During much of the fighting in the Vietnam War, chemical agents were used by the United States to defoliate the landscape. Although many different chemical agents were used, the most infamous was most decidedly “Agent Orange,” one of the “Rainbow Herbicides.”
Project AGILE, Subproject VI investigated in the 1960s the use of herbicides in warfare. Corporations like DOW Chemicals and Monsanto were given the task of developing the herbicides for defoliation purposes. The chemicals developed during this time were referred to as the “Rainbow Herbicides.”
The “Rainbow Herbicides” were a collection of six formulas put into production by the United States during the Vietnam War. Agent Pink, Green, Purple, Blue, White and Orange were all especially potent defoliants designed to strip leafy cover that the guerrilla fighters depended on to remain hidden. While not especially harmful, the defoliants were contaminated with the by-product polychlorinated dibenzodioxins or dioxin. Dioxin is produced as a by-product with the active chemicals in “Agent Orange” that, in contrast, are relatively safe to humans but deadly to plants. Dioxin is extremely harmful and dangerous to humans and is listed as a carcinigen. It is widely considered a very serious pollutant and the active component in “Agent Orange’s” infamous toxicity.
The chemicals, such as “Agent Orange” were used most infamously in Vietnam as a part of “Operation Ranch Hand.” Millions of people were effected and are being effected today. It is estimated that over a half of a million Vietnamese children have been born with birth defects that can be directly attributed to dioxin poisoning, dioxin being a prime contaminant of “Agent Orange.”
Several lawsuits have been filed against DOW and Monsanto for their role in the production of the various chemical defoliants. Several lawsuits were settled out of court without an admission of liability on the corporations part. Most notably, in 1984, the represented companies paid $180 million into a fund for disabled veterans that were impacted by the use of “Agent Orange.”
The mistakes made in Vietnam reflect the important nature of the roles of chemicals in warfare and civilian life alike. Care must be taken to ensure that the effects resulted are always the same as effects intended.