that produced the chemicals used in Agent Orange on behalf of people in Vietnam. The lawsuit called for billions of dollars in damages but the lawsuit was thrown out of court.

Now that a link between bladder cancer and hypothyroidism has been linked to Agent Orange, will the VA finally start treating veterans who have been exposed to it?

[Image Via AP Photo/John Minchillo]

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