VA Correcting "Severe Lack of Information"
on Herbicide
Exposure
By Sid Perkins
Stars and Stripes Medical Correspondent
The VA is looking for a better way to determine veterans' exposure to
Agent Orange and other major herbicides used in Vietnam.
At the VA's request, the National Academy of Science's Institute of
Medicine (IOM) is searching for companies or individuals with ideas on how
to reconstruct veterans' exposure to defoliants used by the military
during the war. The goal is to further study the health effects
of the substances.
The VA embarked on the current effort after the IOM's Committee to Review
the Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans of Exposure to Herbicides, in a
1994 report, found a "severe lack of information" about the exposure of
individual veterans to herbicides. While most veterans probably
experienced lower levels of exposure than those who worked with the
chemicals over long periods, it is difficult to determine precisely
which veterans may have encountered higher levels, the report
said.
The committee said many previously developed methods of determining
herbicide exposure were useful but insufficient. For example, some studies
have looked at the blood levels of one type of dioxin known as TCDD, a
highly toxic contaminant in some of the herbicides used in Vietnam.
Dioxins are absorbed into body fat and stored throughout the body.
Although a veteran's current TCDD blood level is useful information, by
itself it does not provide a full picture of herbicide exposure. The rate
at which TCDD is flushed from the body depends upon such factors as age,
diet and percentage of body fat.
Also, TCDD was present only in some herbicides used in Vietnam -- and
in those, to make matters worse, the concentration of TCDD varied from
batch to batch.
Other studies have looked at the spraying patterns of herbicides by the
service branches, but military records alone aren't enough. Although the Air
Force kept complete records of its Operation Ranch Hand -- the spraying of
herbicides from fixed-wing aircraft -- the Defense Department says
documentation of smaller-scale ground spraying was much less
systematic.
Ground spraying was done at the unit level, and was included in such
activities as Navy patrols clearing inland waterways, engineering
personnel removing underbrush for fire support bases and soldiers clearing
100-meter wide areas immediately surrounding base camps.
Finally, although only a relatively small portion of herbicides were
ground-sprayed, the practice could have resulted in higher exposures
because it was done in closer proximity to ground troops and at higher
concentrations per acre by personnel with possibly less chemical training
than those involved in aerial spraying.
About 20 million gallons of herbicides were used in Vietnam from 1962 to
1971, according to the Pentagon. It is estimated that 10 to 12 percent of
the total was sprayed by ground personnel using everything from
three-gallon backpacks to boats, trucks and trailer-mounted spray
systems.
The VA currently is developing a comprehensive roster that includes a
veteran's branch of service, rank, occupational codes and dates of Vietnam
service.
To date, more than 2.7 million Vietnam veterans have been identified, said
VAspokesman Ken McKinnon. "Right now, we're at 2.7 million (veterans) and
counting," he said. "It's an ongoing process for us."
Because the VA presumes that all military personnel who served in
Vietnam were exposed to Agent Orange -- an acknowledgement of its
widespread and persistent use there -- veterans are not required to
prove they were exposed.
This article appeared on page 12
of the Sept. 8,
1997, edition of The Stars and Stripes.
Copyright 1997 by The National Tribune Corporation.
All rights reserved.