Agent Orange Website

Air Force C-123
"Patches", The Air Force C-123 that took the most
ground fire of any aircraft flying herbicide missions in Vietnam
(U.S. Air force Photo)

Welcome to the Agent Orange Website. This website is an attempt to provide information about the herbicide Agent Orange used in the Vietnam War, and the results of exposure to this herbicide.

As this site grows, we will attempt to add references and documentation. This is an ardous task, however, and we hope you will bear with us as we proceed. The amount of data on this subject is enormous, and we cannot possibly include all relevant materials. Whenever possible, we will try to link to appropriate sources.

This site is being offered as a public service by
Lewis Publishing Company
Home of
The Veteran's Book and Video Store

OVERVIEW AND INTRODUCTION
Agent Orange was the code name for a herbicide developed for the military, primarily for use in tropical climates. Although the genesis of the product goes back to the 1940's, serious testing for military applications did not begin until the early 1960's.

The purpose of the product was to deny an enemy cover and concealment in dense terrain by defoliating trees and shrubbery where the enmy could hide. The product "Agent Orange" (a code name for the orange band that was used to mark the drums it was stored in, was principally effective against broad-leaf foliage, such as the dense jungle-like terrain found in Southeast Asia.

The product was tested in Vietnam in the early 1960's, and brought into ever widening use during the height of the war (1967-68), though it's use was diminished and eventually discontinued in 1971.

Agent Orange was a 50-50 mix of two chemicals, known conventionally as 2,4,D and 2,4,5,T. The combined product was mixed with kerosene or diesel fuel and dispersed by aircraft, vehicle, and hand spraying. An estimated 19 million gallons of Agent Orange were used in South Vietnam during the war.

The earliest health concerns about Agent Orange were about the product's contamination with TCDD, or dioxin. TCDD is one of a family of dioxins, some found in nature, and are cousins of the dibenzofurans and pcb's.

The TCDD found in Agent Orange is thought to be harmful to man. In laboratory tests on animals, TCDD has caused a wide variety of diseases, many of them fatal. TCDD is not found in nature, but rather is a man-made and always unwanted byproduct of the chemical manufacturing process. The Agent Orange used in Vietnam was later found to be extremely contaminated with TCDD.

Frequently Asked Questions About Agent Orange

Herbicide Spray Map

The Fifteen Herbicides Used in Vietnam

VA Compensation

Filing a VA Claim

Determining Agent Orange Exposure

References

Disclaimer: The information on these pages is presented as a public service. It is, to our knowledge, accurate, based on over 16 years experience working on the Agent Orange issue, nine of those years full-time as a research project director and administrator. We are not an "official" source of any kind and present this information solely as private citizens.

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