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Makers of Agent Orange followed formula dictated by U.S. governmentDA NANG, Vietnam (MCT) - James R. Clary was a young AM Force officer and scientist wtio designed the spray tank for the C-123 cargo planes that dispensed Agent Orange and other herbicides during the Vietnam War.Thirteen years after the conflict ended, with serious concerns being raised in Congress about the effects of defoliants on veterans' health. Clary dropped a startling bombshell: Military scientists had known that herbiodes shifted to Vietnam were contaminated with dioxin and had the potential for damage' to human health.'However, because the material was to be used on the enemy/ none of us were overly concerned,’ Clary wrote to then-Sen. lorn Daschle, D SD. ’We never considered a scenario in which our own personnel would become contaminated with the herbicide.’Agent Orange was produced primarily by the Monsanto Corp. and Dow Chemical.Both companies say the defoliant was made according to stnct military specifications. 'The government specified the chemical composition of Agent Orange and when, where and how the material was to be used in the field, including application rates,' Monsanto says.But a 1990 report compiled by Adm. Elmo R. Zumwait Jr. for the Department of Veterans Affairs that recommended compensation for ailing veterans who'd been exposed to Agent Orange also detailed evidence that Dow Chemical knew as earfy as 1964 that dioxin was a ‘byproduct of the manufacturingprocess' and that the dangers of exposure were dearThat report cited an internal company memo warning that exposure could result in general organ toxicity. in addition to ’psychopathological’ and other systemic’ problems.In 1965, according to another memo that's became public in federal court documents, Dow warned Monsanto and other Agent Oranqe makers that industry had to resolve the (dioxin) problem before the government found out.Monsanto and other companies ignored this warning and continued to make Agent Orange with high levels of dioxin. Dow changed its manufacturing process so that its product contained much lower levels of the contaminant.Dow officials later admitted in federal court and in congressional testimony in the 1980s that they didn't inform the U.S government about dioxin contamination in Agent Orange until 1969 at the earliest.Despite these revelations, the federal courts have consistently shielded Dow, Monsanto and other manufacturers from liability because they produced Agent Orange under government contract.Neither Dow Chemical nor Monsanto responded to email and telephone requests for comment. Both companies have publicly absolved themselves of any responslity in the matter.’All historic wartime issues, including the use of Agent Orange, are appropriately a matter of resolution by and among the governments of the United States, Vietnam and the allied forces, Dow Chemical says on its website.
Newspaper Details
Marysville Appeal Democrat
Marysville, California, US
Sun, Jul 28, 2013
Page 1
Full Page
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Badgerlink
WI, USA 27 Jan 2017
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