How Did Agent Orange Affect Vietnam

During the early 1960s, the U.S. military presence in Vietnam escalated as corruption, religious differences, communism, and escalating successes by the Viet-Cong guerrillas threatened the weak government of South Vietnam. On January 12, 1962, the U.S. Air Force launched Operation Ranch Hand, a “modern technological area-denial technique” that used herbicidal warfare. The Rainbow Herbicides were used to destroy the forest cover and food crops, but the one used in bulk was Agent Orange, the most potent of them all. Agent Orange did not just get rid of foliage and crops, it was toxic to humans even in minute doses. Exposure to Agent Orange still haunts the veterans of the Vietnam War, the Vietnamese environment, and the children born after

Developing fetuses are hypersensitive to the dioxins. Exposure to dioxins causes miscarriages, spina bifida, and other numerous health problems with the fetal development of the brain and nervous system. Dioxin was not intentionally added to the compound. It was merely a byproduct produced during the process of manufacturing, but the chemical companies that produced the Vietnam-era herbicides say they were not fully aware of how toxic the dioxin contaminant was so they accelerated the production. Dioxin was also found in varying concentrations in all the different herbicides used, but TCDD was only found in Agent Orange. Agent Orange was a part of the Rainbow Herbicides, which included Agent Pink, Agent Green, Agent Purple, Agent White, and Agent Blue. They were all named after the bright, coloured band around their 55 gallon drums. Each had different chemical additives in varying doses. Agent Orange was the only Rainbow Herbicide that came in different types, Agent Orange I, Agent Orange II, Agent Orange III and “Super Orange.” More