Agent Orange Research Paper

Health is considered as one of the most precious assets of a human. A person in the pink of health shall have more opportunities in his life than one who suffers from many harmful sicknesses. It is true that a strong, healthy body can make us be happy, vigor and enthusiastic to accomplish our works perfectly and to enjoy a far more cheerful, longer life. Viewed from different angles, we cannot deny that health is the basis of success, and the loss of health is the loss of everything. As A.J Reb Materi once said, “So many people spend their health gaining wealth, and then have to spend their wealth to regain their health” (n.d.), many of us have lately been in the face of a great number of problems regarding taking great care of our golden health.

During the wartime (1962-1971), the U.S military carried out a massive program of chemical warfare, Operation Ranch Hand, to largely demolish the forest which covered and provided food for Viet Cong troops and North Vietnamese army (cited in “Agent Orange”, History.com staff, 2011).There is no denial that this action has affected Vietnamese people severely, resulting in two main consequences: Agent Orange and Down Syndrome. Basically, the name “Agent Orange” comes from “the colored marks on the 55-gallon drums in which the chemicals were shipped and stored” (cited in “Agent Orange”, History.com staff, 2011). Agent Orange is composed of 2,4-dichloro-phenoxyacetic acid, 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid and contains traces of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) (). Undoubtedly, the affection of this defoliant was extremely drastic. Because it contains dioxin in the form of TCDD, this herbicide has both the immediate and long-term effects. Dioxin lasts for many years in the natural environment, destroys the food chain and accumulates in fatty tissue in the bodies of fish, birds and other animals. Short-term exposure to dioxin can darken the skin and cause immune system dysfunction, nerve disorders, muscular dysfunction, hormone disruption and heart disease (cited in “Agent Orange”, History.com staff, 2011). More than 40 years after the

Since the event of Agent Orange, the whole world has united and sent lots of love to both Vietnam and the victims. The first action was taken by the USA when they decided to make amends for the loss of the country. The Government of two countries has negotiated annually as part of the Joint Advisory Committee to find relevant solutions. Since 2007, the US Congress has paid $170 million as compensation to Vietnam and this amount has been raised steadily over 7 years with $37 million allocated in 2016 ( ). The money aims at taking care of the victims and their family, as well as, recovering the natural environment of Viet Nam. Moreover, the Vietnamese Government continued to treat victims with detoxification method developed by the founder of the Church of Scientology (). Following the successful projects, the two nations had continually decided on purification project with the help of scientific products. In 2015, Treatment of Phase I soil was introduced and successfully helped to reduce dioxin within 150 ppt range and Treatment of Phase II soil was carried out a year later (). Vietnamese people have also tried to help their compatriot. Showing love to the victims and providing precious information through propagandizing are some of the ways that we have carried out to contribute to the country’s prior