M Live - Navy Vets Exposed to Agent Orange Covered by Sen. Gary Peters Bill

News Article

By Mark Tower

Agent Orange, an herbicide used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War, has been linked to health issues ranging from rashes to heart conditions and certain types of cancer.

U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, is cosponsoring legislation to expand health care benefits to Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange who served aboard deep-water naval vessels.

"Agent Orange has affected the health of thousands of service members who fought in the Vietnam War, and it is unacceptable that some are being denied health care and disability benefits for diseases resulting from their military service," Peters said.

The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2015 would enable the so-called "Blue Water" veterans to receive disability and health care benefits for diseases linked to exposure to Agent Orange.

Under current law, only veterans who served on Vietnamese soil or aboard a craft in its rivers receive presumptive coverage of illnesses linked directly to Agent Orange exposure.

"My office has heard from Michigan veterans affected by this issue, and I am proud to cosponsor this bipartisan, common-sense bill that will ensure Navy veterans who have fallen victim to Agent Orange-related conditions receive the long overdue care they have earned through their service," Peters said.

The U.S. military sprayed millions of gallons of Agent Orange, which contained dioxin, and other herbicides on trees and vegetation during the Vietnam War.

Agent Orange was manufactured for the U.S. Department of Defense primarily by Monsanto Corp. and Midland-based Dow Chemical Co. It was given its name from the color of the orange-striped barrels in which it was shipped.

Several decades later, concerns about the health effects from the chemicals continue.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs offers eligible veterans a free Agent Orange Registry health exam for possible long-term health problems related to exposure.

The statement, last updated in August 2012, admits Dow Chemical Co. was one of the companies making the product "under the compulsion of the Defense Production Act of 1950," but clarifies the product was "uniquely produced according to exacting military specifications for solely tactical use during the war."

The company's statement, which notes that Agent Orange was never made commercially available, also calls into question the link between the product and veterans' illnesses.

"Dow has great respect for the men and women who served in Vietnam and all who were affected by the war," the statement continues. "The scientific investigation of Agent Orange has gone on since the Vietnam War and continues today. The very substantial body of human evidence on Agent Orange does not establish that veterans' illnesses are caused by Agent Orange."

In 2010, a study by the Institute of Medicine cited exposure to Agent Orange resulted in an increased chance of developing serious heart problems and Parkinson's disease. A 1990 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed Vietnam veterans had a rate of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma 50 percent higher than the general population.

In 1991, Congress passed a law requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide presumptive coverage to Vietnam veterans with illnesses that the Institute of Medicine has directly linked to Agent Orange exposure.

However, in 2002 the VA determined that it would only cover Veterans who could prove that they had orders for "boots on the ground" during the Vietnam War, excluding thousands of sailors serving aboard Navy ships.

In 2005, the VA's former director of environmental agents service, Dr. Mark Brown, publicly said there was no scientific basis for the exclusion of Blue Water Vietnam veterans.

In an article in the Journal of Law and Policy, Brown wrote, "Science does not back up the VA's policy on the Navy."

A May 2011 report by the Institute of Medicine established several "plausible routes" for Agent Orange exposure through the water distillation process aboard Navy ships and through the air.

The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act would clarify existing law so that veterans would be fully covered if they served within the "territorial seas," or approximately 12 miles offshore of Vietnam.

Peters, a former officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve, previously co-sponsored similar legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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