1 15 99 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange Description An account of the resource The Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange comprises 120 linear feet and spans the late 1800s to 2005; however, the bulk of the coverage is from the 1960s to the 1980s and there are many undated items. The collection was donated to Special Collections of the National Agricultural Library in 1985 by Dr. Alvin L. Young (1942- ). Dr. Young developed the collection as he conducted extensive research on the military defoliant Agent Orange. The collection is in good condition and includes letters, memoranda, books, reports, press releases, journal and newspaper clippings, field logs and notebooks, newsletters, maps, booklets and pamphlets, photographs, memorabilia, and audiotapes of an interview with Dr. Young. For more about this collection, <a href="/exhibits/speccoll/exhibits/show/alvin-l--young-collection-on-a">view the Agent Orange Exhibit.</a> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Box The box containing the original item. 051 Folder The folder containing the original item. 1342 Series The series number of the original item. Series III Subseries II Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Brunelle, Philip D. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Morning Union, Springfield, Massachusetts Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource November 6 1982 Title A name given to the resource Clipping: Tufts Medical Team Tests Children in Check of Agent Orange Effects Subject The topic of the resource congenital birth defects Agent Orange Controversy ao_seriesIII https://www.nal.usda.gov/exhibits/speccoll/files/original/64925730ac85f248982cba7a5e1339df.pdf c8bd27f7c55596f9b34c36d04fb30e98 PDF Text Text Item 10 Number °1489 Author Calcagni, John Corporate Author United States Air Force Occupational and Environmental ROpOrt/ArtlOlO TltlO Summary Flyer to Alert Physicians to the Current Herbicide Orange Debate Journal/Book Title Year 000 ° Month/Day Color Number of Images [1 2 Descriptor Notes Tuesday, May 15, 2001 Page 1489 of 1514 �Summary Flyer to Alert Physicians to the Current Herbicide Orange Debate As a result of recent television and newspaper publicity on Herbicide Orange, Air Force physicians may be asked by their patients to respond to statements made by the media and to investigate symptoms described in the media publicity. The programs and articles resulted from a number of claims filed by veterans with the Veterans Administration alleging that present physical disorders are related to exposure to Herbicide Orange. The following information is intended to aid the physician 1n managing an active duty patient should the individual present questions or allege symptoms. Herbicide Orange (frequently referred to by the media as Agent Orange) was an equal mixture' of two herbicides; 2, 4, 5~Trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4, 5~T) and 2, 4~Dic.hlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4-0}. They have been used worldwide in agriculture since 1947. Human health hazards associated with the use of these herbicides have been minimal and primarily related to selfingestion or gross misuse. Herbicide Orange was used extensively in Southeast Asia from 1962 to 1969 to defoliate jungle vegetation and deprive the enemy of a refuge. In most instances, military personnel did not enter treated areas until 4-6 weeks after treatment, thus greatly minimizing their chance of contracting or inhaling the herbicide. Air Force personnel most likely to have been exposed were those involved in actual dedrumming and spraying operations. A contaminant in the mixture was a substance called 2, 3, 7, 8Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-diox1n (TCOD, Dioxin). This highly toxic contaminant was present in parts per million amounts in most batches of the herbicide. Symptoms described by the media have been documented only in industrial �accidents or gross overexposure. Immediate symptoms such as headache, eye and skin irritation are the result of the herbicide per se and not dioxin (TCDD). These symptons clear upon removal from exposure. Central and peripheral neuropathy, along with skeletal muscle damage have been described in very high exposure to 2, 4-D alone. Other symptoms are believed to be related to the dioxin (TCDD). Included are an acneiform rash with hyperpigmentation, muscular pain, hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, porphyria cutanea tarda, hirsut.ism, peripheral neuropathy, hyperlipidemia and constitutional symptoms such as anorexia, fatigue, lassitude, mental depression, and loss of libido. There is no substantiated evidence for carcinogencity, teratogenicity, mutagenicity or fetotoxicity in man. It is emphasized, however, that in all cases displaying the symptoms mentioned above, the estimated doses of TCDD received were much greater than would be expected in personnel routinely working with Herbicide Orange. With the exception of a few persistent cases of acne, there is no evidence for sustained illness except where permanent organ damage had occurred. Furthermore, there is no documentation of the development of adverse effects more than a frw months after expsoure had ceased. Personnel describing any of the above symptoms should be reassured that it is unlikely that their present symptoms are related to Herbicide Orange. They should be thoroughly evaluated to identify the etiology of the symptoms and treated accordingly. Further information, if needed, may be obtained by contacting Lt Col John Calcagni, USAF, MC, at the USAF Occupational and Environmental Health Laboratory, Brooks AFB, Texas. AUTOVON 240-2001, Commercial 512, 536-2001. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange Description An account of the resource The Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange comprises 120 linear feet and spans the late 1800s to 2005; however, the bulk of the coverage is from the 1960s to the 1980s and there are many undated items. The collection was donated to Special Collections of the National Agricultural Library in 1985 by Dr. Alvin L. Young (1942- ). Dr. Young developed the collection as he conducted extensive research on the military defoliant Agent Orange. The collection is in good condition and includes letters, memoranda, books, reports, press releases, journal and newspaper clippings, field logs and notebooks, newsletters, maps, booklets and pamphlets, photographs, memorabilia, and audiotapes of an interview with Dr. Young. For more about this collection, <a href="/exhibits/speccoll/exhibits/show/alvin-l--young-collection-on-a">view the Agent Orange Exhibit.</a> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Box The box containing the original item. 056 Folder The folder containing the original item. 1489 Series The series number of the original item. Series III Subseries II Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Calcagni, John Description An account of the resource Corporate Author: United States Air Force Occupational and Environmental Health Laboratory, Brooks AFB, Texas. Title A name given to the resource Summary Flyer to Alert Physicians to the Current Herbicide Orange Debate Subject The topic of the resource Agent Orange Controversy dioxin ao_seriesIII Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange Description An account of the resource The Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange comprises 120 linear feet and spans the late 1800s to 2005; however, the bulk of the coverage is from the 1960s to the 1980s and there are many undated items. The collection was donated to Special Collections of the National Agricultural Library in 1985 by Dr. Alvin L. Young (1942- ). Dr. Young developed the collection as he conducted extensive research on the military defoliant Agent Orange. The collection is in good condition and includes letters, memoranda, books, reports, press releases, journal and newspaper clippings, field logs and notebooks, newsletters, maps, booklets and pamphlets, photographs, memorabilia, and audiotapes of an interview with Dr. Young. For more about this collection, <a href="/exhibits/speccoll/exhibits/show/alvin-l--young-collection-on-a">view the Agent Orange Exhibit.</a> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Box The box containing the original item. 054 Folder The folder containing the original item. 1444 Series The series number of the original item. Series III Subseries II Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Gough, Michael Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Issues in Science and Technology Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1987 Title A name given to the resource Environmental Epidemiology: Separating Politics and Science Subject The topic of the resource Agent Orange controversy AOWG CDC ao_seriesIII Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange Description An account of the resource The Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange comprises 120 linear feet and spans the late 1800s to 2005; however, the bulk of the coverage is from the 1960s to the 1980s and there are many undated items. The collection was donated to Special Collections of the National Agricultural Library in 1985 by Dr. Alvin L. Young (1942- ). Dr. Young developed the collection as he conducted extensive research on the military defoliant Agent Orange. The collection is in good condition and includes letters, memoranda, books, reports, press releases, journal and newspaper clippings, field logs and notebooks, newsletters, maps, booklets and pamphlets, photographs, memorabilia, and audiotapes of an interview with Dr. Young. For more about this collection, <a href="/exhibits/speccoll/exhibits/show/alvin-l--young-collection-on-a">view the Agent Orange Exhibit.</a> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Box The box containing the original item. 051 Folder The folder containing the original item. 1334 Series The series number of the original item. Series III Subseries II Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mullen, Frederick J. E. James G. Davis Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived VFW, Veterans of Foreign Wars Magazine Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1982-02-01 Title A name given to the resource Herbicides: VFW's Role Subject The topic of the resource UCLA VA Agent Orange Controversy study protocol ao_seriesIII Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange Description An account of the resource The Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange comprises 120 linear feet and spans the late 1800s to 2005; however, the bulk of the coverage is from the 1960s to the 1980s and there are many undated items. The collection was donated to Special Collections of the National Agricultural Library in 1985 by Dr. Alvin L. Young (1942- ). Dr. Young developed the collection as he conducted extensive research on the military defoliant Agent Orange. The collection is in good condition and includes letters, memoranda, books, reports, press releases, journal and newspaper clippings, field logs and notebooks, newsletters, maps, booklets and pamphlets, photographs, memorabilia, and audiotapes of an interview with Dr. Young. For more about this collection, <a href="/exhibits/speccoll/exhibits/show/alvin-l--young-collection-on-a">view the Agent Orange Exhibit.</a> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Box The box containing the original item. 070 Folder The folder containing the original item. 1896 Series The series number of the original item. Series III Subseries IV Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Shannon, Peter Title A name given to the resource Letter: to Barclay Shepard from Peter Shannon, 24 July 1981. Subject The topic of the resource popular press Agent Orange controversy ao_seriesIII https://www.nal.usda.gov/exhibits/speccoll/files/original/e2e570d4f610e7605bedc7e2617927bd.pdf 6c8b9205aedaaf306a0c0df9afa774f8 PDF Text Text Item ID Number 01336 Author Smith, Pamela W. Corporate Author Science Policy Research Division, Library of Congress, Report/Article TitlO Agent Orange: Veterans' Complaints Concerning Exposure to Herbicides in South Vietnam, Issue Brief Number IB80040 Journal/Book Title Year 1982 Month/Day APHI 20 Color n Number of Images DeSOriptOU Notes 21 Date originated: 09/06/79, Date Updated: 04/20/82. Includes a table of military projects involving agents orange, purple, pink, or green, with dates and descriptions of projects. Also includes a table of the signs, symptoms, and disorders reported after occupational exposure to TCP, 2,4,5-T or TCDD. Item gives an overview of background and policy analysis, health effects, perseonnel exposure, veterans' problems, Department of Defense efforts, health studies, the Interagency Work Group and Agent Orange Working Group, Congressional action, and legislation and hearings Thursday, May 03, 2001 Page 1336 of 1403 �AGENT ORANGE: VETERANS' COMPLAINTS CONCERNING EXPOSURE TO HERBICIDES IN SOUTH VIETNAM ISSUE BRIEF NUMBER IB80040 AUTHOR: Pamela W. Smith Science Policy Research Division THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE MAJOR ISSUES SYSTEM DATE ORIGINATED 09/06/79 DATE UPDATED 04/20/82 FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CALL 287-5700 0426 �CRS- 1 IB80040 UPDATE-04/20/82 ISSUE DEFINITION From 1962 to 1971, the United States Air Force (USAF) sprayed various herbicide mixtures (chemicals that kill plants) in South Vietnam. The purpose of the spraying was to defoliate jungle growth to deprive the Communist forces of ground cover, and to destroy enemy crops to restrict food supplies. The most extensively used of these herbicide mixtures was known as Agent Orange, a 50:50 mix of two common herbicides called 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D (2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic' acid and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid). A third chemical present in the mixture in small amounts was TCDD, an inevitable by-product of the manufacture of 2,4,5-T. This chemical, called tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin or simply "dioxin," is highly toxic to laboratory animals when administered in its pure form. Acute (short-term) toxicity values in humans have not been established, although Gosselin et al., in the 1976 edition of Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products, puts TCDD in a class of chemicals for which the "probable lethal dose" for humans would be less than 5 mg/kg, or about 7 drops for a 150 Ib (70 kg) person. CRS has been unable to locate any report of a human death from exposure to pure TCDD. The human health effect that has been most consistently documented following exposure to small amounts of TCDD as a contaminant in other compounds is a skin condition known as chloracne. There is other, less consistent, evidence of damage to the liver and the nervous system in humans. Extensive testing on laboratory animals has been done to determine possible long-term effects of exposure to TCDD. It can induce cancer in some strains of rats and mice (carcinogenicity) , cause fetal death in several species (fetotoxicity) and birth defects in developing mouse fetuses (teratogenicity), but has been found not to cause genetic changes in mammalian cells (mutagenicity). The American Medical Association's Council on Scientific Affairs concluded that "there is no scientific evidence that 2,4-D, 2,4,5-T or TCDD has caused reproductive difficulties or hazards in the human. " Congressional interest was triggered by receipt of reports from Vietnam veterans who believed they had been harmed by exposure to herbicides, particularly Agent Orange. The 96th Congress held numerous hearings on the use of herbicides in South Vietnam, and various initiatives to deal with the problem were introduced. P.L. 96-151 was enacted to direct the Veterans Administration (VA) to conduct an epidemiological study on Vietnam veterans to determine whether there may be adverse human health effects associated with exposure to phenoxy herbicides and/or dioxin. This study and other studies planned will help elicit answers to the scientific questions posed by the Veterans Administration in determining whether or not the veterans' medical problems, allegedly due to exposure to Agent Orange and associated herbicides used in Vietnam, are compensable. Following recommendations made by the Interagency Work Group on Phenoxy Herbicides (now the Agent Orange Working Group), legislation was introduced in the 97th Congress to expand the scope of the VA's epidemiological study of the health effects of Agent Orange to include other factors related to military service in Vietnam. The legislation also allows veterans with medically certifiable conditions that might possibly have been caused by exposure to Agent Orange to receive medical care in VA facilities. The bill (H.R. 3499) was considered by the House and Senate in June 1981, put into final form in October, and signed by the President Nov. 3, 1981. Its title is the Veterans' Health Care, Training, and -Small Business Loan Act of 1981 (P.L. 97-72). �CRS- 2 IB80040 UPDATE-04/20/82 BACKGROUND AND POLICY ANALYSIS History During the summer of 1969, the first reports of human birth defects allegedly attributed to Agent Orange appeared in Vietnamese newspapers. Based on these allegations and the results of a study sponsored by the National Cancer Institute that showed that 2,4,5-T contaminated with TCDD caused birth defects in laboratory animals, the USAF stopped spraying 2,4,5-T in South Vietnam by early 1971. Although the Department of Defense maintains that only a limited number of U.S. military personnel can be positively identified as having been exposed to 2,4,5-T in South Vietnam (i.e., crews of aircraft that were used to spray herbicides), it is theoretically possible that large numbers of both military personnel (from the United States, South Vietnam, North Vietnam, Australia, and New Zealand) and civilians (especially South Vietnamese peasants) were exposed to 2,4,5-T through the USAF spraying program. A growing number of U.S. veterans who served in South Vietnam have begun to attribute the cause of various chronic ailments which they are now experiencing (especially nervous disorders, cancers, and birth defects in their offspring) to exposure to 2,4,5-T in South Vietnam, and many have filed claims with the VA for compensation. The VA has not yet awarded compensation to veterans for any claims related to 2,4,5-T exposure because of the lack of valid human data to prove a cause and effect relationship between exposure to 2,4,5-T and/or TCDD and specific health effects (except for chloracne). TCDD Contamination The industrial production "of 2,4,5-T always results in some TCDD contamination although TCDD levels can be reduced to about 0.01 parts per million (ppm) with current technology. Because it was not widely recognized until the late 1960s that 2,4,5-T could contain hazardous amounts of TCDD, manufacturers did not start reducing the level of TCDD in 2,4,5-T until the USAF was already winding down its herbicide spraying program. The average TCDD levels in the 2,4,5-T - containing herbicide mixtures used in South Vietnam were approximately 2 ppm in Agent Orange (which accounted for approximately 96% of the 2,4,5-T used in South Vietnam), approximately 32.8 ppm in Agent Purple, and 65.6 ppm in Agents Pink and Green (Agents Purple, Pink, and Green contained the remaining 2,4,5-T used in South Vietnam). The herbicides procured by the USAF were code named after the colored band that was placed around each 55 gallon drum in order to identify the contents. / Health Effects — Animal Data Although TCDD is well established as one of the most toxic chemicals known for acute (short-term) effects, there is no consensus in the scientific community over the -Chronic (long-term) effects on humans of exposure to low levels of TCDD (such as those levels found in the herbicides used in South Vietnam) . Statistically significant animal experiments have demonstrated that �CRS- 3 IB80040 UPDATE-04/20/82 2,4,5-T containing low levels of TCDD and/or TCDD alone have caused various tumors in mice and rats. A recently-released National Toxicology Program bioassay of TCDD confirms these earlier reports that TCDD is carcinogenic in some laboratory animals. Thymic atrophy (without a corresponding loss in immune function) and severe weight loss have been observed in many species after TCDD exposure. In some species, acute exposure to TCDD can cause liver damage. Birth defects such as cleft palate and kidney abnormalities have been reported in baby mice when the mothers were exposed during pregnancy. A National Toxicology Program animal study of male reproductive effects of exposure to TCDD, however, has failed to reveal a statistically significant increase in reproductive abnormalities in TCDD-exposed animals or birth defects in the TCDD-exposed male animals' offspring. Although there is some experimental evidence that TCDD may cause mutations (changes in the cell's genetic material that may produce birth defects in as-yet-unconceived offspring), these experiments have been few, they have been done mainly on non-mammalian species or in vitro (in test tubes), and they have basically been inconclusive. Some investigators feel that humans are less sensitive than animals to the toxic effects of TCDD. There is wide variation of" responses to TCDD among different species, and the mechanisms of its toxicity and metabolism are not understood. More work needs to be done to clarify whether human exposure to TCDD can produce the same health effects with the same potency as those observed in animal studies. Health Effects. -- Human.TData. If a cause and effect relationship is to be scientifically established between human exposure to a chemical and chronic health effects, a study which meets the following minimum criteria must be conducted to prove that such a relationship exists: a group of people (the "study group") must be identified that has already been exposed to the chemical under study (it would help to know the level of exposure); this study group must be large enough to detect chronic effects with statistical significance (to find an effect that occurred in 1 out of 100 people, one would need to examine at least 100 people); a control group must be found that ideally would differ from the study group only by never having been exposed to the chemical under study (thus, any differences in chronic health effects between the study and control groups could be attributed only to exposure to the chemical under study); and, due to the long latency period for many chronic effects, the study and control groups must be followed for as many years after exposure as it takes for the chronic effects to show up (i.e., in carcinogenicity studies, subjects must be followed for a minimum of 10 to 20 years after exposure to the suspect carcinogen). These exacting criteria are not met by most of the studies that have explored the relationship between human exposure to TCDD and/or 2,4,5,-T and subsequent health effects. Only for chloracne has such a cause and effect relationship been well established. Workers who have been exposed to TCDD and/or 2,4,5-T in industrial explosions or who have had other occupational exposure are frequently found to have a skin condition known as chloracne — which resembles normal acne except that it is caused by chemical exposure. Chloracne can appear from weeks to months after initial exposure and while mild cases (blackheads) may clear in a matter of months, severe cases (inflammatory lesions and scars) may last up to 30 years after exposure has ceased. While the severity of chloracne is not thought to correlate precisely with the intensity or duration of exposure to TCDD and/or 2,4,5-T, chloracne is associated so �CRS- 4 IB80040 UPDATE-04/2'0/82 closely with exposure that some scientists argue that patients who have not exhibited chloracne are unlikely to have suffered other toxic effects of TCDD and/or 2,4,5-T exposure. Studies of these exposed workers have also indicated a variety of other health problems. For example, the United States Air Force Technical Report on the Toxicology, Environmental Fate, and Human Risk of Herbicide Orange and its associated Dioxin (1978) listed a number of symptoms, signs, or disorders that had been reported after occupational exposure to TCP (trichlorophenol, 2,4,5-T's precursor), 2,4,5-T, or TCDD (see Appendix). As noted, these studies, which reported symptoms associated with human exposure to dioxin, were not conducted in such a way as to prove a cause-and-effect relationship between exposure to TCDD and/or 2,4,5-T and any of these effects, but they may be indicative of such a relationship. Several of the above studies have focused on investigating cancer rates among exposed workers. These studies do not show a clear cause/effect relationship between carcinogenicity associated with exposure to TCDD and/or 2,4,5-T because very few exposed workers (with the exception of those in Nitro, West Virginia) have been followed for more than ten years (the latency period for most cancers being 15 to 40 years after exposure) and the results have been equivocal. However, they support a continuing suspicion and indicate a need for further study. When the scientific panel of the Interagency Work Group on Phenoxy Herbicides reviewed five research papers by European scientists, it concluded that despite the studies' limitations, they do "show a correlation between exposure to phenoxy acid herbicides and an increased risk of some forms of cancer." A soft-tissue "sarcoma study has been proposed that will be conducted jointly by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and the National Cancer Institute. Studies that have been conducted in non-industrial settings have not been able to prove a cause and effect relationship between exposure to TCDD and/or 2,4,5-T and specific health effects. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) was directed by Congress P.L. 91-441, sec. 506 (c) to conduct a study on the effects of herbicides in South Vietnam, including health effects. This NAS study, as well as at least three other similar studies that were conducted in South Vietnam during the early 1970s, were unable to find adequate data upon which to reach any conclusions concerning a causal effect between exposure to herbicides and any health effects, including birth defects. An explosion in a Hoffman-LaRoche chemical plant in Seveso, Italy in July 1976 caused thousands of people to be exposed to varying doses of TCDD as a toxic cloud drifted across the Italian countryside in a cone-shaped pattern about a mile long and half a mile wide. Some 5400 people lived in the two zones most directly affected, with an additional 40,000 people potentially exposed. Animals began to die 2 to 3 days after the incident with over 1,100 animals killed by direct exposure to TCDD. Over 700 people were evacuated from their homes. Chloracne was reported in 187 people, mostly children, and it tended to heal rapidly. Long-term human health effects of exposure to TCDD at Seveso are still being studied. Preliminary findings reported in 1979 by Hoffman-LaRoche revealed that Seveso residents had suffered liver damage but that there was no permanent breakdown in liver function. They also reported that rates of spontaneous abortions, fetal malformations, congenital defects, chromosome aberrations, reactions to infectious disease, and morbidity and mortality were not affected by TCDD exposure. As reported by the American Medical Association's Council on Scientific Affairs, "The most recent progress report on the long-term epidemiologic survey of the residents of the Seveso area emphasizes the preliminary nature of their �. . CRS- 5 IB80040 UPDATE-04/20/82 findings and reiterates the conclusions of prior investigators. Except for the skin, no organs or body functions were impaired. No derangement of gestation, no fetal lethality and loss, no gross malformations-, no growth retardation at term and no cytogenetic abnormalities have yet occurred." Health effects of domestic use of 2,4,5-T have been kept under surveillance by various Government agencies for some years. In April 1970, the Departments of Agriculture, Interior, and Health, Education and Welfare jointly announced the suspension of certain uses of 2,4,5-T following studies indicating that it was a teratogen. On Apr. 21, 1978, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Rebuttable Presumption Against Registration (RPAR) on 2,4,5-T, finding that the herbicide had exceeded certain risk criteria and inviting comments from interested parties. The RPAR was based on toxicological data from animal studies showing a correlation between 2,4,5-T exposure and cancer and birth defects. One of the comments received was from Alsea, Oregon, claiming that there was a high incidence of miscarriage among area women following spraying of the local forests with 2,4,5-T. EPA investigated this claim and reported its conclusion that the incidence of spontaneous abortion over a 6-year period in Alsea was higher than the rates in two other regions of Oregon that had lower rates of 2,4,5-T usage. Based on the combination of evidence from the animal studies and the Alsea study, EPA announced the emergency suspension of the domestic use of 2,4,5-T on forests, pastures, and rights-of-way on Feb. 28, 1979. The Alsea study has been criticized on methodological grounds by various groups, and its results are rejected by a number of writers. EPA hearings on cancellation of 2,4,5-T began in June 1979. On Mar. 24, 1981, EPA and Dow Chemical requested a recess in the hearing to discuss the possiblity of negotiating a settlement. The recess has been extended while the negotiations continue. Herbicide Spraying in Vietnam Approximately 107 million pounds of herbicides were aerially disseminated on 6 million acres of South Vietnam (an area about the size of Connecticut) from January 1962 to February 1971. Approximately 276,000 gallons of Agents Green, Pink, and Purple were sprayed in South Vietnam prior to 1965 when they were replaced by Agent Orange. Approximately 11 million gallo.ns of Agent Orange were then sprayed in South Vietnam — making it the most widely used herbicide of the war. Ninety percent of Agent Orange was sprayed on 2.9 million acres of inland forests and mangrove forests for defoliation, 8% was sprayed on enemy crops for crop destruction, and the remaining 2% was sprayed around base perimeters, cache sites, waterways, and communications lines. The Air Force continued to operate its herbicide spraying program in South Vietnam until the late 1960s when the National Cancer Institute released results of an animal bioassay that showed 2,4,5-T to be teratogenic and/or fetotoxic in rodents, and newspapers in South Vietnam started reporting health problems among the rural populations who had been exposed to such herbicides. The Air Force first restricted the use of Agent Orange to areas remote from populations in October of 1969, then stopped all airplane spraying of Agent Orange in early 1970 and all helicopter spraying of Agent Orange by 1971. All remaining herbicide stocks were gathered and stored at either Gulfport, Mississippi or Johnston Island in the Pacific until they were incinerated at sea in 1977. The following table outlines major military projects involving handling of Agents Orange, Purple, Pink, or Green in South Vietnam. the �CRS-6 IB80040 UPDATE-04/2'0/82 MILITARY PROJECTS INVOLVING AGENTS ORANGE, PURPLE, PINK, OR GREEN PROJECT DATES DESCRIPTION AGILE 1960-68 Selection of herbicides., and development and evaluation of defoliation techniques. RANCH HAND 1962-71 Aerial spraying of herbicides in South Vietnam. Various USAF Projects 1962-70 'Development and testing of aerial spray equipment. PACER IVY 1971 Air Force Logistics Command Project 1972-77 PACER HO 1977 Redrumming and movement of surplus herbicide from South Vietnam to Johnston Island. Maintenance of herbicide inventory and research on options for disposal. Dedrumming of herbicide inventory and at-sea incineration of Agent Orange. Each of these projects involved some human exposure to the herbicide 2,4,5-T and its contaminant, TCDD. The difficulty lies in determining who may have been exposed and at what level. �CRS-7 IB80040 UPDATE-04/20/82 Personnel Exposed The early trials that were conducted in South Vietnam to improve aircraft spray systems (1960 to early 1962) were conducted by USAF personnel assigned to the Special Aerial Spray Flight Division, Langley AFB, Va. (USAF personnel engaged in the herbicide program did not receive permanent change of station assignments to South Vietnam until 1964 -- thus making it more difficult to track personnel who may have been exposed to herbicides). During late 1962 and early 1963, the Crops Division at Fort Detrick and the USAF Armament Laboratory at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida were involved in efforts to provide improvements in spray system components in support of Operation RANCH HAND. Most of the personnel involved in the actual handling of herbicide drums were Vietnamese. However, a USAF flight mechanic or crew chief was responsible for ensuring that the aircraft were properly loaded and that the spray systems were functional. Each herbicide aircrew consisted of a pilot and a copilot (both usually officers) and a flight mechanic/spray unit operator (usually enlisted). The aircrews were frequently joined by South Vietnamese and U.S. observers. As noted in a USAF report, "within the aircraft, it was not uncommon to have herbicide leakage from around the numerous hose connections joining the spray tank and pumps with the wing and aft spray booms. In hot weather, the odor of herbicide within the aircraft was decidedly noticeable." The USAF has data on 6,542 herbicide spraying missions that took place between August 1965 and February 1971 on its "HERBS" computer tape. These data were compiled on a mission-by-mission basis from reports and files in various commands and offices in South Vietnam and the United States. The HERBS tape contains the following data for each mission: date; mission number; location; province and UTM coordinates; type of herbicide (basically, Agents Orange, White, or Blue); quantity of herbicide; area covered; purpose of mission (defoliation, crop destruction, etc.); and type of aircraft (plane or helicopter). The NAS used the HERBS tape in its evaluation of the effects of herbicides on South Vietnam. After evaluating the HERBS data, the NAS concluded that the HERBS tape accounted for approximately 86% of all herbicide operations in South Vietnam and that "despite certain recognized deficiencies," the HERBS tape is "a reliable source for an assessment of the major part of the herbicide operation in South Vietnam" and "is the best and in fact the only available comprehensive computation of the major part of the herbicide operations conducted in the Vietnam war." When the DOD suspended all use of 2,4,5-T in South Vietnam, the USAF was left with an inventory of 2.22 million gallons of unused Agent Orange (1.37 million gallons which had been shipped to South Vietnam and 0.85 million gallons which were waiting to be shipped at the Naval Construction Battalion Center at Gulfport, Mississippi). In April 1972, the 1.37 million gallons of Agent Orange were moved from South Vietnam to Johnston Island in the Pacific Ocean for storage. The total amount of TCDD in the remaining Agent Orange stock was approximately 44.1 pounds. Problems began to arise in both locations as drums reportedly began to leak and the USAF expressed concern over further leakage problems that could occur if a tornado hit the Mississippi site or if a typhoon hit the Pacific site. After exploring a number of options, the USAF decided to dispose of the Agent Orange by burning it at high temperatures at sea on the Dutch incinerator ship named the "Vulcanus." The Agent Orange was drained from the drums at each site and �CRS- 8 IB80040 UPDATE-04/20/82 transferred to the Vulcanus. The empty drums were then rinsed with diesel fuel and crushed. The rinse fluid was combined with the Agent Orange for incineration at sea. A total of 15,480 drums of Agent Orange were processed at the Mississippi site between May 24, 1977, and June 10, 1977, by approximately 110 USAF officers/technicians from the five Air Logistics Centers of the Air Force Logistics Command (located at Kelly AFB Texas; Hill AFB, Utah; Warner Robbins AFB, Georgia; Tinker AFB, Oklahoma; and McCellan AFB, California). A total of 24,795 drums of Agent Orange were processed at the Johnston Island site between July 27, 1977, and Aug. 23, 1977. Approximately 100 civilian employees hired by a contractor performed the dedrumming process. At both the Johnston Island and Mississippi sites, workers were provided with daily changes of work clothes and some with protective clothing. The Agent Orange was incinerated at sea in the period from July to September 1977. Results of industrial hygiene studies conducted at the time of the disposal operation by the U.S. Air Force (Gulfport) and the Battelle Memorial Institute (Johnston Island) revealed no immediate adverse health effects among the personnel involved in the operation. Department of Defense, Efforts The USAF has stated that it can now identify 1,264 servicemen who were directly exposed to Agent Orange as they handled herbicide., containers and flew spraying missions in South Vietnam. The Air Force has initiated a health effects study of Air Force personnel involved in operation "Ranch Hand," who sprayed Agent Orange in Vietnam. The Department of Defense (DOD) believes that these individuals had at least 1000 ti-mes more exposure .to Agent Orange than the average ground troops. The epidemiological study will try to determine whether a causal relationship can be established between exposure to the 2,4-D/2,4,5-T mixture and long-term health effects. Although the study was originally scheduled to begin in October 1979, peer review of its protocols forced delays. The University of Texas School of Public Health, the U.S. Air Force Scientific Advisory Board and the Armed Forces Epidemiological Board reviewed the study protocols and recommended modifications. Then the Air Force asked the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to review the protocols. On May 6, 1980, the NAS announced recommendations that the scope and duration of the study be expanded to increase the likelihood of obtaining definitive data. NAS also expressed concern about the public perception of credibility and impartiality of a study conducted internally by the Air Force. The Interagency Work Group's Scientific Panel, however, has recommended that the study, as designed by the Air Force, be conducted because, despite its limitations, it provides "a focus as to the type of health effects that may possibly occur in other (ground troop) personnel." The Ranch Hand study is proceeding in several phases and will continue for 20 years. The first phase consists of a detailed medical history questionnaire, which has been administered to the Ranch Handers in their homes by trained interviewers from Louis Harris and Associates. A carefully matched control group, selected from military records held by the Air Force, has also been interviewed. The first data from the questionnaire should be available by mid-summer 1982. Also underway is the second phase of the study, a 3-day series of physical examinations, including a battery of psychological tests, which will be given to both the study group and the controls. The contractor for this phase is Kelsey-Seabold of Houston. The exams are scheduled to be completed by September 1982, with preliminary findings available 2 to 3 months later. Follow-up exams will be conducted at 1, 3, 5, 10, and 20 years. A mortality analysis on the Ranch Hand group is �, , , CRS- 9 IB80040 UPDATE-04/20/82 in progress at the Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, with data anticipated around August 1982, and a mortality tracking program will be continued throughout the study. Information on the health status of the veterans, as shown by the questionnaires and the physical examinations, will provide data for a morbidity analysis. Many of the veterans who have filed claims with the VA for compensation for health effects caused by exposure to TCDD in South Vietnam did not hold jobs that caused direct exposure to 2,4,5-T. They claim that their exposure occurred indirectly either by being sprayed with overhead planes (although substances other than herbicides were also sprayed from planes) or by being exposed to 2,4,5-T in the environment. According to the DOD, military personnel did not usually enter areas sprayed with Agent Orange until 4 to 6 weeks after treatment. However, a recent General Accounting Office investigation concluded that a large number of Marines in the I Corps section of Vietnam from 1966-1969 were in, or close to, areas sprayed with Agent Orange on both the day of spraying and within 4 weeks afterward. Some Army units were also close to Agent Orange spraying. The Department of Defense has recently made progress in identifying ground troops that may have been exposed to Agent Orange. Two Army and one Marine battalion - 31st Engineer Battalion, 2050 troops; 1st Squadron, 9th Calvary (Air Mobil), 2300 troops and 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, have been identified as being in areas of Agent Orange operations. Exact numbers, locations, and identities of individuals who may have been sprayed are impossible to determine. Veterans' Problems and Veterans^ .Administration E_f_fO'rts The first reports of veterans' concerns over health effects of exposure to 2,4,5-T began to appear in late 1977 and early 1978, following media coverage of several veterans' claims. Veterans have associated a number of illnesses with exposure to 2,4,5-T, including skin conditions, fatague, nervousness, numbness in extremities, vision and/or hearing impairments, birth d'efects in offspring, reduced libido, miscarriages, impotency, respiratory problems, gastro-intestinal tract disturbances, and various cancers, as well as a variety of other illnesses. As of Apr. 1, 1982, the VA had received 13064 claims for damage reportedly related to in-service exposure to herbicides? 2986 claims have been made due only to exposure to the herbicides and not for any specific condition; 10078 claims have been filed for specific conditions related to herbicide exposure, but 3469 of these have not had the diagnosis con-firmed by medical authority. Of the 6609 claims with a confirmed diagnosis, 923 (13.7%) have been allowed for reasons other than Agent Orange exposures and 5686 (86.3%) have been denied. Approximately 93% or 858 of the total 923 claims allowed were for service-connected skin conditions, and the remaining 7% or 65 claims were allowed for cancer, psychiatric and neurological conditions, and various other miscellaneous disabilities. The 5686 claims denied fall into the following categories (many claims have more than one claimed diagnosis): 3055 for various skin conditions; 2335 for nervousness, headache, or fatigue; 886 for paralysis or numbness; 751 for gastro-intestinal or genito-urinary conditions; 399 for various malignancies; 356 for impaired sexual activity; 394 for eye, ear, nose, and throat conditions; 274 for lung conditions; 227 for cardiovascular conditions; and 137 for miscellaneous conditions. The VA has not awarded compensation for the claims of chronic illnesses related to Agent Orange exposure because of the lack of valid human data to prove a �CRS-10 IB80040 UPDATE-04/20/82 cause and effect relationship between exposure to a 2,4,5-T/2,4-D mixture and/or TCDD and specific chronic health effects. Previously, the difficulty of determining which veterans' were or were not exposed to Agent Orange was also a factor in denying compensation, but more recently the VA has conceded exposure for all veterans who were in Vietnam. The VA is maintaining a registry of all Vietnam veterans who have come to VA hospitals and health care facilities expressing concern about possible herbicide-related health problems. Each such veteran, whether experiencing any health problems or not, is given a physical examination; currently, some 2700-2800 exams are being conducted each month. Data from all the exams is being computerized into a central Agent Orange Registry in addition to the individual records being maintained at the local VA facilities. As of Mar. 25, 1982, 81,670 veterans had received the initial exam, and about 61,000 of the records had been coded into the computer. Information from the registry is being analyzed to determine if the veterans have an increased rate of any particular diseases. Thus far, nothing unusual or unexpected has turned up. Treatment of any health problems uncovered by the exams is handled under normal VA procedures regarding service-connection, ability to pay for medical care, etc., with the exception that special guidelines have been issued for the handling of conditions possibly related to Agent orange. In the Federal Register of Dec. 2, 1981, pursuant to Public Law 97-72, the VA issued guidelines for use by its physicians to "assist them in making determinations in individual cases as to whether a disability may have been caused" by exposure to Agent Orange. Even though treatment may be given for some conditions, the VA specified that "In accordance with congressional intent, a determination to furnish care under this authority does not establish that the condition for which medical care is provided is service-connected" for purposes of compensation or vocational rehabilitation eligibility. Three additional VA activities on Agent Orange include participation in the tissue registry, the Chloracne Task Force, and investigations into TCDD residues in body fat tissue of veterans. When VA facilities perform surgery or autopsies on Vietnam veterans, tissue samples are taken and sent to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology where a special tissue registry is being maintained. Examination of approximately 800 specimens has so far shown no significant clustering of tumors or other particular disease features. The Chloracne Task Force was established in response to a congressional request to sift out those cases of skin conditions that either resemble or are truly Chloracne. Those veterans whose medical records show a definite possibility of Chloracne will be invited to come to non-VA clinics for re-examination by dermatologists who have an expert knowledge of the disease. The VA has conducted a study to determine if TCDD can be detected in the body fat tissues of Vietnam veterans at any higher levels than in veterans who were not in Vietnam. Dioxin in body fat is measured in parts per trillion, levels which are at the technological limits of available detection methods. The test requires surgical removal of tissue from the abdomen and chemical analysis of the sample on gas chromatography/high resolution mass spectrometry instruments. The results of the study were inconclusive, and the VA has decided that the reliability of the procedure is not sufficient to warran-t its use in attempting to verify dioxin exposure. An additional problem is that dioxin contamination is so ubiquitous (from domestic herbicide use and from its formation in municipal incinerators) that it may likely be found in everyone's fat tissue. As mandated in P.L. 96-151, the Veterans' Affairs Amendments, the VA is currently preparing to perform an epidemiological study of Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange. Although the study's protocol has been developed �CRS- 11 IB80040 UPDATE-04/20/82 and validated by an independent group, the VA will perform the testing and collect the data, with oversight by a non-VA scientific committee. Procurement of an independent contractor for the study's protocol was delayed for 14 months by a protest filed by the National Veterans Law Center (NVLC) . The NVLC alleged that not only was the .VA violating procurement law, but also the study as currently contemplated did not comply with the requirements of P.L. 96-151. On Feb. 2, 1981, the General Accounting Office concluded its investigation and denied the NVLC protest. On May 5, 1981, the VA announced the awarding of a contract to the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Public Health for the design of the epidemiological study. UCLA submitted its first draft of the protocol to the VA in August 1981; it was peer-reviewed by the VA Advisory Committee on Health-Related Effects of Herbicides, by the Office of Technology Assessment, and by the Science Panel of the Agent Orange Working Group. All the review groups judged the draft protocol to be inadequate and not in compliance with the contract. UCLA has since modified the protocol, expanding on problem areas and incorporating the suggestions of the review groups; its final submission to the VA is due April 29, 1982. As with the Ranch Hand study, this epidemiological study will have two main parts: a questionnaire on health status and medical and occupational history, and a physical exam with laboratory workup. The study group will be 18,000 veterans, divided into 3 cohorts of 6000 each. Two of the cohorts will have had Vietnam service, and will be distinguished as having a high or a low likelihood of herbicide exposure. The third cohort will be veterans with non-Vietnam military service. Inclusion of the third group will generate data about the health effects of Vietnam service in addition to the information expected about herbicide-related health effects. The study will commence with a pilot project to field test its procedures.and the questionnaire. P.L. 96-151 also mandated the VA to conduct a comprehensive review and scientific analysis of the worldwide literature on Agent Orange and other phenoxy herbicides. JRB Associates prepared the review under contract, and the VA published the 2-volume study in October 1981. The VA is now preparing to contract for an update to the literature review, to reflect new reports and data -that have appeared. The Interagency Work Group on Phenoxy Herbicides and Contaminants, established in December 1979, recommended that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) perform a case-control study to see if there is an increased incidence of specific malformations in children of Vietnam veterans. The population to be studied is a group of 7500 children who have birth defects and who are registered in CDC's Birth Defects Program (in operation since the late 1960s). Information on the families of these children, gained by extensive interviews and questionnaires, will be compared with that for 300 normal controls. The data will be analyzed to see what risk factors in the parents' lives, including military service in Vietnam, may be related to increased incidence of malformations in their children. CDC has completed a pilot study on a representative sample of the two groups to test the questionnaire and the procedures for finding the families. The main study will be started in late April 1982, and a preliminary report on the issue of Vietnam service is expected in the fall of 1983. Detailed analysis of the data on all risk factors will take several years to complete. On Sept. 22, 1980, the Work Group held its first public meeting to discuss problems and proposals related to exposure to herbicides. On Jan. 19, 1981, the Secretary of Health and Human Services established the "Advisory Committee on Special Studies Relating to the Possible Long-Term Health Effects of Phenoxy Herbicides and Contaminants" to advise the Secretary and �CRS- 12 IB80040 UPDATE-0'4/20/82 the Chair of the Interagency Work Group on Herbicides concerning the Advisory Committee's oversight of the conduct of the Ranch Hand Study being conducted by the Air Force. In its seventh report to the White House, the Work Group's Scientific Panel concluded that: While it is difficult to accept logically that a single causative factor -- Herbicide Orange -- could be responsible for such a diverse set of health effects as alleged by Vietnam veteran claims to the VA , there is no definitive evidence that permits selective exclusion of some of these illnesses. Further, it is possible that some of these health effects are occurring as a consequence of Vietnam^ service but not due to exposure to Herbicide Orange. The Science Panel is not aware of any data that suggest a modification of its previous recommendation that the •focus of a study of Vietnam veterans should be broadened to consider Vietnam service as the exposure factor rather than focus solely on Herbicide Orange exposure.... The Science Panel is in receipt of data which indicate that there is at best a remote chance of accurate identification of specific ground troops who were exposed to Herbicide Orange.... The Panel is therefore of the opinion that design of a scientifically valid Herbicide Orange study of ground troops may not be possible. If the focus of a study of Vietnam veterans is broadened to consider Vietnam service as the exposure factor, a study of ground troops is necessary and a scientifically valid study can be designed. On July 17, 1981, the Interagency Work Group was renamed and its membership expanded. Now called the Agent Orange Working Group, it is part of the Cabinet Council on Human Resources. The Department of Health and Human Services is the lead agency. Because the VA currently recognizes only chloracne as a human health effect that can be proven to be caused by exposure to 2,4,5-T, veterans may have difficulty being compensated for even those effects for which there is strong animal evidence (i.e., cancer and birth defects caused in utero which are those birth defects that cannot be caused by the father and require the mother and fetus to be exposed during the actual pregnancy). Veterans who claim compensation for health effects which are not supported by strong animal data (i.e., mutations -- which could cause genetic defects in the father's sperm that would affect children conceived after exposure) may have an even tougher case to argue. The veteran's question then becomes: How much evidence is required to prove the right to compensation? On whom does the burden of proof lie (the veteran or the VA)? .If more evidence is needed, who will generate it? And finally, what constitutes fair treatment of veterans while the necessary data are being gathered? Congressional Action of the 96th Congress The 96th Congress responded to the problems of establishing a cause and effect relationship between veterans' exposure to herbicides in South Vietnam and the various health problems they are now experiencing by holding hearings and enacting legislation. �CRS- 13 IB80040 UPDATE-04/20/82 The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, of the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce held hearings on June 24 and 25, 1979, to hear testimony from veterans who allegedly have been affected by herbicide exposure and from the Veterans Administration regarding its efforts to unequivocally determine the relationship between herbicide exposure and health effects. The Subcommittee on Medical Benefits and Facilities of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs held two sets of hearings on the hazards associated with TCDD, veterans' complaints of health effects associated with Agent Orange exposure, and Veterans Administration's efforts to resolve the Agent Orange problem. The Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee also held hearings to Agent Orange problem. examine the As a step to gain access to records to locate veterans who may have been exposed to herbicides in-service, Title V of H.R. 2282, the Veterans' Disability Compensation and Survivors' Benefits Amendments of 1979, requires the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, upon request by the VA (or other appropriate agency) to request the current mailing address from the Internal Revenue Service of persons whom the VA certifies may have been exposed to occupational hazards. H.R. 2282 was passed in lieu of its companion bill, S. 689, and became Public Law 96-128 on Nov. 28, 1979. Title III of H.R. 3892, the Veterans' Affairs amendments, directs the Veterans Administration to conduct an epidemiological study of the long-term health effects on individuals from exposure to dioxins in Vietnam, upon the Office of Technology Assessment's (OTA) approval of its protocol. Its companion bill, S. 1039, was incorporated in H.R. 3892 as an amendment, and the measure was enacted by Congress and signed by the President on Dec. 20, 1979 (P.L. 96-151) . If enacted, S. 2096 would have directed the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (now, Health and Human Services) to undertake an epidemiological study to determine the long-term adverse human health effects associated with exposure to dioxins produced during the manufacture of phenoxy herbicides. This bill proposed to investigate the long-term health effects of exposure to dioxins, in general, not just to Agent Orange. As similarly incorporated in H.R. 3892, S. 2096 would have required that the study's protocol be approved by the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment. This bill was presented to the President on Dec. 21, 1979, and vetoed by him on Jan. 2, 1980. President Carter vetoed the bill because the White House counsel believed that such a procedure violated the separation of power between the legislative branch and the executive branch. He did not feel that the Department of Health and Human Services' study protocol should be subject to approval by a congressional agency. Title X of H.R. 5288, the Veterans' Rehabilitation Program and Veterans' Educational Assistance Program would have directed the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a study of veterans and other groups exposed to the herbicide known as "Agent Orange" to determine if there may be adverse health effects associated with such exposure. Like H.R. 3892 (P.L. 96-151) and S. 2096, the bill called for OTA approval of the study's protocol. The bill also would have required the Secretary of Health and Human Services to coordinate its efforts with other studies in the Federal Government. During the debate on S. 1188, its companion bill, the Disabled Veterans' Rehabilitation Act, the Senate adopted an amendment offered by Senator �CRS-14 IB80040 UPDATE-04/20/82 Cranston to expand the study on health effects of exposure to Agent Orange to include other factors related to service in Vietnam. The Senate also adopted an amendment offered by Senator Heinz requiring the VA to promulgate regulations regarding guidelines to resolve veterans' disability claims based on exposure to Agent Orange. The ' amendments were striken by the House because they were considered to be "non-germane" to the primary focus of the bill. S. 1872 (the Vietnam Veterans' Act); H.R. 6050 (the Vietnam Veterans' Act); H.R. 6377 (the Vietnam Era Veterans Agent Orange Act); each would have established a presumption of service-connected disability for health effects in Vietnam veterans (and birth defects in their children) exposed to Agent Orange. H.R. 8238 (Independent Agent Orange Study) would have directed the Veterans Administrator to request the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study on veterans exposed to Agent Orange. H.R. 8300 would have expanded the scope of the Agent Orange study currently being coordinated by the VA and would have established deadlines for promulgating regulations related to Agent Orange exposure claims. These bills received no action. LEGISLATION P.L. 97-72, H.R. 3499 Veterans' Health Care, Training and Small Business Loan Act of 1981. Amends title 38, U.S. Code, to extend the Vietnam-era veterans' readjustment counseling program, to provide medical care for Vietnam veterans exposed to herbicide defoliants (including Agent Orange), to recover the cost of certain health care provided by the VA, and authorizes the VA to expand the scope of its epidemiological study on the health effects of Agent Orange, and other purposes. Introduced May 7, 1981; referred to Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Committee consideration and mark-up session held May 12. Reported to House (amended) by Committee on Veterans' Affairs (H.Rept. 97-79) May 19. Passed House (amended) June 2, 1981. Received in the Senate June 3. Senate struck all after the Enacting Clause and substituted the language of S. 921, June 16. Passed Senate in lieu of S. 921 with amendments, June 16, 1981. House concurred in Senate amendments with amendments Oct. 2, 1981. Senate agreed to House amendments Oct. 16, 1981. Signed into law Nov. 3, 1981. H.R. 523 (Roe) Amends Title 38, U.S. Code, to waive the 1-year limitation on claims for compensation from the Veterans Administration for disabilities and diseases incurred in or aggravated by military service in the case of claims by veterans who served in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam era for compensation for disabilities resulting from exposure to the phenoxy herbicides known as Agent Orange or other phenoxy herbicides. Introduced Jan. 5, 1981; referred to Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H.R. 1173 (Montgomery, by request) Amends section 307 of P.L. 96-151, by assigning the responsibility of designating a protocol for, and conducting an epidemiological study of, veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange, to an independent scientific agency. Introduced Jan. 22, 1981; referred to Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H.R. 1962 (Oilman) �- . , CRS- 15 IB80040 UPDATE-04/20/82 Amends the Veterans Health Programs Extension and Improvement Act of 1979 to require the Veterans Administration and the National Academy of Sciences to enter into an agreement under which the Academy will conduct an epidemiological study of veterans exposed to Agent Orange. Introduced Feb. 19, 1981; referred to Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H.R. 2157 (Mottl) Expands the scope of a study required to be conducted by the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs concerning the effect on humans of exposure to the chemical known as Agent Orange. Introduced Feb. 25, 1981: referred to Committee on Veterans' Affairs. VA requested Executive comment Mar. 2, 1981. Referred to Subcommittee on Hospitals and Health Care Apr. 28. Hearings held Apr. 30. Subcommittee consideration and mark-up session held. Clean bill forwarded to full committee. H.R. 2297 (Downey) Amends Title 38, United States Code, to waive the 1-year limitation on claims for compensation from the Veterans Administration for disabilities and disease incurred in or aggravated by military service in the case of claims by veterans who served in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam era for compensation for disabilities resulting from exposure to the phenoxy herbicides known as "Agent Orange" or other phenoxy herbicides. Introduced Mar. 4, 1981; referred to Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H.R. 2493 (Daschle) Amends Title 38, United States Code, to provide a presumption of service connection for the occurrence of certain diseases in veterans who were exposed to herbicides in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam era. Introduced Mar. 12, 1981; referred to Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H.R. 2953 (Daschle) Entitles veterans exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam era to specified medical benefits. Extends the period during which veterans of such era may initially request psychological readjustment counseling. Extends specified educational assistance without delimiting periods for vocational training for specified veterans determined to be in need of such assistance. Introduced Apr. 1, 1981; referred to Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Referred to Subcommittee on Hospitals and Health Care Apr. 28. Hearings held Apr. 28. Subcommittee consideration and mark-up session held Apr. 30, 1981. H.R. 3163 (Railsback) Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to arrange for an independent epidemiological study of persons exposed to Agent Orange. Introduced Apr. 8, 1981; referred to Committee on Energy and Commerce. Referred to Subcommittee on Health and the Environment Apr. 9, 1981. S. 636 (Cranston et al.) Entitles the United States to recover the costs of certain medical care and services furnished to a veteran for a non-service-connected disability when disability is covered by another form of insurance or compensation. Permits the expansion of the scope of the epidemiological and literature �CRS- 16 IB80040 UPDATE-04/20/82 study of the long term adverse health effects of exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnamese conflict to include the effects of other factors. Introduced Mar. 5, 1981; referred to Committee on Veterans' Affairs. S. 689 (Heinz) Amends section 307 of the Veterans Health Programs Extension and Improvement Act of 1979 to require the promulgation of regulations containing guidelines for resolving claims for veterans benefits based on exposure, to Agent Orange, and for other purposes. Introduced Mar. 12, 1981; referred to Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held Apr. 30, 1981. S. 921 (Simpson) Extends the authority of the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs to contract for hospital care or medical services in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands without reference to patient loads or incidence of provision of medical services for veterans treated by the Veterans' Administration in the contiguous 48 States. Introduced "Apr. 8, 1981; referred to Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Reported with amendment May 15, 1981 (S.Rept. 97-89); H.R. 3499 passed in lieu (see P.L. 97-72 above) June 16, 1981. S. 1345 <Heinz) Authorizes the Administrator of the Veterans' Administration to provide hospital or nursing home care to a veteran for treatment of a condition associated with exposure to Agent Orange during service in Vietnam. Extends the Vietnam-era veterans' readjustment counseling program. Directs the Administrator to expand the scope of the epidemiological study of long term adverse health effects of other factors involved in such service. Introduced June 8, 1981; referred to Committee on Veterans' Affairs. S. 1953 (Specter) Amends title 38, United States Code to provide a presumption of service connection for the occurrence of certain diseases in veterans who were exposed to phenoxy herbicides while serving in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam era. Introduced Dec. 15, 1981; referred to Committee on Veterans Affairs. HEARINGS U.S. Congress. House. Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Agent Orange: exposure of Vietnam veterans. Hearing, 96th Congress, 2d session. Sept. 25, 1980. 249 p. Involuntary exposure to Agent Orange and other toxic spraying. Hearings, 96th Congress, 1st session. June 26 and 27, 1979. 256 p. U.S. Congress. House. Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Ad Hoc Subcommittee. Status of Vietnam veterans in the Bay area. Hearing, 96th Congress, 2d session. Apr. 10, 1980. 64 p. U.S. Congress. House. Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Subcommittee on Hospitals and Health Care. �% .. , CRS- 17 IB80040 UPDATE-04/20/82 Legislation to improve medical programs administered by the Veterans Administration (H.R. 2157, H.R. 2953, and H.R. 2999). Hearings, 97th Congress, 1st session. Apr. 28, 1981. 54 p. U.S. Congress. House. Committee on Veterans' Affairs. .Subcommittee on Medical Facilities and Benefits. Herbicide "Agent Orange". Hearing, 95th Congress, 2d session. Oct. 11, 1978. 62 p. Oversight hearing to receive testimony on Agent Orange. Hearing, 96th Congress, 2d session. Feb. 25, 1980. 121 p. ----- Oversight hearing to receive testimony on Agent Orange. Hearing, 96th Congress, 2d session. July 22, 1980. 459 p. --—•- Scientific community report on Agent Orange. Hearing, 96th Congress, 2d session. Sept. 16, 1980. 145 p. U.S. Congress. House. Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Current status of Agent Orange studies. Hearing, 97th Congress, 1st session. May 6, 1981. 385 p. U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Agent Orange update and appendix: Agent Orange activities (part II). Hearing, 96th Congress, 2d session. Sept. 10, 1980. 1368 p. Oversight on issues related to Agent Orange and other herbicides. Hearing, 97th Congress, 1st session. Nov. 18, 1981. (not yet printed) • VA health resources and program extensions and appendix: Agent Orange activities. Hearing, 96th Congress, 1st session, on S. 741 and S. 196. Apr. 10,. 1979. 462 p. • Veterans' Programs Extension and Improvement Act of 1981. Hearing, 97th Congress, 1st session, on S. 26 (titles II and III, only), S. 380, S. 458, S. 636, S. 689, S. 872, S. 914, S. 921, and related bills. Apr. 30, 1981. 685 p. • Vietnam veterans' readjustment. Hearings, 96th Congress, 2d session. Feb. 21, Mar. 4, and May 21, 1980. Part 2. 595-2082 p. ADDITIONAL REFERENCE SOURCES American Medical Association. Council on Scientific Affairs. Health effects of "Agent Orange" and dioxin contaminants (Executive Summary). 1981. 6 p. Behrens, Richard, et al. Comments from CAST (Council on Agricultural Science and Technology): Dioxin. 1978, 9 p. Bucfc, Craig. The Death of a nation. Aug. 28, 1978: 49-50, 52-55. New west, v. 3, �CRS-18 IB80040 UPDATE-04/20/82 Cookson, Clive. "Emergency" ban on 2,4,5-T herbicide in U.S. Nature, v. 278, Mar. 8, 1979: 10'8-110. Davis, Donald E. et al. Comments from CAST (Council on Agricultural Science and Technology): Agent orange. 1978. 5 p. Galston, Arthur W. Herbicides: a mixed blessing. v. 29, February 1979: 85-90. Bioscience, International Agency for Research on Cancer. IARC monographs on the evaluation of the carcinogenic risk of chemicals to man: 2,5,5-T, vol. 15, August 1977. JRB Associates. Review of literature on herbicides, including phenoxy herbicides and associated dioxins. Washington, Veterans Administration, 1981. 2v. Laporte, Joan-Ramon. Multinationals and health: reflections on the Seveso catastrophe. International journal of health services, v. 8, no. 4, 1978: 619-632. National Research Council. The effects of herbicides in South Vietnam: Part A. Summary and conclusions. Washington, National Academy of Sciences, 1974. AD-774-749. 398 p. Peterson, Jeannie. Seveso: 1978: 232-239. the event. Ambio, v. 7, no. 5-6, Reggiani, G. Localized contamination with TCDD - Seveso, Missouri, and other areas. In: Halogenated biphenyls, terphenyls, naphthalenes, dibenzodioxins and related products, ed. Renate D. Kimbrough. Amsterdam, New York, Oxford, Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press, 1980. Severe, Richard. Seveso: lessons from an escape. June 17, 1978: 101-102, 104-106, 108. U.S. Economist, v. 2.67, General Accounting Office. Health effects of exposure to herbicide orange in South Vietnam should be resolved, Apr. 6, 1979. CED-79-22. U.S. ground troops in South Vietnam were in areas sprayed with herbicide orange. Nov. 16, 1979. FPCD-80-23. Young, Alvin et al. The toxicology, environmental fate and human risk of herbicide orange and its associated dioxin. The Surgeon General, U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. October 1978. Walsh, John. Seveso: the questions persist where dioxin created a wasteland. Science, v. 197, Sept. 9, 1977: 1064-1067. Whiteside, Thomas. Defoliation. New York, Ballantine, •- The pendulum and the toxic cloud. New Haven, Yale 1970. �, .. k CRS-19 IB80040 University Press, 1979. Zimmerman, David R. Agent Orange: Vietnam's lingering poison. American health, v. 1, no. 1, Mar./Apr. 1982: 68-72. UPDATE-04/20/82 �Signs, Symptoms, and Disorders Reported After Occupational Exposure to TCP, 2,4,5-T or TCDD 0) O -C I/I Q> Q> O> flj o *D 10 ID V 3C Source *j e o >- C ID •— i>- «O Q. >- v. Poland et al. (62) j: o. o- 4 11 8 o >ID — o> a: o < 5 18 30 I a. u a> 17 8 20 48 17 C o (U 0) o c as 0) -C U C — flj D ID 10 — Q. a) •z. a (D </> c m ID cn — c .E o -a JD < a) i_ a. l- o X — Q) 4-1 U •— O E C O a) 0) Q 22 + 87 Hardell (33) K i m m i g and Schulz Jirasek et al. (37) o (/I i- >— a> 3c Dugois et al. (24) Kramer (4g) (D — in Q. L. a B l e i b e r g et al. (1*0 tfl E *-> tj* 3 Baader and Bauer (6) Bauer et al. (9) U (U ID V. > »- V) 31 3 + 12 19 78 Jirasek et al. (33) Pazderova et al. (61) M i u r a et al. (54) 23 O l i v e r (57) 27 2 + Ter Beek et al. (79) Zelikov and Danilov (88) Total number of cases reported c 53 + 1 •f 1 17 15 18 0 47 75 275 0 91 47 17 23 a Number entries in table reflect the number of cases in which sign, symptom or disorder was reported. °+ - Sign, symptom or disorder reported but number of cases not given. c Numbers do not include cases represented by "+" and totals may represent some double counting due to the overlap to studies by Jirasek et al. and Pazderova et al. SOURCE: Young, Alvin et al. The Toxicology, Environmental Fate, and Human Risk of Herbicide Orange and Its Associated Dioxin, p. VI-14. (Numbers in parentheses identify sources in Young's bibliography.) � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange Description An account of the resource The Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange comprises 120 linear feet and spans the late 1800s to 2005; however, the bulk of the coverage is from the 1960s to the 1980s and there are many undated items. The collection was donated to Special Collections of the National Agricultural Library in 1985 by Dr. Alvin L. Young (1942- ). Dr. Young developed the collection as he conducted extensive research on the military defoliant Agent Orange. The collection is in good condition and includes letters, memoranda, books, reports, press releases, journal and newspaper clippings, field logs and notebooks, newsletters, maps, booklets and pamphlets, photographs, memorabilia, and audiotapes of an interview with Dr. Young. For more about this collection, <a href="/exhibits/speccoll/exhibits/show/alvin-l--young-collection-on-a">view the Agent Orange Exhibit.</a> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Box The box containing the original item. 051 Folder The folder containing the original item. 1336 Series The series number of the original item. Series III Subseries II Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Smith, Pamela W. Description An account of the resource Corporate Author: Science Policy Research Division, Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 20 1982 Title A name given to the resource Agent Orange: Veterans' Complaints Concerning Exposure to Herbicides in South Vietnam, Issue Brief Number IB80040 Subject The topic of the resource dioxin Agent Orange Controversy AOWG VA ao_seriesIII Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange Description An account of the resource The Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange comprises 120 linear feet and spans the late 1800s to 2005; however, the bulk of the coverage is from the 1960s to the 1980s and there are many undated items. The collection was donated to Special Collections of the National Agricultural Library in 1985 by Dr. Alvin L. Young (1942- ). Dr. Young developed the collection as he conducted extensive research on the military defoliant Agent Orange. The collection is in good condition and includes letters, memoranda, books, reports, press releases, journal and newspaper clippings, field logs and notebooks, newsletters, maps, booklets and pamphlets, photographs, memorabilia, and audiotapes of an interview with Dr. Young. For more about this collection, <a href="/exhibits/speccoll/exhibits/show/alvin-l--young-collection-on-a">view the Agent Orange Exhibit.</a> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Box The box containing the original item. 063 Folder The folder containing the original item. 1717 Series The series number of the original item. Series III Subseries III Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Taylor, Charles S. Title A name given to the resource Typescript: Science Today: Major Agent Orange Study Planned, May 17, 1983 Subject The topic of the resource Agent Orange Exposure Study Agent Orange controversy cohort study CDC Birth Defects Study ao_seriesIII Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange Description An account of the resource The Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange comprises 120 linear feet and spans the late 1800s to 2005; however, the bulk of the coverage is from the 1960s to the 1980s and there are many undated items. The collection was donated to Special Collections of the National Agricultural Library in 1985 by Dr. Alvin L. Young (1942- ). Dr. Young developed the collection as he conducted extensive research on the military defoliant Agent Orange. The collection is in good condition and includes letters, memoranda, books, reports, press releases, journal and newspaper clippings, field logs and notebooks, newsletters, maps, booklets and pamphlets, photographs, memorabilia, and audiotapes of an interview with Dr. Young. For more about this collection, <a href="/exhibits/speccoll/exhibits/show/alvin-l--young-collection-on-a">view the Agent Orange Exhibit.</a> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Box The box containing the original item. 050 Folder The folder containing the original item. 1319 Series The series number of the original item. Series III Subseries II Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Young, Alvin L. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource May 11 1981 Title A name given to the resource Typescript: Agent Orange at the Crossroads of Science and Social Concern Subject The topic of the resource Ranch Hand veteran health and hygiene dioxin Agent Orange Controversy ao_seriesIII Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange Description An account of the resource The Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange comprises 120 linear feet and spans the late 1800s to 2005; however, the bulk of the coverage is from the 1960s to the 1980s and there are many undated items. The collection was donated to Special Collections of the National Agricultural Library in 1985 by Dr. Alvin L. Young (1942- ). Dr. Young developed the collection as he conducted extensive research on the military defoliant Agent Orange. The collection is in good condition and includes letters, memoranda, books, reports, press releases, journal and newspaper clippings, field logs and notebooks, newsletters, maps, booklets and pamphlets, photographs, memorabilia, and audiotapes of an interview with Dr. Young. For more about this collection, <a href="/exhibits/speccoll/exhibits/show/alvin-l--young-collection-on-a">view the Agent Orange Exhibit.</a> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Box The box containing the original item. 050 Folder The folder containing the original item. 1324 Series The series number of the original item. Series III Subseries II Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Young, Alvin L. Description An account of the resource Corporate Author: Air Command and Staff College, Air university (ATC), Maxwell AFB, Alabama Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1981-05-01 Title A name given to the resource Agent Orange at the Crossroads of Science and Social Concern Subject The topic of the resource Ranch Hand veteran health and hygiene dioxin Agent Orange Controversy ao_seriesIII Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange Description An account of the resource The Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange comprises 120 linear feet and spans the late 1800s to 2005; however, the bulk of the coverage is from the 1960s to the 1980s and there are many undated items. The collection was donated to Special Collections of the National Agricultural Library in 1985 by Dr. Alvin L. Young (1942- ). Dr. Young developed the collection as he conducted extensive research on the military defoliant Agent Orange. The collection is in good condition and includes letters, memoranda, books, reports, press releases, journal and newspaper clippings, field logs and notebooks, newsletters, maps, booklets and pamphlets, photographs, memorabilia, and audiotapes of an interview with Dr. Young. For more about this collection, <a href="/exhibits/speccoll/exhibits/show/alvin-l--young-collection-on-a">view the Agent Orange Exhibit.</a> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Box The box containing the original item. 053 Folder The folder containing the original item. 1412 Series The series number of the original item. Series III Subseries II Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Young, Alvin L. M. R. Flicker H. K. Kang B. M. Shepard Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Chlorinated Dioxins and Dibenzofurans in the Total Environment II Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985 Title A name given to the resource Chapter 14: Health Surveillance of Vietnam Veterans Claiming Agent Orange Exposure Subject The topic of the resource dioxin Agent Orange controversy VA Agent Orange Registry ao_seriesIII https://www.nal.usda.gov/exhibits/speccoll/files/original/02521277d9104fdf845d0bbb1e4bb348.pdf b30fdad0eb199e70575d9b2aef7c3274 PDF Text Text Item ID Number 01435 Author Young, Alvin L. Corporate Author RODOrt/ArtlOlO TltlO Social Controversy and the Dioxln Question Journal/Book Title Year 1Q85 Month/Day September Color ° Number of Images 9 DeSCTlptOn Notes Accepted for publication in Chemosphere 1986 Tuesday, May 15, 2001 Page 1435 of 1514 �SOCIAL CONTROVERSY AND THE DIOXIN QUESTION A. L. YOUNG Office of Science and Technology Policy Executive Office of the President Washington, D.C. 20506, U.S.A. ABSTRACT The dioxin controversy conforms to a model useful for analyzing "quality of life issues." Examination of scientific versus social, political, and legal issues reveals an extensive scientific data base for „ studying the dioxin controversy. It is apparent that the factors that presently drive this controversy are not based on scientific truth. The dominant role playe'd by the media in keeping the dioxin controversy before the public is discussed. INTRODUCTION Health concerns involving dioxin, especially the 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), date from 1969 - 1970 and its contamination of Agent Orange, the military defoliant used in the Vietnam Conflict. Current interest 1970 is merely an extension and popularization of issues first publicized in and again in 1974. A large volume of toxicological data o« 2,4,5,- trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), the two herbicides in Agent Orange, were available during the final years of US involvement in Vietnam, but woefully inadequate toxicological and enviror.mental data on TCDD precluded resolution of the issues. - Although scientists recognized TCDD was deforming) in laboratory animals, acutely toxic and teratogenic (birth no studies were available on the effects of chronic long-term low-level exposures in lower mammalian'species. Fur- thermore, numerous occupational exposures to TCDD were reported during the industrial production of trichlorophenol, but epidemiologic studies were not available despite documented exposures as early as 1949. Presentation to the 5th International Symposium on Dibenzo-p-dioxins and Dibenzofurans, Beyreuth, FRG, September 1985. Accepted for publication in CHEMOSPHERE 1986. �Thus in an attempt to resolve the present controversy, scientists had to assess the long-term effects of exposure to TCDD either on the basis of existing data available from health studies of industrial from studies of Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange. populations or Of course, one major assumption must be that US military personnel reporting health effects were probably exposed to Agent Orange and, hence, to TCDD. But, regardless of any reported health effects, a valid study must include examination of all facets of the controversy. This requirement poses a dilemma because objective analysis depends on established criteria, but there are simply no models available for analyzing environmental health issues. In the absence of such models, examination of environmental crises involving other chemicals can provide a useful parallel for analyzing contamination involved the dioxin controversy. For example, environmental or "poisoning" episodes during the decade of the similar chemicals, such as chlorinated insecticides seventies (chlordane, DDT, andmirex), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs). And, during the last few years, the Love Canal episode has received extensive publicity. Analysis of these episodes, including reports on PCBs by Hammond (5) and Culhane (3), reports on PBBs by Budd et al. (1), and Ember's (5) assessment of the Love Canal episode, reveals that these v share common characteristics. Apparently, the public perceives episodes highly publicized environmental poisoning episodes as threats to the "quality of life," and, as a result of this perception, the episodes lead to a number of predictable events (see Table 1). NATURE OF CONTROVERSIES A controversy involving environmental contamination commonly begins with an episodic event. a specific instance of poisoning that arouses public and scientific concern. animals, but Such an event usually begins with contamination of its impact rapidly expands to include humans who may have inadvertently been exposed to the chemical. Frequently, improper use or disposal of the chemical precipitates the event (e.g., the PBB episo.de, 1). Generally, only a few people or livestock are actually exposed to, or contaminated by, the chemical. This small population, however, is an inadequate sample for establishing cause and effect relationships. "Nevertheless, concerned individuals respond to the event with lists of observed biological effects in animals and adverse physical symptoms in humans. In most instances, lay persons (including news reporters), local physicians, or biologists compile these lists, and they ultimately become indicators of �Table 1. Events and Characteristics of Environmental Poisoning Episodes That Define "Quality of Life" Controversies Event/Characteristic Brief Description Episodic Event An environmental incident involving poisoning of man and/or livestock Inadequate Sample Size Episodic events involve exposure of small populations of people and/or livestock Inadequate Scientific Data Reported symptoms and adverse health effects are inconsistent with scientific data. Intense Media Response Sensational reporting of the episodic event Inadequate Government Response The initial failure of government agencies to respond to public concerns Special Interest Groups A group of citizens joined by a common concern to manipulate public and political attitudes toward an episodic event or chemical Initiation of Lawsuits The threat of legal action in the absence of a satisfactory resolution of an episodic event Advisory Groups At the request of a lead agency, e.g., a state department of health, qualified representatives from all interested parties join in an advisory committee to coordinate research studies, review results, and offer recommendations for resolution of issues Unsatisfactory Resolution There are no satisfactory methods for appropriate resolution of "quality of life" controversies. Congressionally-Mandated Action Political action groups demand and obtain congressional action, usually in the form of mandated health studies. �adverse effects to people who feel that they or their animals have been "potentially" exposed to the chemical. Invariably, these lists are not consistent with accepted scientific data because the media and the public either confuse or misunderstand the concepts of dose, exposure, and chronic and acute effects. As a result, the public concludes that the scientific data are inadequate. and, in some instances (e.g., the Love Canal episode, (5), it may express an intense emotional reaction to the scientific data if it suspects that "contrary" data are wrong or even dishonest. Of course, the episodic event is "news," and, as such, it always attracts the local news media. tains many providing Initial coverage of the event usually con- inaccuracies and reflects a highly emotional orientation. In the coverage, the media compare the list of symptoms of a given episodic event to symptoms from other similar events in the past or in some other community. The intensity and duration of coverage depend on the magnitude or nature of the episode and on the number of people or animals exposed to "environmental poisoning." The media response is further charac- terized by articles in major newspapers or on the evening news, and these articles are usually followed by other articles containing "sensational" stories in popular magazines (e.g., Time, Reader's Digest, Family Circle, ••Playboy, and Penthouse). Culmination of the intense and frequently inaccurate campaign is marked by television documentaries usually prepared to highlight significant events or chemicals. For example, "A Plague on Our Children" was televised nationwide on 2 October 1979 by the Public Broadcasting System in its "NOVA" series and focused on PCBs, TCDD, 2,4,5-T, and the Love Canal. The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST, 2) reviewed this documentary and concluded: The program was overloaded with interviews with emotional laymen whose uneducated opinions about health hazards related to chemicals would be expected to induce a similar emotional response in the viewer. Following local, responses the episodic event and intense media coverage, numerous state, and federal agencies provide immediate but definitive to the stories. Personnel in these agencies are rarely knowl- edgeable about the chemicals or the incidents, but, after cursory reviews of available information and telephone calls to local scientists, physicians, or other "experts," they release tentative responses to implied or direct charges of official ineptitude. Frequently, the media and the public view these efforts as inadequate government behavior and label the concerned agency as "unresponsive." �In concluding that the government is unresponsive, concerned citizens form special interest groups and usually solicit the services of their own "experts.* Media coverage and inquiries to elected government officials prompt public hearings on the episodic event, the tragedies suffered by the •victims," and reports by the scientific community and government officials. The impact of special interest groups on public attitudes and the behavior of government officials has been described by Ember ( ) 5. For example, the Love Canal Homeowners Association, a special interest group, launched a separate epidemiologic study of the Love Canal "at risk" population and subsequently used data derived from the study to elicit responses " from a number of federal agencies and even a US district court. Failure to resolve the controversy or to compensate the victims of the episodic event soon leads to lawsuits against the company responsible for the event, for production of the chemical, or for both activities. The real purpose of the lawsuits is to verify the concern of the individuals. Since the complex nature of the issues precludes their immediate appearance on court dockets, lawsuits are always pending. Many government agencies, special interest groups, academic and "research institutions, and concerned citizens become involved in various facets of the chemical episode. so many To minimize the confusion associated with "players," the lead government agency, usually a state health department, appoints an advisory group to insure maximum collection and review of all relevant data. The composition of this group must reflect the credentials of "qualified" people representing major players and various government agencies advisory involved in the episode. One major function of the group is to offer recommendations that will assist the lead agency in resolving the issues. With the possible exception of bans on some of the chlorinated insecticides, the government and the scientific community have satisfactorily resolved very few episodes stemming from environmental poisoning. -But, even tn the ban on DDT, dispassionate scientific data took second place to emotional concerns in the legal resolution of the issue ( ) These contro4. versies generally remain unresolved because there simply is no satisfactory mechanism for treating opposing points of view in complex "quality of life" issues. The result has been an increasing public fear of artificial chemicals in the environment and lack of confidence in the ability or willingness of government and science to resolve problems related to their use �or disposal. Thus, unsatisfactory resolution Is still another unique char- acteristic of controversies stemming from environmental poisoning episodes. When it is perceived by the public and special interest groups that the resolution of a specific controversy is not probable, or cannot be done in a timely manner, action. This the final recourse is to solicit congresstonally-mandated action may take the form of a mandated additional health studies, or presumptive compensation. scientific review, In any case, it is an expression by the political system that is intended to reflect concern for the victims of the episodic event. DISCUSSION Obviously, the characteristics that distinguish environmental poisoning episodes from other environmental issues are a combination of scientific, social, political, and legal factors. preponderance If a controversy is based on a of scientific concerns and these concerns cannot be resolved to the satisfaction of the media and the public, then one can conclude that scientific issues drive the controversy. reasonably In this instance, reasonable answers to key scientific questions should lead to satisfactory resolution of the controversy. On the other hand, sufficient scientific data may permit definitive answers to questions related to public health, but they may not resolve the initial controversy. In such instances, one must conclude that social, political, or legal issues drive the controversy. Obviously, all key scientific questions can never be answered to the complete satisfaction of all parties, and the same is true for social, political, and legal concerns. Thus, short-term studies involving relatively small expenditures of resources might be feasible to enhance the existing scientific data base. On the other hand, a reasonably complete data base for making decisions in the present or immediate future may not justify long-term studies (years) requiring major outlays of dollars and manpower. The ten characteristics discussed in the above model apply in varying degrees to all controversies based on environmental poisoning -episodes. Like other controversies, the dioxin controversy can be examined in the framework of this model. The analysis begins with an evaluation of the episodic event and traces its evolution to a full-blown controversy. difficult It is to identify a specific episodic event for dioxin, although the horse arena deaths in Missouri in 1972 and the Seveso, Italy, Dioxin Episode of 1976 aroused the public's awareness of dioxin. Nevertheless, it is probable that dioxin-contaminated Agent Orange used in South Vietnam repre- �sents the' major episodic event, especially as it relates to the intense publicity given to dioxin, Agent Orange, and the Vietnam veteran in March 1978. Table 2 describes the dioxin controversy as applied to the criteria for assessing environmental health issues. Public and private perceptions of controversial issues are manifested as fear of the unknown, such as the risk associated with a poisonous chemical in the environment. not always react threatened harm. The public does to that fear in proportion to the seriousness of the This is particularly true of "quality of life" issues in which determination of risk involves value choices. Positions taken by the media and the courts may be independent of scientific consensus regarding the actual risk. The media response to this issue deserves some additional examples. INTENSE MEDIA CAMPAIGN Station WBBM, a television affiliate of the Columbia System Broadcasting in Chicago, Illinois, aired a special report in March 1978.on the subject, "Agent Orange: Vietnam's Deadly Fog." This film reviewed a number of past environmental episodes allegedly involving 2,4,5,-T and TCDD. JCurtis (7), the WBBM reporter, compared symptoms described by some Vietnam *• veterans in the Chicago area with the symptoms identified in past "poisoning" episodes. Veterans shown in the film claimed that they had been sprayed with Agent Orange during combat operations in South Vietnam. Kurtis concluded his documentary with these statements: Officially the Veterans Administration is denying the claims of poisoning by Agent Orange. Their scientists simply feel there isn't any evidence to link defoliation with human problems. But after researching this report and listening to the recommendations of the leading dioxin scientists in the country, we feel there is a need for immediate testing of all Vietnam veterans who handled Agent Orange or went into sprayed areas. Not only for the sake of those who have told us of their symptoms but for the countless others whose lives and whose children's lives could be blighted by the dioxin poison in Agent Orange. Wade (8) recently reviewed many of these articles and wrote that the "whole passel" of apprehensions "may have nothing to do with Agent Orange in scientific fact, but is grounded in other problems affecting the Vietnam veteran population and has been launched into celebrity by a self-generating series of press and television stories." He observed further: In favor of the latter hypothesis, it nay be noted that the first large batch of veterans' complaints about Agent Orange emerged in 1978 from Chicago shortly after the showing there of a television �Table 2. The Dioxin Controversy as Applied to the Criteria for Assessing Environmental Health Issues Event/Characteristic Brief Description Episodic Event The use of Dioxin (TCDD) contaminated Agent Orange, 1965-1970, in the Vietnam Conflict Inadequate Sample Size No satisfactory Exposure Index has been developed for Epidemiologic "studies". Industry populations exposed to TCDD small. Inadequate Scientific Data Little or no data available on the toxicity of TCDD (e.g., teratogenesis or carcinogenesis) at the time of Agent Orange use in Vietnam. Intense Media Response Most intense media coverage began in March 1978 with WBBM broadcast of "Agent Orange: Vietnams Deadly Fog." Inadequate Government Response Department of Defense and Veterans Administration did not respond to the Veterans' concerns over Agent Orange and dioxin until 1978. Initial response limited to establishment of the Agent Orange Registry. Special Interest Groups ** Vietnam Veterans have not only lobbied the traditional veterans organizations (e.g., American Legion) but have also founded Vietnam Veterans of America and Agent Orange International. These two latter groups have Agent Orange as major issue. Initiation of Lawsuits Following more than 5 years of legal maneuvering, an out-of-court settlement for $180 million occurred in 1984 between 7 chemical companies (all had been producers of Agent Orange) and Vietnam veterans as a class. Advisory Groups The Veterans Administration and many individual states chartered Advisory Groups to provide guidance for the establishment of programs. In 1981, the Federal government formed the 12-Agency Agent Orange Working Group. Unsatisfactory Resolution Despite the success of the above litigation action, veterans have been unsuccessful in obtaining compensation for dioxin exposure from the Federal government. Congressionally-Mandated Action In December 1979, Public Law 96-151 required the conduct of epidemiologic studies of Vietnam veterans. In November 1981, Public Law 97-72 authorized the Veterans Administration -to provide eligible veterans medical care and treatment for illness possibly related to Agent. Orange/Dioxin exposure. In October 1984, Public Law 98-542 was enacted that required VA to.compensate veterans or their survivors for disabilities or death related by sound scientific and medical evidence to dioxin exposure. �documentary about the herbicide's possible effects on health. The idea spread like wildfire among veterans' groups; here at last was a tangible cause for all their discontents. Each claim filed generated more newspaper stories which generated further claims, until the present fervid atmosphere had been created. CONCLUSION Neither the government nor the scientific community has resolved the numerous environmental, medical, and political issues surrounding the dioxin controversy. Unfortunately, Federal Agency positions on the hazards associated with dioxin are either not well defined or not uniformly accepted, thus perpetuating the controversy. continue The scientific community must to conduct valid research on pertinent environmental and health- related issues to provide a reliable basis for appropriate decision making. REFERENCES 1. Budd, M.L., N.S. Hayner, H.E.B. Humphrey, J.R. Isbister, H. Price, M.S. Reizen, G. van Amburg, and K.R. Wilcox, Jr. 1978. Polybrominated biphenyl exposure - Michigan. Morb. Mort. 27(14):115-116, 121. 2. CAST. 1979. A plague on our children. Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, Report No. 81. 17p. Headquarters Office: Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, 10. 50010. 3. Culhane, J. 1980. PCBs: The poison that won't go away. Reader's Digest 117(704):112-116. 4. Devlin, R.M. 8(4):322-325. 5. Ember L.R. 1980. Uncertain science pushes Love Canal solutions to political, legal arenas. Chem. Eng. News 58(32):22-29. 6. Hammond, A.L. 1972. Chemical pollution: phenyls. Science 175:156-157. 7. Kurtis, B. 1978. "Agent Orange: Vietnam's Deadly Fog". Transcript of a television documentary aired 12 March 1978, WBBM-TV, Chicago, IL. 30pp. 8. Wade, N. 1980. 1974. DDT: A renaissance? Environ. Sci. Technol. Polychlorinated bi- Mythopoiesis. Protest TIBS, June 1980, p". VIII. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange Description An account of the resource The Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange comprises 120 linear feet and spans the late 1800s to 2005; however, the bulk of the coverage is from the 1960s to the 1980s and there are many undated items. The collection was donated to Special Collections of the National Agricultural Library in 1985 by Dr. Alvin L. Young (1942- ). Dr. Young developed the collection as he conducted extensive research on the military defoliant Agent Orange. The collection is in good condition and includes letters, memoranda, books, reports, press releases, journal and newspaper clippings, field logs and notebooks, newsletters, maps, booklets and pamphlets, photographs, memorabilia, and audiotapes of an interview with Dr. Young. For more about this collection, <a href="/exhibits/speccoll/exhibits/show/alvin-l--young-collection-on-a">view the Agent Orange Exhibit.</a> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Box The box containing the original item. 054 Folder The folder containing the original item. 1435 Series The series number of the original item. Series III Subseries II Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Young, Alvin L. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1985-09-01 Title A name given to the resource Social Controversy and the Dioxin Question Subject The topic of the resource public opinion popular press Agent Orange controversy ao_seriesIII https://www.nal.usda.gov/exhibits/speccoll/files/original/94998d48d88e24e967200484d51a035b.pdf ce9a6592ff0870db529e68b404556a5b PDF Text Text Item ID Number 01493 Author Youn 9>A L Corporato Author Roport/Artldo TitlO Typescript: Chapter 1: Agent Orange at the Crossroads of Science and Social Concerns, Introduction Journal/Book Title Yoar 000 ° Month/Day Color [l Number of Images e DOSCrlptOI) NOtBS This manuscript is a draft version of a chapter or section from the following book: Agent Orange and its Associated Dioxin: Assessment of a Controversy. Young, A. L. and G. M. Reggiani, eds. New York: Elsevier, 1988. This book is available in the NAL collection, call no.: RA1242 T44 A3. This item gives a good overview of the Agent Orange Controversy and the political issues around it. Tuesday, May 15, 2001 Page 1493 of 1514 �CHAPTER 1 "AGENT ORANGE AT THE CROSSROADS OF SCIENCE AND SOCIAL CONCERNS" INTRODUCTION A. L. Young and G. Reggiani For almost two decades, the United States has been involved in controversy over its tactical use of herbicides in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam Conflict. The controversy centered first on the actual employment of herbicides in South Vietnam, then on the safe disposal of surplus herbicide following the Conflict, and lastly whether herbicides were responsible for health problems reported among Vietnam veterans. The use of chemicals (herbicides) to control vegetation has been one of the most controversial subjects arising from the Vietnam Conflict. The United States Air Force applied most of these herbicides in jungle areas to clear vegetation from the perimeters of military bases and camps, along lines of communication, and in enemy staging areas. The objective was to provide defoliated zones that would reduce ambushes and disrupt enemy tactics. The most commonly used "defoliant" was "Agent Orange", a mixture of two commercial herbicides widely employed for a number of years in brush control programs throughout the United States and other countries. During a five-year period from 1965 to 1970, the United States Air Force applied more than 42 million liters of Agent Orange in South Vietnam, and some 2.5 million military personnel from the �- 2- United States, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea served one-year tours during the same period. Beginning in 1978, many veterans of that era have reported medical problems that they believed stemmed from exposure to Agent Orange during their military assignements. Their complaints have ranged from tingling in the extremities to rare forms of cancer. Some veterans had fathered children with birth defects. But overwhelming scientific data on the toxicology of chemical components in Agent Orange do not substantiate these claims. Nevertheless, the news media has given intense sympathetic coverage to the veterans and their medical complaints. In the meantime, the governments of the United States and Australia have mobilized the massive resources of their federal agencies to conduct multimillion dollar, long-term studies of military personnel allegedly exposed to herbicides in South Vietnam from 1962 to 1970. The issue is whether actual or perceived health problems stem from herbicide exposure or whether other factors drive the controversy. Two key questions must be considered in reviewing present concerns over Agent Orange. First, why did the Agent Orange issue surface 10 years after it was used in Vietnam? Second, what criteria can be used to insure an objective analysis of such a complex, controversial, and politically sensitive subject? One answer to the first question may be that presumed health effects from exposure to the herbicide did not appear, or at least, were not diagnosed among Vietnam veterans until late in the 1970's. Another possible answer is that the general public and Congress only lately recognized the concerns of Vietnam veterans, and Agent Orange is only a vehicle to focus those concerns. Certainly, the acrimony and bitterness over involvement in Vietnam drove most Americans to repress memories of that war. As a result, they have tended either to ignore veterans of the Vietnam era or to relegate to a lesser status than veterans of other wars. Certainly the longing for respectability of Vietnam �- 3 - veterans have coincided with increasing American and world-wide interest in health and environmental issues. Thus, the controversy surrounding Agent Orange has surfaced primarily because it involves the veterans and herbicides, both of which have been the center of controversy since they were employed in Vietnam. Much of the controversy concerning Agent Orange is attributable to concern over its toxic dioxin contaminant 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). A large volume of toxicological data on 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), the two herbicides in Agent Orange, were available during the final years of United States involvment in Vietnam, but woefully inadequate toxicological and environmental data on TCDD precluded resolution of the issues. Although scientists recognized that TCDD was acutely toxic and teratogenic (birth deforming) in laboratory animals, no studies were available on the effects of chronic longterm, low-level exposure in lower mammalian species. Furthermore, numerous occupational exposures to TCDD were reported during the industrial production of trichlorophenol, but. human epiderniologic studies were not available despite documented exposure as early as 1949. To further complicate the Agent Orange controversy, during the 1970s a number of major chemical episodes occurred that fueled the issues. In July 1976, the Seveso Accident occurred wherein a small Italian community became contaminated with TCDD as a consequence of an accidental release of reactor products from the synthesis of trichlorophenol. The following years, the controversy surrounding the Love Canal made front page news throughout the United States and Europe. This was subsequently followed by the evacuation of Times Beach, Missouri, as a result of the dioxin contamination from the improper disposition of chemical wastes. �- 4- All of these episodes, conbined with the regulatory response of the United States Federal Agencies resulted in further commitment of national and state resources to adress the human and environmental impact of dipxin and the phenoxy herbicides. The scientific resolution of the Agent Orange controversy presumable rests with the results of human epidemiologic studies assessing the long-term effects of exposure to TCDD and whether the veterans' complaints are consistent with the data. Of course, one major as sumption would necessarly be that military personnel reporting health effects were, in fact, exposed to Agent Orange and, hence, to TCDD during their tours in Vietnam. Regardless of any reported health effects, a valid study must include examination of all facets of the controversy. This requirement poses a dilemma in any attempt to answer the second question because objective analysis depends on such an examination, but there are simply no models available for analyzing environmental health issues. In a subsequent chapter of this book, Young, proposes that the examination of environmental crises involving other chemicals can provide a useful parallel for analyzing the Agent Orange controversy. Accordingly, he suggests that there are a series of events that describe the nature of "quality of life" controversies and that these are predictable events. Hence, the chapters and topics of this book are intended to elucidate such characteristics as adequacy of the scientific data and assessement of the political, social and legal issues of the Agent Orange Controversy. It is appropriate that we adress these components of the controversy at this time because much, if not most, of the information necessary to make informed judgements is now available. In addition, certain actions of the courts in the United States, Italy, and Australia, have taken action that have a significant impact on the final outcome of the controversy. �- 5- On May 9, 1985 the district court for the Eastern District of New York rendered the final judgement on the largest class action lawsuit in American legal history, i.e., the Agent Orange product liability litigation. The central issue of the case was "the ability of the plaintiffs to demonstrate the necessary causal connection between the exposure of the veterans to Agent Orange and the subsequent development of a variety of ailments". In the final judgement it was concluded that the incidence provided by the plaintiffs "lacks sufficient probative force, except in the case of chloracne, to permit a finding of general causality". On July 31st, 1985 the Australian Royal Commission on the use and effects of chemical agents on Autralian personnel in Vietnam, presented its final report of inquiry to the Governor General. The report concluded that neither Agent Orange nor the chemical agents used to defoliate battle zones in Vietnam have any causal connection with the ailments of the Australian Vietnam veterans. At about the same time (May 1985) the Court of Appeal of Milan, Italy, revised the first judgement on the defendants in the Seveso case largely accepting their claims and the International Steering Committee for the study of the effects on health of the Seveso accident concluded its work stating that "nearly 8 years after the accident in Seveso it has become obvious that besides chloracne in a very small group of children, no adverse health effects related to the chemical produced by the accident have been oberwed". These events prompted us to ask the question whether the outcome of the judiciary assessements of the Agent Orange issues and the conclusions of the International Advisory Committee steering the health surveys of the Seveso population exposed to dioxin could be taken as a landmark also for the other aspects of the same issue, i.e., the medical and scientific, the social and political issues associated with it. �- 6- We thought may be the time had arrived for trying to come to a conclusion of a controversy which has been at the center of concern of million of people and of the governments of several nations of the western world, beside having affected and changed the course of our personal life for more than 10 years. Hence we readily accepted and greatly appreciated the offer of the Toxicology Forum to present an assessement of the controversial issues related to Agent Orange and Dioxin in the light of our present knowledge at the Summer Meeting in Aspen, July 1985 and at the Winter Meeting in Washington in February 1986. We are aware of the difficulties of the task which we have set for us. In our quest of truth we have approached the issue of the Agent Orange controversy and its association with Dioxin with hunrilty, conscious of the impact it has on human lives. However we tried to remain faithful 1 to the rules of the scientific tradition of research that requires unequivocal proof of cause and effect relationship in its experimental models. In the choice of the contributors we have looked not only for professional competence but also for qualities such as reason, logic and objectivity. We trust that all of us as well as the selected audience of the Toxicology Forum which discussed the presentations have been accurate and unbiased. The future will tell whether in fact the conclusions of the New York district court and of the Royal Commission of Inquiry mark the end of the Agent Orange controversy. It is our fervent hope for all concerned that this will be the case. However already now we would like to acknowledge the help, advice, and support we have received from so many scientists and scholars. Without their suggestions, their sympathy, their goodwill and competence we would not have been, able to put togheter an adequate account of the Agent Orange controversy. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange Description An account of the resource The Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange comprises 120 linear feet and spans the late 1800s to 2005; however, the bulk of the coverage is from the 1960s to the 1980s and there are many undated items. The collection was donated to Special Collections of the National Agricultural Library in 1985 by Dr. Alvin L. Young (1942- ). Dr. Young developed the collection as he conducted extensive research on the military defoliant Agent Orange. The collection is in good condition and includes letters, memoranda, books, reports, press releases, journal and newspaper clippings, field logs and notebooks, newsletters, maps, booklets and pamphlets, photographs, memorabilia, and audiotapes of an interview with Dr. Young. For more about this collection, <a href="/exhibits/speccoll/exhibits/show/alvin-l--young-collection-on-a">view the Agent Orange Exhibit.</a> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Box The box containing the original item. 056 Folder The folder containing the original item. 1493 Series The series number of the original item. Series III Subseries II Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Young, Alvin L. G. Reggiani Title A name given to the resource Typescript: Chapter 1: Agent Orange at the Crossroads of Science and Social Concerns, Introduction Subject The topic of the resource Agent Orange Controversy dioxin litigation ao_seriesIII https://www.nal.usda.gov/exhibits/speccoll/files/original/f0b8dceec6057ea86d8e6745763d22a3.pdf b8ad093d56a7d8cfbd3c34c4689db50f PDF Text Text Item ID Number 01502 Author Young, A. L. Corporate Author Report/Article Title Typescript: Chapter 15: Conclusions and Implications for the Future Journal/Book Title Year 000 ° Month/Day Color n Number of Images 7 DOSCrlptOn NOtOS This manuscript is a draft version of a chapter or section from the following book: Agent Orange and its Associated Dioxin: Assessment of a Controversy. Young, A. L. and G. M. Reggiani, eds. New York: Elsevier, 1988. This book is available in the NAL collection, call no.: RA1242 T44 A3. Tuesday, May 15, 2001 Page 1502 of 1514 �CHAPTER 15 "AGENT ORANGE IS JUST TOO POTENT A DEMON TO BE EXORCISED BY SCIENTIFIC FACT: IT MUST BE PROPITIATED." CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FUTURE A. L. YOUNG AND G. REGGIANI As noted in the introductory chapter, it is OUT premise that the Agent Orange Controversy involves more than just the examination and interpretation of scientific data. Indeed, it is clearly a "quality of life" issue, an issue full of human emotion, drama and tragedy. The scientific issues are complex, but careful health surveillance programs and epidemiological studies provide us with an understanding of the human toxicologic issues. It is, however, beyond the scientist to assess the human impact of having participated in a confusing and frightening war more than a decade ago in a tropical environment thousands of miles from home. Many hands have worked at producing, developing, and taking to a resolution the controversy which surrounds Agent Orange. There is a never-ending list of books, articles, newsree.ls, television broadcasts, scientific papers and reports that have dealt with this fascinating and, at the same time, frustrating topic, fascinating because it has challenged the most skilled, and educated minds to understand and disentangle the riddle of an extremely experimental toxicity of a chemical which seems to be hardly toxic for man, and frustrating because the perception of its risk for mankind has always been fraught with so many emotional, and psychological, social, and political aspects which have made it almost impossible to come to a definition of risk and therefore to a resolution which would be satisfactory for all involved. 15: 1 �The perception and the level of acceptance of this risk have changed continuously during the past twenty years and are still a matter of dispute. In this book we have made an attempt to take the matter from the very moment when Agent Orange was first produced and used in tactical military programs in the 1960's to the events which in 1985 crowned the twenty years of the controversy about its use and the consequences caused, or allegedly related to its use. Each chapter has offered a piece of the whole picture, starting with Agent Orange's use in Vietnam for military purposes, through the identification of the dioxin contaminant, followed then by the first reaction to the contaminant's subsequent involvement in other episodes. From a localized and rather illogical source the issue has spread wider and wider and has finally involved, the best resources, time, work, skill, facilities, and experience of the whole nation. The dominant role played by the media in the controversy began in the late 1960's and early 1970's and was characterized by exploitation of all unfavorable news about the Vietnam war. The use of Agent. Orange and other herbicides was a ready target for adverse coverage by the press. Unfortunately, attempts by the media to exploit unfavorable news adversely affected American attitudes toward Vietnam veterans. Ten years after Agent Orange was used in Vietnam, the media continued to criticize, exaggerate, and emotionalize the use of herbicides in jungle warfare, but, in this instance, they played, reverse roles by casting Vietnam veterans in the image of victims. Emotional role playing by the national news media has had tragic consequences for the American and Australian people in a number of ways. It has undermined national unity and 15: 2 �morale by promoting unfounded fears of a cancer epidemic, of increases in the number of children born with defects, and misguided ideas of a "risk-free" society. The loss of perspective in this issue has led to irresponsible and unwarranted action, e.g., prohibition or restriction of the use of herbicides in agriculture. But, perhaps the most serious consequence of the intense media campaign has been its negative impact on. the Vietnam veterans, many of whom have been led to believe that Agent Orange and dioxin adversely affected their health and the lives of their children. The emotional impact of this fear campaign on the veteran and his family has been severe. The chapter on the state of our knowledge of the animal toxicology limits itself to only a minimal part of the huge amount of work which has been carried out in the best toxicology centers and. laboratories of this nation and of many other nations, too. It tolls us that many aspects of the mechanism through which the contaminant of Agent Orange, dioxin, affects the organism are still unknown or not yet understood. If many questions have been answered, many others still puzzle our minds, and we do not know where and what to look at for filling the gaps. The chapter on epidemiology makes once again clear to all of us how limited are our possibilities to find the evidence of an effect on human health when we cannot fix ourselves the dose at. which a man has been exposed to the chemical as well as the time, duration and conditions of the exposure. Furthermore, it points out once again the difficulties in assessing whether a baseline condition of the human pathology (cancer, birth defects, abortions, infertility) has been modified if the effect does not significantly change the basic incidence and frequency of that, pathology. It tells us also how long it takes to 15: 3 �plan, organize, carry out and evaluate epidemiological studies. It tells us finally that ten epidemiological studies and five health control studies are still under way and that it will be many more years before we can know their outcome. Science, therefore, has still not provided the final answer for bringing to closure the Agent Orange controversy. Even so, the answers which have been made available up to this moment have provided to other forces of society the means to move on and make some very important decisions. The political and judiciary institutions of this and other countries have decided which health damages possibly related, to exposure to Agent Orange can entitle the Vietnam veterans to compensation and have judged that the producers of Agent Orange have no legal liability for its use in the Vietnam War. The role of the judiciary, e.g., the Australian Royal Commission of Inquiry, has been of outstanding importance for the scientific world in connection with the case of soft tissue sarcoma and its association with dioxin which was raised by several Swedish reports beginning in 1979. This association is fixed in the minds of many, including Congress, and clearly all scientists examining the dioxin problem and the episode of exposure to dioxin have had to account for this rare type of tumor, which in the United States has a death rate of 0.07 per cent. The judiciary, with its cross-examination procedure and direct confrontation of the ways and methods used by the authors for the assessment of their cases, took the function of the "science courts" of ancient notion. The additional evidence obtained directly from the scientists who found the association showed that many of their published statements were exaggerated or not supportable, that in their 15: 4 �assessments there were many opportunities for bias which had been ignored, and that these biases have been introduced in the collection of their data. The Royal Commission showed that their conclusion could not stand a logical and objective examination and had to be rejected. Moreover, it clearly showed that there are criteria that one can apply in closing off a scientific issue, i.e., the issue of the association of soft tissue sarcoma with dioxin. In the opinion of one expert in cancer epidemiology known the world over, Sir Richard Doll, which was submitted to the Judge of the Australian Royal Commission in December, 1985, "the work of these authors should no longer be cited as scientific evidence." To complete the picture we have added for the reader the stories of four episodes of dioxin exposure, each one adding to the whole picture by reporting different conditions of and different approaches to the same issue. Agent Orange is indeed at the crossroads of science and social concern. Resolution of the controversy must come through a process that separates factual, scientific elements from social and political considerations. Once the scientific aspect is clearly defined, the issues can be partially assessed in the legal arena, but eventually they are seen as critical differences in value systems that too frequently place scientists, government officials, and individual citizens in adversary relations. In a free, democratic society, the public must eventually understand the truth and make the final decisions on issues relating to the quality of life. Thus, the key for us has been to help provide a basis for decision making. 15: 5 �It. remains for us to express our opinion on the dispute that has offered too many contrasting and ever-changing aspects. First of all, did the controversy have any scientific, technical, political, or social reason to become, nationally and internationally, a most remarkable subject of concern during the last twenty-five years? This, we believe, is a moot question which nobody can decide. It has been, and to a certain extent still is, a part of our life which has to be accepted and respected both for itself arid for the contrasts and emotions, honest work and efforts which it has enticed in this arid in other nations. It could be argued that, with the state of our present information, the meaning of the Agent Orange controversy has been exaggerated and that dioxin today can be considered a matter of questionable importance, It could also be argued, consequently, that further investments in terms of manpower, facilities, time, and money to obtain a deeper and wider knowledge of the risks and hazards posed by dioxin are not justified anymore because they would not take us to a better understanding of the problem or that the advantage obtained would be minimal and not proportioned to the efforts required. It should be said at this point that one must distinguish between the Agent, Orange and the dioxin issues. While it is true that no more studies are required beyond those already running on Agent Orange-exposed Army and Air Force personnel, this does not apply to dioxin. If the Agent Orange controversy on one side has been settled in Congress and the courtrooms, the dioxin controversy is still very much alive and a source of great concern to the public. By dioxin controversy we mean, that today we know that the dioxin which was the contaminant of Agent Orange, as well as all other dioxins belonging to the same chemical class, are a part of our environment. 15: 6 �Sizable amounts of these dioxins and of TCDD, as well, occur as a fallout of combustion elements and are part of a bioaccumulation process in the fish of the Great Lakes region, and elsewhere, and are therefore part of our food. We are not. aware of any acute effect on the health of populations exposed to the dioxins either in the U.S. or in any other parts of the world. What we do know is that dioxins are a part of the group of chemicals which we are absorbing one way or the other in our bodies and that this is not an acute, occasional, accidental, or occupational kind of exposure, but a protracted, chronic exposure to quantities which are certainly minimal but for which the effects on our physiological functions and on our organs cannot be excluded and of which practically nothing is known. It is therefore understandable that public concern and concern of the scientific and political institutions has focused on the potential implications of the dioxins for our health. The issue, therefore, is not the Agent Orange controversy but the broader issues of how to assess risks and estimate the hazards to people caused by the chemical which has given such a dimension to the Agent Orange controversy, namely, the 2 , 3,7,8--tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). Historians are not part of the process of risk assessment, Their function is to relate events accurately, without dramatizing certain facts and underestimating others. Historians must collect and put events in a certain perspective to provide the student of the past with the witnesses and the information which should help him in his judgment and equip him with the available tools for his task and profession. This is what this book is about. And if it accomplishes what it was meant to do, our labor has been well spent. 15: 7 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange Description An account of the resource The Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange comprises 120 linear feet and spans the late 1800s to 2005; however, the bulk of the coverage is from the 1960s to the 1980s and there are many undated items. The collection was donated to Special Collections of the National Agricultural Library in 1985 by Dr. Alvin L. Young (1942- ). Dr. Young developed the collection as he conducted extensive research on the military defoliant Agent Orange. The collection is in good condition and includes letters, memoranda, books, reports, press releases, journal and newspaper clippings, field logs and notebooks, newsletters, maps, booklets and pamphlets, photographs, memorabilia, and audiotapes of an interview with Dr. Young. For more about this collection, <a href="/exhibits/speccoll/exhibits/show/alvin-l--young-collection-on-a">view the Agent Orange Exhibit.</a> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Box The box containing the original item. 056 Folder The folder containing the original item. 1502 Series The series number of the original item. Series III Subseries II Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Young, Alvin L. G. Reggiani Title A name given to the resource Typescript: Chapter 15: Conclusions and Implications for the Future Subject The topic of the resource Agent Orange Controversy popular press ao_seriesIII https://www.nal.usda.gov/exhibits/speccoll/files/original/a04eb3ae68fb1f131b3d8fc5adbd796d.pdf f3187e9e7ad06e38dba68389a402f4b3 PDF Text Text Item D Number °2104 Author Young', Alvin L. Corporate Author Report/Article HtlB Letter: From Alvin L. Young to Justice Phillip Evatt regarding the final report of the Royal Commission on the Use and Effects of Chemical Agents on Australian Personnel in Vietnam Journal/Book Title Year Month/Day Color Number of Images DBSCripton NOtBS Augustas D 1 See ltem 1444 for Gou 9n's article as referred to in the letter and Items 2078 to 2086 for the Final Report Tuesday, August 21, 2001 Page 2104 of 2109 �EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY WASHINGTON, D.C. 20506 August 28, 1987 Dear Justice Evatt: I wish to call your attention to a recent article published in the National Academy of Sciences' Journal ISSUES IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. The article, titled "Environmental Epidemiology: Separating Politics and Sciences", was authored by Dr. Michael Gough, a former Senior Associate with the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment. In his article (copy attached, pg. 27) Dr. Gough noted, in discussing the concerns of the United States Congress for the Vietnam veteran via a mandated epidemiologic study, that the origins of the Agent Orange study were obviously political and social. Hence, he stated: "I believe it is poor policy to conduct science for purely political reasons. The better response is to deal with the social and scientific problems separately". The key, Gough concludes, is to know when science cannot provide the answer and when a political decision must be made instead. In reflecting back to the Final Report of your "Royal Commission on the Use and Effects of Chemical Agents on Australian Personnel in Vietnam", it is apparent that you recognized the limits to which Agent Orange was a science problem. Indeed, I believe you correctly concluded that Agent Orange was but a symptom of a larger problem--our society's inability to deal compassionately with the Vietnam veteran. I hope your Commission's Report has led the way to settling the difficult issues of re-adjustment by both the Vietnam Veteran and the Australian Public. I wish to again express my appreciation for the opportunities we have had, in both Australia and the United States, to meet and express our joint concerns for the courageous men who served our countries during the Vietnam Conflict. Sincerely, Alvin L. Young, Senior Policy Analyst for Life Sciences The Honorable Justice Phillip Evatt Royal Commissioner c/o Selborne Chambers 174 Phillip Street Sydney 2000, Australia � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange Description An account of the resource The Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange comprises 120 linear feet and spans the late 1800s to 2005; however, the bulk of the coverage is from the 1960s to the 1980s and there are many undated items. The collection was donated to Special Collections of the National Agricultural Library in 1985 by Dr. Alvin L. Young (1942- ). Dr. Young developed the collection as he conducted extensive research on the military defoliant Agent Orange. The collection is in good condition and includes letters, memoranda, books, reports, press releases, journal and newspaper clippings, field logs and notebooks, newsletters, maps, booklets and pamphlets, photographs, memorabilia, and audiotapes of an interview with Dr. Young. For more about this collection, <a href="/exhibits/speccoll/exhibits/show/alvin-l--young-collection-on-a">view the Agent Orange Exhibit.</a> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Box The box containing the original item. 084 Folder The folder containing the original item. 2104 Series The series number of the original item. Series III Subseries IV Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Young, Alvin L. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource August 28 1987 Title A name given to the resource Letter: From Alvin L. Young to Justice Phillip Evatt regarding the final report of the Royal Commission on the Use and Effects of Chemical Agents on Australian Personnel in Vietnam Subject The topic of the resource Australian Royal Commission hearings Agent Orange controversy ao_seriesIII https://www.nal.usda.gov/exhibits/speccoll/files/original/55b8643292873aa1aa79b882bfed13e2.pdf 0b712c78e910d3b3a7034401a7a38d4b PDF Text Text Item ID Number: ooiss Author Corporate Author Press Release: Secretary Schweiker's "New" Data Turns Out to Be "Old" Data, September 24, 1981 Journal/Book Title Year Month/Day Number of Imaoes 2 DBSCriptOR Notes Press release about an announcement made by G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery, Chairman, U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Veterans' Affairs regarding a press conference given by Secretary Schweiker of the Department of Health and Human Services. Friday, January 05, 2001 Page 188 of 194 �FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Ralph Casteel 225-915i SECRETARY SCHVEIKER'S "NEW" DATA TURNS -OUT TO BE "OLD" DATA The Chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee of the U. S. House of Representatives, G. V. (Sonny) Montgomery (D-Miss.). announced this morning that Secretary Schweiker of the Department of Health and Human Services has needlessly caused undue alarm and concern by his press conference yesterday on supposedly new data that had been brought to his attention pertaining to "aerial dumping of herbicides" on American troops in Vietnam. The "new data" had been made public more than a year ago — September 16, 1980 — by Department of the Air Force witnesses before the Subcommittee on Medical Facilities and Benefits of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. The record of this hearing was published. A representative of the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services served as Chairman of an Interagency Work Group appointed to study the adverse effects of phenoxy herbicides, including Agent Orange, In humans and was a witness at the same hearing in which this "new data" was announced. Chairman Montgomery said, "I regret that Secretary Schweiker did not check with his staff concerning the disclosure of this information at our Committee hearing last year. It serves no useful purpose to hold press conferences such as that held yesterday by the Secretary. Such procedures at the highest level of government obviously cause much emotional upheaval for Vietnam veterans and their families and for my colleagues and others who are doing everything possible to determine whether there are long-term health effects due to exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides used in Vietnam." �Montgomery said, "I intend to take this matter up with Secretary Schueiker personally, and I hope he will begin to work with the Congress, the Veterans Administration ai;d others in a concerted effort to resolve these problems rather than going off on his own with press announcements that serve no useful purpose. I will ask him to join all of us in the Congress who are working diligently to resolve this complex issue and to join in supporting congressional initiatives contained in H. R. 3499 that will provide health, education and employment benefits for all Vietnam veterans. results." September 24, 1981 Working together will hopefully bring about positive � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange Description An account of the resource The Alvin L. Young Collection on Agent Orange comprises 120 linear feet and spans the late 1800s to 2005; however, the bulk of the coverage is from the 1960s to the 1980s and there are many undated items. The collection was donated to Special Collections of the National Agricultural Library in 1985 by Dr. Alvin L. Young (1942- ). Dr. Young developed the collection as he conducted extensive research on the military defoliant Agent Orange. The collection is in good condition and includes letters, memoranda, books, reports, press releases, journal and newspaper clippings, field logs and notebooks, newsletters, maps, booklets and pamphlets, photographs, memorabilia, and audiotapes of an interview with Dr. Young. For more about this collection, <a href="/exhibits/speccoll/exhibits/show/alvin-l--young-collection-on-a">view the Agent Orange Exhibit.</a> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Box The box containing the original item. 017 Folder The folder containing the original item. 0188 Series The series number of the original item. Series II Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Press Release: Secretary Schweiker's "New" Data Turns Out to Be "Old" Data, September 24, 1981 Subject The topic of the resource government publicity DHHS agent orange controversy