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Essay On Agent Orange In Vietnam

698 Words3 Pages

The Vietnam war, one of the most devastating conflicts in U.S history. It had more than 55,000 American casualties, a lot of pain and suffering, and it also costed over $150 billion. Decades later it still brings pain and suffering to not only the Vietnamese but also to the families of the soldiers. These are the effects of agent orange. One of the most controversial decisions made in the war was to use chemicals to fight the enemy. The most broadly used chemical was called Agent Orange. Some people agreed with the use of Agent Orange. They saw it as a very viable weapon that needed to be used in order to keep the Communist from taking control of South Vietnam and subverting their democratic government. U.S. planes sprayed 11 million to 13 …show more content…

It had a massive environmental impact along with a huge impact on families there. Due to the persistence of the chemical dioxin, the Vietnamese living in the sprayed areas continue to inhale it and ingest it in their food. ¬According to BBC News, “there is still talk of evacuating contaminated areas a quarter of a century after the spraying stopped.” But, in 2007 President Bush pledged $3 million to help fix the contaminated …show more content…

The costs of today include medical care provided to the veterans from the VA hospital. According to History.com “In 1991, President George H.W. Bush signed into law the Agent Orange Act, which mandated that some diseases associated with defoliants be treated as the result of wartime service and helped codify the VA’s response to veterans with conditions related to their exposure to Agent Orange.” Another cost after the war was the settlement that was paid by seven chemical manufacturers for compensation to the veterans or their next of kins. This settlement went from $180 million in 1979 to $240 million in

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