How Did We Use Agent Orange In Vietnam War

Throughout the Vietnam war the use of herbicides was common among both sides. Herbicides such as agent white, agent blue, agent purple, and agent orange had been used for defoliation and crop destruction. The most widely used herbicide was Agent Orange containing 1.98 part per million dioxin, a known carcinogen (dirty little secrets). The use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War had an intelligent purpose, but its impact on the areas exposed to it left its victims waiting for a government response.

Agent orange proved to be useful in southeast Asia where jungle covered much of the region. The powerful herbicide provided an efficient way to kill the vegetation to reveal enemy bases that had once been concealed by the jungle (environment encyclopedia). The United States is estimated to have used about 90,000 tons of Agent Orange in Vietnam to clear the growth alongside roads and bases. The use of the

By 1960, the south Vietnamese government requested that the United States conduct trials of these herbicides for use against guerrilla force (Environment). South Vietnam President Diem wanted the herbicide to destroy the rice and food crops of the Viet Cong. At first it would be used for clearing roadsides and railroads until it eventually it was used more to destroy enemy food supplies and crops. Unfortunately, it not only destroyed crops but exposed civilians to the harmful chemicals in the Agent Orange herbicide. These harmful Herbicides were sprayed from UC-123B aircrafts, trucks, and helicopters on spraying missions, and in some cases C-123 cargo planes. The dense jungle growth required two applications of herbicides to defoliate the upper and lower layers of vegetation. A large majority of American troops and Vietnamese civilians were exposed to the potentially harmful chemical in the Agent Orange Herbicide (Dirty