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AGENT ORANGE BIRTHDEFECTS BLOG SPOT This is a new site called Agent Orange & Birth Defects
where we will post abstracts of important studies on reproductive problems associated with Agent Orange and news briefs. National Birth Defect Registry Baby Green Gene's Marketplace Excellent-Syber Sarge's Agent Orange Website Agent Orange Quilt of Tears Vietnam Veterans Wives Agent Orange Review by the VA updated The Legacy Continues
By Betty Mekdeci
Updated
January 18, 2008
The soldiers are dying. But, even more tragically, the children they have left behind are suffering. Sometimes
at Birth Defect Research for Children we hear from veterans, but usually it is wives and children who send us poignant messages:“I lost my husband from a cancerous brain tumor 13 months
ago. My son has many disabilities, including Tourette’s syndrome, mental retardation, mild cerebral palsy, hydrocephalus,
and he is profoundly deaf. He will never be able to live on his own.”“My father passed away in 1998. He had many health problems, including type
II diabetes. He was only 50 years old. Agent Orange has been a part of my life from the moment I was born. I was born without
my right leg, several of my fingers, and my big toe on my left foot. My mother had three miscarriages. My younger brother
(age 29) has to wear bifocals and suffers from chronic joint pain.”“I served four tours in Vietnam.
We have three children: one daughter with a heart defect, another with scoliosis and digestive problems, and a son born with
a defective optic nerve that has left him blind in the right eye. There is no history of birth defects on either side of our
family.”Since 1991, we have
recorded thousands of such cases in our National Birth Defect Registry.Some 2.8 million Americans served in the Vietnam theater of operations. Three-to-six percent of Vietnam veterans’
children are born with some kind of birth defect (Emory University School of Medicine reports a 3-4 percent birth-defect rate among the
general population). An impressive body of scientific evidence points to increases in birth defects and developmental problems
in the children of Vietnam veterans and others exposed to dioxin-like chemicals.Agent Orange was a combination of two defoliants, 2,4,5-T and
2,4-D contaminated by dioxin (TCDD), a toxic byproduct of the chemical production process. More than 19 million gallons of
herbicides were sprayed in Vietnam between 1962-71. More than 11.2 million gallons sprayed after
1965 were dioxin-contaminated Agent Orange. Agents Purple, Pink, and Green used before 1965 were even more highly contaminated
with dioxin.According to Barry Commoner
and Thomas Webster in their 2003 book Dioxins and Health, “the current scientific evidence argues not only that dioxin
is a potent carcinogen, but that the non-cancer health and environmental hazards of dioxin may be more serious than believed
previously.” They report that dioxin appears to act like a persistent synthetic hormone that interferes with important
physiological signaling systems that can lead to altered cell development, differentiation, and regulation. The most troubling
consequence is the possibility of reproductive, developmental, and immunological effects at the levels of dioxin-like compounds
present in the bodies of the average person.Since studies of Vietnam veterans exposed to herbicides in Vietnam have found much higher levels of dioxin in their bodies than the average person, these effects
also should be detectable in their children.In 1996, the National Academy
of Sciences found “limited/suggestive” evidence of an association between Agent Orange exposure and spina bifida,
a neural tube defect, in the children of Vietnam veterans. In 2000,
Dr. H.K. Kang of the Environmental Epidemiology Service of the Veterans Health Administration published a study that found
that the risk of moderate-to-severe birth defects was significantly associated with the mother’s military service in
Vietnam. As a result of these findings, the VA now funds assistance programs
for spina bifida in the children of male or female Vietnam veterans and for
all birth defects without other known causes in the children of female veterans.The Australian Department of Veterans Affairs (without acknowledging a link to Agent
Orange exposure) provides treatment to the children of Vietnam veterans
with spina bifida, cleft lip or palate, acute myeloid leukemia, and adrenal gland cancer.Other studies offer evidence that many more birth defects may be associated with
dioxin-contaminated herbicide exposure in Vietnam. In 1990, an independent
scientific review of the literature was sponsored by Vietnam Veterans
of America, the American Legion, and the National Veterans Legal Services
Project. Seven prominent, independent scientists and physicians on this Agent Orange Scientific Task Force concluded that
elevated incidences of birth defects in the children of Vietnam veterans
were found in several studies. These included spina bifida, oral clefts, cardiovascular defects, hip dislocations, and malformations
of the urinary tract. In addition, defects of the digestive tract and other neoplasms such as neuroblastoma also were higher
in Vietnam veterans’ children.Aschengrau and Monson of the Harvard School of Public Health conducted a study published
in 1990 in the American Journal of Public Health on paternal military service and the risk of late pregnancy outcomes. The
scientists reported that Vietnam veterans’ risk of fathering an infant with one or more
major malformations was increased at a statistically significant level.The Air Force Ranch Hand study of Vietnam veterans involved in herbicide spraying has been analyzed several times for adverse reproductive outcomes. A 1995
analysis found modest, but significant, increases in spontaneous abortion, defects of the circulatory system and heart, all
anomalies, major birth defects, and some developmental delays in the Ranch Hand veterans’ children. There also was an
increase in spina bifida in the children of Ranch Hand veterans with high dioxin levels.More recent studies have found additional evidence of increases in birth defects
in the children of both male and female veterans. Researchers at the University of Texas, the University of Queensland, and the University of Sydney collaborated on a meta-analysis (a review of the combined data
from many studies) of Agent Orange and birth defects in the International Journal of Epidemiology. They identified all studies
from 1966-2002 that had examined an association between Agent Orange or dioxin and birth defects. The study authors identified
22 studies, including thirteen Vietnamese and nine non-Vietnamese studies.Their review indicated that parental exposure to Agent Orange was associated with
an increased risk in birth defects. The association increased with greater degrees of exposure rated on intensity and duration
of exposure. Although other researchers have pointed out weaknesses in the studies of birth defects from Vietnam, the birth defect association with Agent Orange exposure was statistically significant even
when the Vietnamese studies were excluded.Genetic damage in New Zealand Vietnam War veterans was investigated in a study published this year in Cytogenetic &
Genome Research by researchers from the Institute of Molecular Biosciences at Massey University in New Zealand. A significantly
higher frequency of genetic damage was found among New Zealand Vietnam War veterans
compared to a control group. The authors suggested that New Zealand
Vietnam veterans had been exposed to a harmful substance that could cause
genetic damage. Although the authors recommended caution in interpreting specific health outcomes, they concluded that genetic
damage to any degree has the potential to result in adverse health effects. The greatest concern about genetic damage is that
it can be passed on to future generations.Important new research on birth defects in the children of Vietnam
veterans was presented at the 2006 meeting of the Society for Epidemiological Research in Boston. Three researchers conducted a study of neural tube defects (anencephaly, encephalocele, spina bifida) in the offspring
of Vietnam veterans. They found that paternal blood levels of TCDD were
significantly associated with neural tube defects in their children and that a particular paternal genotype (genetic predisposition)
could enhance this association.LITANY OF BIRTH DEFECTS
Since 1990, Birth Defect Research for Children has collected data on birth defects and developmental disabilities
in the children of Vietnam veterans. The National Birth Defect Registry is a collaboration
among seven prominent scientists to identify patterns of birth defects and disabilities in children with similar prenatal
exposures.When compared to non-veterans’
children in the registry, the children of Vietnam veterans have shown consistent increases in learning, attention, and behavioral
disorders; all types of skin disorders; problems with tooth development; allergic conditions and asthma; immune system disorders
including chronic infections; some childhood cancers; and endocrine problems including thyroid disorders and childhood diabetes.
More and more studies of prenatal exposures to dioxins and similar chemicals are adding support for these associations.According to Linda Birnbaum of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, dioxin can modulate growth and development. In the embryo and
fetus, dioxin-altered programming can result in malformations, anomalies, fetal toxicity, and functional and structural deficits
that often are not detectable until later in life.In a paper published in Environmental Health Perspectives, Birnbaum discusses research that demonstrates that prenatal
exposures to endocrine disruptors (chemicals that can disrupt hormone activity) such as TCDD can alter hormones, reproductive
tissue development, and increase susceptibility to potential carcinogen exposure in the adult.Increased susceptibility to chronic childhood infections and cancers
later in life may be a result of dioxin’s effects on the developing immune system. Researchers in 2000 investigated
the immunological effects of everyday exposures to PCBs and dioxins in preschool-age Dutch children. The researchers found
that prenatal exposure to these chemicals was associated with changes in the T-cell population. They concluded that the effects
of prenatal background exposure to PCBs and dioxins persist into childhood and could be associated with a greater susceptibility
to infectious disease.Another 2003
study by a team of researchers from Quebec reported their finding of a chemical imbalance that could be
a marker for prenatal immune damage caused by organochlorines (which include dioxin-like compounds). The researchers found
that the lymphocyte cells of newborns exposed to higher concentrations of these chemicals during prenatal development secreted
fewer cytokines than those of a control group of newborns. These alterations of the immune system could lead to increased
susceptibility to infection.A growing
body of evidence is linking prenatal exposures to dioxin-like chemicals to learning and behavioral deficits. At a Children’s
Health Meeting
in 2000 sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Jerry Heindel reported on
several studies of pregnant women who had consumed several meals of PCB-contaminated fish per month during pregnancy and who
gave birth to infants with small but detectable learning and behavioral deficits. The children with the highest exposure averaged
six points lower in IQ compared to children with lower levels of exposure.A 2007 study from the Department of Preventive Medicine at Kyungpook University in South Korea reported associations between blood concentration of persistent organic pollutants (including dioxins) and increases
in learning and attention disorders in children in the general population.Thomas Zoeller, an endocrinologist at the University of Massachusetts, has found
that dioxin-like PCBs activate cellular machinery that can alter the structure of other, non-dioxin-like PCBs. Some of these
dioxin-induced metabolites can act directly on the thyroid hormone receptor. In the fetal brain, this could alter the course
of development leading to learning and developmental disabilities.The new research on dioxin and dioxin-like chemicals holds the promise of unraveling the intricate
ways in which these chemicals can alter embryonic development. The research should continue, but it is now 35 years since
Agent Orange was first sprayed in Vietnam. And the calls keep coming.In Dioxins and Health, Thomas Webster and Barry Commoner comment: “Much of
the media coverage of the dioxin debate has consisted of trying to convince the public that their common sense is wrong and
that experts know best. In this case, the public’s view has been largely correct. Dioxin is a dangerous and unwanted
chemical pollutant.”Vietnam veterans who would like to add information about their children’s
birth defects or disabilities to the National Birth Defect Registry sponsored by Birth Defect Research for Children can register
online at www.birthdefects.orgBetty Mekdeci is the executive
director of Birth Defect Research for Children.
HELP FOR CHILDREN
Starting October 1, 1997, the VA will pay
compensation and offer free medical care and vocational rehabilitation to Vietnam vets children with Spina Bifida.
The VA also offers assistance
to children of veterans if the veterans have been rated at least 30 percent service-connected disabled. Such veterans receive
a dependents’ allowance. In addition to monetary allowances, vocational training and rehabilitation, the Department
of Veterans Affairs (VA) also provides VA-financed healthcare benefits to women Vietnam veterans' birth children diagnosed with certain birth defects. For specifics
go to http://www.va.gov/hac/cwvv/cwvv.htm
Children
with disabilities may be eligible for Supplemental Security Income benefits. One of the Agent Orange-funded programs offers
a16-page booklet discussing children’s eligibility for SSI (“SSI: New Opportunities for Children with Disabilities”).
Contact:
Mental Health Law Project
1101 15th St., NW,
Ste. 1212
Washington, DC 20005
The Agent Orange Program provided funding for a program
for families with children with birth defects or other special health needs. The Center for Developmental Disabilities at
the University of South Carolina offers a National Information Service which consists of telephone access to trained counselors,
to provide information and referral services for parents of children with disabilities, including information and referrals
concerning genetic counseling. Contact:
1-800-922-9234,
ext. 401
1-800-922-1107, ext. 401 (in South Carolina)
The Legacy of Agent Orange
You ask what we were doing over there all those years: what it was all about? I'll tell you pure and simple:
it was a noble cause. -- Ronald Reagan
Occasionally
I saw these [genetically deformed] children in contaminated villages in the Mekong Delta; and whenever I asked about them,
people pointed to the sky; one man scratched in the dust a good likeness of a bulbous C-130 aircraft, spraying. -- John Pilger
The US has dumped [on
South Vietnam] a quantity of toxic chemical amounting to six pounds per head
of population, including women and children. -- US Senator
Gaylord Nelson
Perhaps the most gruesome
legacy of Agent Orange is to be found in a locked room in Tu Du Obstetrical and Gynaecological Hospital in Saigon. Here the walls are lined with jars containing aborted and full term foetuses. -- Hugh
Warwick
Monsanto has in fact
submitted false information to EPA which directly resulted in weakened regulations ... -- Cate Jenkins
Monsanto
covered up the dioxin contamination of a wide range of its products. Monsanto either failed to report contamination, submitted
false information purporting to show no contamination or submitted samples to to the government for analysis which had been
specially prepared so that dioxin contamination did not exist. -- Cate Jenkins
It will take a long time to clarify the
exact consequences of Agent Orange. -- Douglas Peterson, US Ambassador to Vietnam
We need more facts ... There is need for
more scientific research on this subject before factual statements can be made to the effect Agent Orange had in Vietnam.
-- Madeline Albright
International research has proven that, during the war, 72 million litres of chemicals were
poured onto Vietnam, over 40 million were dioxins - there is a link. -- Vu Trong Huong, director War Crimes Investigation
We have over 50,000 children that have been born with horrific deformities; the link is clear. -- Vu Trong Huong,
director War Crimes Investigation
These Agent Orange births are normal for us ... Every now and then we have
what we call a foetal catastrophe - when the number of miscarriages and deformed babies, I am afraid to say, overwhelms us.
-- Dr Pham Viet Thanh, Tu Du hospital
We were wrong, terribly wrong. -- Robert McNamara, former US Secretary of
Defence during Vietnam War
Never again must the US or any other country interfere in another country's affairs. -- Len Aldis, secretary Britain-Vietnam Friendship
Society
It should never be forgotten
that the people must have priority. -- Ho Chi Minh
Agent Orange was used in Vietnam by the Americans
during the Vietnam War. Code named Operation Hades, Agent Orange was part of a defoliant programme to deny cover for the Viet
Cong. The Vietnam War was not the first time defoliants had been used. The British used defoliants in Malaya during counter-insurgency operations. ICI supplied the chemicals and according to a Colonial
Office report saw it as 'a lucrative field for experiment'. To cut back forest to deny the opportunity for ambush
is nothing new. In England, in the Middle Ages, either side of a highway was cut back to a
set distance to deny the opportunity for highway robbers. What was new was the use of toxic chemicals.
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