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Essay On Agent Orange In Vietnam

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The Vietnam war totaled in a number of around 550,000 deaths both military and civilian. The war was fought during the years of 1955 through 1975. The creation of Agent Orange aided in the mass number of lives that were taken and the endless amount of medical problems that accompanied being exposed to the herbicide. The different things to consider during the wrath of the Agent Orange is who came up with it, how was it was used and for what reason, and the medical health risks that came about to being exposed to the deadly chemical.
Agent Orange was a deadly herbicide whose use was changed against the greater good. The chemical contained dioxin and was used to clear trees and shrubs of the enemies. Agent Orange played a key part in attacking …show more content…

It remained toxic for only days or weeks and then degraded,[i] but it had a toxic contaminant, dioxin, that did not degrade as readily and is still causing health problems in Vietnam”(“What is Agent Orange”). Due to this it’s understood what Agent Orange is made out of and provides information as to what lead to the medical problems in the people in Vietnam and anyone affiliated with it and how long each specific chemical lasted. Just as everything has a name, Agent Orange had a story behind the naming, “More than 19 million gallons of various “rainbow” herbicide combinations were sprayed, but Agent Orange was the combination the U.S. military used most often. The name “Agent Orange” came from the orange identifying stripe used on the 55-gallon drums in which it was stored”(“Facts about Herbicides”). This helps to show how much of the chemical was sprayed, leading to a visual of how much area could have been affected. Information about how it was named and where it came from is also provided. The U.S. couldn’t just leave the weapon out in the open, therefore it needed somewhere to store it, “The U.S. Department of Defense developed

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