This site contains very
little "home grown" information. The main purpose is to
link to information from the Department of Veterans Affairs and
other interesting articles I have found.
Agent Orange is the
mix of two herbicides, 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D. Dioxin TCDD is a
contaminant in Agent Orange, and classified as a human
carcinogen.
Agent Orange is the generic name used for several
types of the herbicide. Others included, Agent Orange II (super
orange), Agent Blue, Agent White, Agent Purple, and Agent Pink.
Their names matched the color of the stripe on the 55 gallon
barrels it was shipped in.
Between 1962 and 1971, there was about twenty million gallons of this used in Vietnam,
and parts of Laos and Cambodia, The
missions were
known as "Operation Ranch Hand."
Numerous other military bases and locations within the United
States have also been contaminated.
Operation Ranch Hand
The use of Agent Orange was an idea
developed by the British in the 1950's. They used 2,4,5-T and
2,4-D (Agent Orange) during the Malayan Emergency. It was a part
of the overall herbicidal warfare program during the war called
"Operation Trail Dust".
U.S. military operations used about 20 million U.S. gallons
during the Vietnam War. Nearly 20,000 sorties (missions) were
flown during the war. Almost all of it being delivered by the
U.S. Air Force flying C-123s under the call sign "Hades". The
planes were fitted with specially made sprayers and a 1000
gallon tank. Each plane could covered an area about 260 feet
wide and 10 miles long in four and a half minutes. A sortie
consisted of three to five planes.
During the war over 5 million acres of forest and 500,000 acres
of crops were damaged or destroyed. This took away food and
cover for the NVA and Vietcong. "Only you can prevent a forest"
was the motto of the "Ranch Handers." This was a prodigy of the
U.S. Forest Service's poster slogan of Smokey Bear.
About one million gallons of the 20 million was applied with
trucks, helicopters, boats and hand sprayers.
Source:
Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
About VietnamAO
