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Answer: – Agent Orange was an herbicide used in Vietnam to kill unwanted plants and to remove leaves from trees which otherwise provided cover for the enemy. The name, "Agent Orange," came from the orange stripe on the 55-gallon drums in which it was stored. Other herbicides, including Agent White and Agent Blue, were also used in Vietnam to a much lesser extent.
Answer: – Fifteen different herbicides were shipped to and used in Vietnam between January 1962 and September 1971. More than 80 percent of the herbicide sprayed in Vietnam was Agent Orange, which was used between January 1965 and April 1970. Herbicides other than Agent Orange were used in Vietnam prior to 1965, but to a very limited extent. The total area sprayed with herbicides between 1962 and 1965 was small. Before the end of the spraying in 1971 more than 20 million gallons of herbicides were sprayed over six million acres, some of which were sprayed more than once. Spraying occurred in all four military zones of Vietnam. Heavily sprayed areas included inland forests near the demarcation zone; inland forests at the junction of the borders of Cambodia, Laos, and South Vietnam; inland forests north and northwest of Saigon; mangrove forests on the southernmost peninsula of Vietnam; and mangrove forests along major shipping channels southeast of Saigon.
Answer: – In the 1970's some veterans became concerned that exposure to Agent Orange might cause delayed health effects. One of the chemicals in Agent Orange contained minute traces of TCDD or dioxin, which caused a variety of illnesses in laboratory animals. More recent studies have suggested that the chemical may be related to a number of types of cancer and other disorders.
Answer: – In 1978, the Veterans Administration, now known as the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), set up the Agent Orange Registry health examination program for Vietnam veterans who were concerned about the possible long-term medical effects of exposure to Agent Orange. Vietnam veterans who are interested in participating in this program should contact the nearest VA medical center for an examination.
Answer: – Veterans who participate in the examination program are asked a series of questions about possible exposure to herbicides in Vietnam. A medical history is taken, a physical examination is performed, and a series of basic laboratory tests, such as a chest x-ray (if appropriate), urinalysis, and blood tests are done. If the examining physician finds that it is medically justified, consultations with specialists are scheduled. However, no special Agent Orange tests are offered since there is no test to show if a veteran's medical problem was caused by Agent Orange or other herbicides used in Vietnam. There are tests that show the dioxin levels in fat and blood, but VA does not do such tests because there is serious question about their value to veterans. Also, VA policy assumes that all Vietnam veterans were exposed to Agent Orange.
In its 1994 report on Agent Orange, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) concluded that individual TCDD levels in Vietnam veterans are usually not meaningful because of common background exposures to TCDD, poorly understood variations among individuals in TCDD metabolism, relatively large measurement errors, and exposure to herbicides that did not contain TCDD.
Answer: – The veteran is informed of the results of the examination during a personal interview and gets a follow-up letter further describing the findings. Each veteran is given the opportunity to ask for an explanation and advice. Where medically necessary, a follow-up examination or additional laboratory tests are scheduled. The examination and tests sometime reveal previously undetected medical problems. These discoveries permit veterans to get prompt treatment for their illnesses. Some veterans feel they are in good health, but are worried that exposure to Agent Orange and other substances may have caused some hidden illness. The knowledge that a complete medical examination does not show any problems can be reassuring or helpful to Registry participants. All examination and test results are kept in the veteran's permanent medical record. These data are entered into the VA Agent Orange Registry.
Answer: – Under Section 102, Public Law 104-262, the Veterans' Health Care Eligibility Reform Act of 1996, VA is required to furnish hospital care and medical services, and may furnish nursing home care to veterans exposed to herbicides in Vietnam. There are some restrictions. VA cannot provide such care for a (1) disability which VA determines did not result from exposure to Agent Orange, or (2) disease which the NAS has determined that there is "limited/suggestive" evidence of no association between occurrence of the disease and exposure to an herbicide agent. The 1998 update, released by the NAS in February 1999, identified the following conditions as "limited/suggestive evidence of no association," gastrointestinal tumors (stomach cancer, pancreatic cancer, colon cancer, rectal cancer), and brain tumors.
Answer: – VA pays disability compensation to Vietnam veterans with injuries or illnesses incurred in or aggravated by their military service. Veterans do not have to prove that Agent Orange caused their medical problems to be eligible for compensation. Rather, VA must determine that the disability is "service-connected." A State Veteran Counselor or County/City Veterans Service Officer can explain the compensation program in greater detail and assist veterans in applying.
Answer: – The number of diseases that VA has recognized as associated with, but not necessarily caused by, Agent Orange exposure has expanded considerably during the 1990's. The following conditions are recognized for service-connection for these veterans: chloracne (a skin disorder), porphyria cutanea tarda, acute or subacute peripheral neuropathy (a nerve disorder), and numerous cancers [non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, soft tissue sarcoma, Hodgkin's disease, multiple myeloma, prostate cancer, and respiratory cancers (including cancers of the lung, larynx, trachea, and bronchus)].
Answer: – VA has also asked the IOM for a special review of the relationship between exposure to herbicides in Vietnam and the development of diabetes. It is recommended that veterans file a claim for disability compensation for any chronic illness that may be associated with Agent Orange exposure in the future.
Answer: – Vietnam veterans' children with the birth defect spina bifida are eligible for certain benefits and services. Furthermore, VA has recently proposed that certain benefits, including health care be authorized for children with birth defects who were born to women Vietnam veterans.
Answer: – At each VA medical center there is a "Registry Physician" responsible for the conduct of Agent Orange Registry exams. These doctors participate in national conference calls and receive frequent mailings from VA headquarters providing updates on the latest Agent Orange issues. Each facility also has an "Agent Orange Registry Coordinator" to facilitate the Agent Orange program.
The Agent Orange Review newsletter prepared by the VA Environmental Agents Service (EAS) provides updated information about Federal government studies and activities related to Agent Orange and the Vietnam experience. Registry participants are automatically added to the mailing list, others can sign up for the VA's Agent Orange Review by sending their name, social security number and address to:
The Agent Orange Brief fact sheets, prepared and updated by the VA Environmental Agents Service (EAS), are available from EAS and at VA medical centers. The following Agent Orange Briefs are now available: Al. General Information; A2. Class Action Lawsuit; B1. Agent Orange Registry; B2. Health Care Eligibility; B3. Disability Compensation; B4. Information Resources; C1.The Problem Encountered in Research; C2. Agent Orange/ Vietnam Related Research-VA Efforts; C3. Agent Orange/Vietnam Related Research-Non VA Efforts; D1. Birth Defects; D2. Chloracne; D3. Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma; D4. Soft Tissue Sarcomas; D5. Peripheral Neuropathy; D6. Hodgkin's Disease; D7. Porphyria Cutanea Tarda; D8. Multiple Myeloma; D9. Respiratory Cancers-, D10. Prostate Cancer; D11. Spina Bifida, D12. Diabetes.Agent Orange Review
c/o Environmental Agents Service (131)
VA Central Office
810 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20420
Answer: – Honorably discharged veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam during the period January 9, 1962 through May 7, 1975 and have "adult onset diabetes mellitus." This does not include veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam prior to January 9, 1962.
Answer: – Normally, the claimant must show proof of relationship between service and the condition being claimed. Under presumption of service connection, VA presumes the service-connected relationship exists based on the other qualifying criteria, such as dates and location of service and that the condition being claimed, in this case, is associated with exposure to Agent Orange.
Answer: – To have presumptive service connection granted for diabetes mellitus based on Vietnam service, the claimant must have served in-country.
Answer: – During the period 1/9/62 through 5/7/75, you must have physically served or visited in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN), including service in the waters offshore if the conditions of service involved duty or visitation in Vietnam. This means the ship must have come to port in RVN and you disembarked.
Answer: – If private medical records are sufficient, VA can make a determination and grant based on those records. If not, a VA exam will be required. These records should:
- Comment on the age of onset and the diagnostic test used to affirmatively diagnose this condition Comment on the treatment modalities (i.e., Insulin, diet, regulation of activities, etc.)
- Discuss, if applicable, the prior and current episodes of ketoacidosis or hypoglycemic reactions. Were hospitalizations required? What was the frequency of hospitalizations?
- Fully describe any complications that stem from the veteran's diabetes mellitus, such as vision, cardiac, vascular, renal, neurologic (including both peripheral neuropathy and cerebral effects), amputations, and other associated complications.
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