Makers of Agent Orange followed formula dictated by U.S. government (Dow & Monsanto)

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http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/07/22/197316/makers-of-agent-orange-followed.html



A child born without eyes, a third-generation victim of the U.S. military's use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War more than 40 years ago


Makers of Agent Orange followed formula dictated by U.S. government
By Drew Brown | McClatchy Foreign Staff
Posted on Monday, July 22, 2013

DA NANG, Vietnam — James R. Clary was a young Air Force officer and scientist who designed the spray tank for the C-123 cargo planes that dispensed Agent Orange and other herbicides during the Vietnam War.

Thirteen years after the conflict ended, with serious concerns being raised in Congress about the effects of defoliants on veterans’ health, Clary dropped a startling bombshell: Military scientists had known that herbicides shipped to Vietnam were contaminated with dioxin and had “the potential for damage” to human health.

“However, because the material was to be used on the ‘enemy,’ none of us were overly concerned,” Clary wrote to then-Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D. “We never considered a scenario in which our own personnel would become contaminated with the herbicide.”

Agent Orange was produced primarily by the Monsanto Corp. and Dow Chemical. Both companies say the defoliant was made according to strict military specifications. “The government specified the chemical composition of Agent Orange and when, where and how the material was to be used in the field, including application rates,” Monsanto says.