Agent Orange Herbicide Essay

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On January 12th 1962, the US Air force launched Operation Ranch Hand. This operation called for the use of over 19 million gallons of Agent Orange to be dumped on to the forests in Vietnam to expose the Viet Cong soldiers below. Not only did vast amounts of foliage die, but the chemical lead to birth defects, cancer, and skin rashes for soldiers and civilians who came in contact with it. Operation Ranch Hand Initiated.) Many still argue today that Agent Orange was not linked to these health issues. Due to the extreme increase in birth defects of the Vietnamese people and the spike in diseases for US soldiers, there is strong evidence for Agent Orange being the direct cause of these issues.
Agent Orange is an herbicide composed of the two chemicals …show more content…
The United States Government was at risk from lawsuits that would seek to place the blame on the head of the United States Government for the damages that came as a result of Agent Orange. Approximately four years earlier, in 1980, Dow filed a lawsuit against the United States Government. This lawsuit aimed to place full responsibility for the side effects of Agent Orange on the United States Government. In 1984, after settling with the United States Veterans, Dow sought to reopen the lawsuit against the United States Government to recuperate the 180 million dollars that they lost to the settlement with the United States Veterans (Fox). Not only did Agent Orange have long lasting effects on the United States Veterans, but it also scarred the landscape of …show more content…
Instead The United States Government has taken steps to rectify their wrongdoings. In 1991 the United States Government passed a bill, The Agent Orange Act, to confirm the link between Agent Orange and many different diseases. In doing so this allowed the United States Government to compensate the United States Veterans who suffered from exposure to Agent Orange. It also called for continued in depth research into the dangerous nature of Agent Orange with the hope that they would be able to develop a cure for some of the diseases (H.R.556 - 102nd Congress (1991-1992): Agent Orange Act of

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