1 15 4 https://www.nal.usda.gov/exhibits/speccoll/files/original/5800c2ffa0da6c0c635bf2090d24c9a5.pdf a7a24799fe75deadf0fb4225fd2dd12b PDF Text Text Item ID Number 01693 Author Earley, Pete Corporate Author Report/Article TltlB A JOUrnal/BOOk Title Washington Post Year 1982 Month/Day July 5 Color Number of Images 9ent Orange Study Still on Launch Pad Ll 1 Doscrlpton Notes Monday, June 11, 2001 Page 1694 of 1793 �... A13 THE IteDERAL REPORT Agent Orange Study Still on Launch Pad By Pete Barley n PmlSurt Writer It has been three years since Congress ordered the Veterans Administration to investigate whether the use of Agent Orange and other defoliants during the Vietnam war harmed American GIs and entitled them to special compensation. The VA still hasn't launched that study. It hasn't even decided what scientific protocols or criteria the study wi'J use. VA critics, mostly Vietnam veterans, claim the agency is stalling because of VA Administrator Robert P. Nimmo's stated concern that the study could result in costs to the government of untold millions if it were to show a direct link between the military's use of toxic chemicals and GI health problems. Those daim* am -"p^HtflUIy motivated and absolutely false," said Maurice LeVois, director of the VA's Agent Orange program. "There hasnt been any foot-dragging on our part," added Dr. Vemon N. Houk, chairman of the government's main scientific panel studying Agent Orange. So far. more than 60,000 Vietnam veterans have complained to the VA of various ailments they blame on Agent Orange, including skin rashes, headaches, nausea and cancer. Some also claim Agent Orange has caused birth defects in their children. While the VA hasn't officially started the big study, the government is conducting 36 research- projects related to Agent Orange and is considering at least 12 new projects, official* said, including one that would compare the health of identical twins, one of whom served in Vietnam. Those projects are proof the government is moving as quickly at possible, officials said. While such studies may be important the VA study remains the key to determining whether the government owes special compensation to Vietnam vets. That study, officials admit, i» a long way off. Congress ordered the study after Vietnam veterans claimed the agency was indifferent to their problems, 3aid Ronald Simon, an attorney with •J» National Veterans Law Center who has been active in the Agent Orange controversy. Mistrust between Vietnam vets Uld the VA was so great that Presdent Carter formed an umbrella p-oup—the Interagency Working jfoup to Study the Possible Longterm Health Effects of Phenoxy Herbicides and Contaminants— tn Some Data Expected Next Year By the fall of 1983, the government will begin receiving preliminary data from four major studies related to Agent Orange, according to Dr. Vemon N. Houk, chairman of the government science panel that is monitoring herbicide studies. Here's a thumbnail sketch of each: • The Ranch Hand Study is a 20-year project that involves monitoring the health of 1,264 Air Force personnel who flew on herbicide spraying missions. Preliminary data will include physicals and questionnaires about the subjects' health. • The Vietnam Mortality Study does not specifically have anything to do with Agent Orange, but scientists hope that they can learn general information about Vietnam-era soldiers by comparing the death rates and causes of death of soldiers who served in Vietnam and those who served elsewhere during the same period. • The Birth Defects Study involves comparing 7,500 babies born with defects to 3,000 normal babies. Interviews will be done to see if any of the children with defects had Vietnam veterans as parents and whether those parent* came in contact with Agent Orange. • The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health is developing a registry of workers who worked in Agent Orange manufacturing plants to see if they have experienced health problems similar to those reported by Vietnam veterans. ROBERT P. NWMO ' . concerned about potential costii oversee Agent Orange studies. The group included officials from the VA and the Defense and Health and Human Services departments. "It was created to ride herd on the VA and bring it into the 20th Centalry," Simon said. Jodie Bernstein, the group's first chairman, agrees Carter formed it because of "very serious complaints about the objectivity of the VA." In retrospect, Bernstein laid, the VA's problems were not caused by, bias, but came about because the agency was unprepared to perform such a study. It did not have doctors on its staff familiar with epidemic!ogical research, she said, nor did it know how to direct such a study. Neither, apparently, did anyone else. In fact, Bernstein recalled, several government scientists claimed it would be impassible to do an accurate epidemioiogfcal survey because no one at the Pentagon seemed to know for sure how many soldiers had come into contact with Agent Orange, and to what degree. ' Bernstein and other panel members told Congress that it needed to expand its •original order by telling the VA to study the general health of all Vietnam veterans. "If their health was worse [than that of people who didn't serve in Vietnam], then we should address why it was that way, and whether the government had a responsibility to do something about that," she said. While the panel debated whether a study could be done, the VA began by the Agent Orange group. That seeking a private firm to develop doesnt mean, however, that the study protocols. When Simon's study will be underway soon. group saw the VA's plan, it sought a The UCLA protocol calls for comfederal court injunction to stop the paring two groups of Vietnam veterVA from issuing a contract The VA ans, one that was exposed to Agent plan was "unclear... a pile of gar- Orange, and one that wasnt, LeVois bage,' Simon said. The judge refused explained. That's what the VA origand the VA awarded a contract in inally wanted, but last year ConMay, 1981, for $114,288 to a re- gress—worried about the status of the search team at the University of Cal- VA study-decided that the VA could ifornia at Los Angeles. expand its mandate if it wanted. By this time, President Reagan Some VA officials now want to had taken office, reorganized the add a third group to the protocol— working group and renamed it the GIs who were not in Vietnam but Agent Orange Working Group. He who were in the military during the gave it Cabinet-level status as a sign Vietnam era. That would help the of his commitment to problems fac- VA determine whether just being in Vietnam might have caused GIs ing Vietnam vets. Reagan's actions pleased the vet- health problems. The working group will decide erans, but within weeks they were angry again. A key member of the this fall whether to add the third group, LeVois said. If it does, much UCLA team told the California legislature that the dangers posed by of the work done by the UCLA team might have to be discarded and the Agent Orange had been exaggerated in the media. Nimmo, meanwhile, study would, again, face delays. publicly compared the consequences of Agent Orange to teen-age acne and said Vietnam veto were demanding "preferential coddling." Vietnam vets again charged bias. In November, UCLA released its first protocol report The Agent Orange Working Group said it could not even be "classified as a protocol." UCLA said the VA had given it mixed signals about what it wanted. In March. UCLA returned with a revised protocol that was accepted � 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. 1693 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 Earley, Pete Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Washington Post Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource July 5 1982 Title A name given to the resource Agent Orange Study Still on Launch Pad Subject The topic of the resource Agent Orange Exposure Study IWG VA ao_seriesIII https://www.nal.usda.gov/exhibits/speccoll/files/original/f523c2f825f0466e42d4e5cdc1e3cb34.pdf d0cde50808dc1380067d0dc78158f451 PDF Text Text Item ID Number Author Corporate Author ROpOrt/ArtidO TltlO Summary of Agent Orange Data Released by Interagency Group Journal/Book TitlB Pesticide and Toxic Chemical News Year 1Q81 Month/Day February 11 Color Number of imaofls n 2 Descrlpton Notes Wednesday, May 23, 2001 Page 1561 of 1608 �February 11, 1981 Page 21 PESTICIDE & TOXIC CHEMICAL NEWS And, for Penncap-M and Penncap-E, by April 23, 1981, the registrant is to "submit an acceptable methodology for determination of the nylon-type encapsulating polymer in environmental substrates, particularly pollen and honey." The conditions were presented in a letter to the registrant from Jay S. Ellenberger, Product Manager, Insecticide-Rodenticide Branch, Registration Division, OPP, EPA. The letter stated that "substitutionof ethyl parathion data to support registration of the methyl analog or vice versa is not acceptable." The following label warning is required for Penncap-M: "Do not apply within 7 days prior to bloom or while bloom is present in the treatment area." The conditions for the Penncap E registration on sorghum allowed 18 months from registration for filing of results of numerous tests similar to those for Penncap-M, including: — A honey bee acute contact LD5Q study; a number of avian toxicity studies similar to those for Penncap-M. — A test to measure toxicity of Penncap-E residues on foliage to honey bees. Penncap E is classified for restricted use. SUMMARY OF AGENT ORANGE DATA RELEASED BY INTERAGENCY GROUP A comprehensive summary of available information on Agent Orange and its possible effects on Vietnam veterans has been released by the Interagency Work Group to Study the Possible Long-term Health Effects of Phenoxy Herbicides and Contaminants in the form.of a summary report of the Work Group's Sept. 22 public meeting. (Copies of the report are available from the Interagency Work Group, Room 716E, Hubert H. Humphrey Bldg., 200 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201.) The report includes texts of statements by Joan Z. Bernstein, Work Chair and then General Counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services, and Dr. John A. Moore, Chair of the group's Scientific Panel; summaries of statements by a dozen public participants; some 25 questions posed in writing and orally to the Work Group, with the answers given; and additional supporting information. In the Q&A there was a lengthy discussion of the credibility problems the Air Force faces in its epidemiological study of the Ranch Hands, or those who sprayed Agent Orange in Vietnam. The Work Group recommended that the Air Force conduct the study, with monitoring by an independent peer review committee. Bernstein said she "came to believe that the credibility issue was less an issue of formal conflict of interest than it was an issue of general perception of lack of credibility." She added: "In straightforward lay language, people said nobody will believe the study if the Air Force does it." �Page 22. February 11, 1981 PESTICIDE & TOXIC CHEMICAL NEWS She said the continuing peer review "was just one way in which to add some reassurance to those who continued to have a perception of lack of credibility. I did not feel that lack of credibility. But I thought it was a wise judgment to take that last step to insure continuing credibility." Major General William Augerson, of the Air Force Surgeon General's office, added: "I must say I was surprised by this idea of linking the way in which medical people in the Air Force might somehow affect the outcome of the Ranch Hand study because of some perception of the interest, or the lack of it, of the Air Force in chemical warfare. "I guess it is a form of left-handed compliment that assumes that somehow we are well enough coordinated.. .that medical people thumping chests and examining people would somehow be susceptible to influence from some of the more weapons-oriented people. I assure you that is not the case." Dr. Michael Gough of the Office of Technology Assessment said he didn't think "any agency of the government, or the government as a whole, will establish credibility if, every time a delicate and sensitive subject comes along, the government farms it out to an independent agency." Dr. David Logan of the Department of Labor's OSHA said he and others on the scientific panel were "impressed "with the "sophistication and obvious level of \/ expertise put into the development of the protocol" for the Ranch Hand study by the Air Force. This "led to a feeling that the Air Force was going to be very responsible in the conduct" of the study, he said. Statements from veterans organizations split on the issue of whether there should be a separate study by the Veterans Administration of the health status of Vietnam veterans, in addition to the congressionally-mandated study of the health effects of Agent Orange on them. Lewis Milford of the National Veterans Law Center said the Work Group recommendation "is premature and should not be implemented until the Work Group independently evaluates DOD efforts to Identify populations of ground troops" exposed to Agent Orange. John Sommer of the American Legion supported the additional study "but only with the assurance that scientific studies on the long range health effects of Agent Orange not consequently be de-emphasized." Frank McCarthy, Agent Orange Victims International, however, called for a "fullblown retrospective and prospective epldemiological study of all 2.4 million veterans (as) the true answer in terms of a study." EPA IMPOSES FREEZE ON EFFORTS OF ITS OFFICE OF PUBLIC AWARENESS EPA's acting managers have put a freeze on all publications or pamphlets and most press releases from the agency's Office of Public Awareness (OPA), according to an � 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. 058 Folder The folder containing the original item. 1560 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/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Pesticide and Toxic Chemical News Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource February 11 1981 Title A name given to the resource Summary of Agent Orange Data Released by Interagency Group Subject The topic of the resource Air Force Health Study IWG 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. 058 Folder The folder containing the original item. 1556 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 Spey, Jack Title A name given to the resource Ranch Hand Viet Nam Association Newsletter, September 29, 1980 Subject The topic of the resource Air Force Health Study IWG 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. 1317 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/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Pesticide and Toxic Chemical News Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 29 1981 Title A name given to the resource Pesticide and Toxic Chemical News Subject The topic of the resource Agent Orange Controversy VA veteran health and hygiene IWG ao_seriesIII