Report
From 1962 to 1971, US military sprayed herbicides over Vietnam to strip the thick jungle canopy that could conceal opposition forces, to destroy crops that those forces might depend on, and to clear tall grasses and bushes from the perimeters of US base camps and outlying fire-support bases. Because of continuing uncertainty about the long-term health effects of the sprayed herbicides on Vietnam veterans, Congress passed the Agent Orange Act of 1991. The legislation directed the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to request the Institute of Medicine to perform a comprehensive evaluation of scientific and medical information regarding the health effects of exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides used in Vietnam.
Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2008 is the eighth report in this series. The authoring committee found suggestive but limited evidence that exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides used during the Vietnam War is associated with an increased chance of developing ischemic heart disease and Parkinson's disease for Vietnam veterans.
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Displaying: 3 of 11 Reports
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Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2006
Because of continuing uncertainty about the long-term health effects of the sprayed herbicides on Vietnam veterans, Congress passed the Agent Orange Act of 1991. The legislation directed the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to request the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to perform a comprehensive evaluation of scientific and medical information regarding the health effects of exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides used in Vietnam. Mandated updates to the original study were to be conducted every 2 years for 10 years. Veterans and Agent Orange, Update 2006 is the seventh report in this series.
Released: July 27, 2007
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Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2004
Agent Orange and other herbicides were used as defoliants in the Vietnam War. Under a Congressional mandate, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies conducted a comprehensive review of the scientific literature to determine whether Vietnam veterans may be experiencing health effects associated with exposure to those herbicides or chemicals contaminating them. IOM's study has been updated every two years, and Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2004 is the latest report in that series.
Released: March 3, 2005
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Veterans and Agent Orange: Length of Presumptive Period for Association Between Exposure and Respiratory Cancer
In 1991, because of continuing uncertainty about the long-term health effects on Vietnam veterans who where exposed to herbicides during their service in Vietnam (mixtures of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T), picloram, and cacodylic acid), Congress passed legislation that directed the secretary of veterans affairs to ask the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to perform a comprehensive evaluation of scientific and medical information regarding the health effects of exposure to Agent Orange, other herbicides used in Vietnam, and the various chemical components of those herbicides, including TCDD.
Released: March 1, 2004
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