Effects of Agent Orange? (Disturbing photo)

[BurtWorm]

I am stunned by this photograph. I thought it was Photoshopped or a computer image of another kind when I first saw it.






Xuan Minh, 3, looks out from his bed at the Tu Du Hospital in Ho Chi Min city on Friday March 25,2005, suffering from what is believed to be the effects of the jungle defoliant Agent Orange, used heavily in the region by the U.S. armed forces during the Vietnam War. Vietnam celebrates the end of hostilities on April 30, 2005, marking 30 years since war in Vietnam ended. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

[underpants]

1. I've seen that for the last three days

amazing just amazing.

And so sad.

[MountainLaurel]

2. Another proud American legacy

That the government refuses to deal with. 'Cause after all, those aren't white Christian babies being born with deformities and rare cancers.

:grr:

[H2O Man]

8. Actually the compound

known as "Agent Orange" was widely used in the United States up until around 1972. Just one example would be NYSElectric & Gas used it to spray along the powerlines throughout Central New York. Obviously, it was not in the same concentrations as in Viet Nam; however, people with water supplies or gardens/lawns near the power lines were exposed to significant amounts.

About a month or so back, I posted information on a few SuperFund Sites in upstate NY. I mentioned one that went to federal court twice. (USA v AlliedSignal; 97-CV-0436) One of the issues I worked with the EPA and Justice Department on was looking for the source of a large amount of illegally dumped Agent Orange at this site. One witness I found had "indirect" knowledge about it; however, we found that both of the drivers he identified as having dumped it had since died of cancer.

Birth defects from things like dioxins and TCE do not always show up in a generation. However, it is likely that numerous cancers etc in the USA are related to "Agent Orange."

[MountainLaurel]

9. You're correct

We're seeing "Silent Spring" coming to fruition. A former coworker of mine was diagnosed in her early 20s with a rare reproductive cancer that typically only afflicts women over the age of 75. Yet so many young, young women are suffering from it that incidence is being researched. She was going through a questionnaire with a doctor when he asked about her exposure to chemicals. She at first said no, but then he probed further and specifically asked about fertilizers and insecticides. Of course, she had grown up on a farm in the Midwest. It was the first time she had ever thought of connecting her cancer to the poisons she certainly had contact with as a child.

[H2O Man]

10. It is scarey.

The SuperFund Site I referred to is outside a small hamlet in rural Delaware County, NY. For some reason, the defense industry that dumped there decided to pour the contaminated oil and degreaser fluid into the hamlet's water reservoir. The electric company dumped the dioxin a few hundred feet away from a lake. As you describe, people who are young are suffering from a wide variety of diseases. A lot of the people around this and other similar sites may have family histories with no previous cancers before perhaps age 60, and then it strikes at 40 in one generation, and 20 in the next.

[Caoimhe]

3. Poor guy

:cry:


Just how many deformed and dead children will it take before the pukes wake up?

[BurtWorm]

4. Sadly enough, it wasn't just Republicans who caused this atrocity.

There was a whole class of "the best and the brightest" on both sides of the aisle who were responsible.

[BrainRants]

5. I had to Google it myself, it's real.

More info here (WARNING: More disturbing pictures)
http://www.snopes.com/photos/medical/orange.asp

[prodigal_green]

6. Just wait for the babies of soldiers

exposed to depleted uranium.

[thecai]

12. Speaking of Babies...

...and depleted uranium, has anyone seen the photos and articles here?
http://worldmessenger.20m.com/uranium.html

[Vektor]

13. Maybe you could please post a warning about those graphic photos?

Those are some of the worst images I have ever seen - some people may not be able to handle them.

[CoffeeCat]

7. This picture is real...and I clicked on the related links...

...and learned that 150,000---YES, THAT'S 150,000 CHILDREN--suffer from the exact same deformities due to Agent Orange used by Americans.

:(

Edited to add: Here's a link to a story about Vietnamese plaintiffs who sued in the United States to recover damages from being exposed to Agent Orange. They were denied. This article sickens me beyond repair.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4336941.stm (disturbing photo in story!)

----------from the article-----
But Judge Jack Weinstein ruled there was no legal basis for their claims.

The civil action was the first attempt by Vietnamese plaintiffs to claim compensation for the effects of Agent Orange, which has been linked to a multitude of heath problems, including diabetes.

However, the chemical companies said no such link had been proved.

The defendants - including Dow Chemical and the Monsanto Corporation - also argued that the US government was responsible for how the chemical was used, not the manufacturers.

They maintained that US courts could not punish corporations for carrying out the orders of a president exercising his powers as commander-in-chief.

[Merope215]

11. The guy who developed Agent Orange

is another sad story, actually. He was a botanist, and he discovered that this combination of chemicals could make plants mature earlier, the idea being that in low doses, when applied to plants it could increase food yield.

He published his results, which included an observation that at higher doses, Agent Orange was a defoliant. Later on he found out that the military had used his research to develop Agent Orange as a weapon against the Vietnamese people.

These days he teaches bioethics. He's an old man now, full of guilt. A very sad story all around.

[Elwood P Dowd]

14. My fellow vets from Vietnam are dying from this

One passed away in the VA. Another has every ailment known to man. Both complications from exposure to Agent Orange. I was lucky and spent my two year US Army tour in the States. As our generation ages, I wonder just how many will die 10-20 years before their time. Well, at least Bush was fighting the good fight defending the border from Mexican MIGs, and Cheney was fighting off the Commies in Wyoming bars.