foodconsumer.org: Agent Orange still posing toxic threats

Agent Orange still posing toxic threats
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admin on 07/25/2009 20:53:00
 
By Sheilah Downey (sheilahd@foodconsumer.org)
The toxic timeline of Agent Orange started with the dumping of 20 million
gallons of the herbicide in the jungles of Vietnam and has since been linked to
at least seven types of cancer and other medical conditions.
Added to that list now include Parkinson's disease and heart disease. A report
from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released Friday states that exposure to
Agent Orange may give veterans an increased risk of developing Parkinson's
disease and ischemic heart disease.
The numbers aren't a surprise. An estimated 40,000 veterans with Parkinson's
disease are treated each year, according to the Department of Veteran's Affairs.
The IOM's findings might help bolster a bill proposed by Robert Filner, chairman
of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. Filner filed legislation in April
that, if passed, would force the Department of Veterans Affairs to recognize a
link between exposure of Agent Orange and Vietnam veterans with Parkinson’s
disease.
Researchers from the IOM said the study results posed limited "evidence of an
association," between the diseases and the poisons, meaning various factors
limited the certainty of the results, according to ScienceDaily.
But researchers concluded, after a review of 16 studies, that there was a
preponderence of evidence to show the toxic connection. The committee also
concluded that hairy cell leukemia can be linked to exposure to Agent Orange.
The myriad of problems associated with the toxic herbicide has been under
federal scrutiny since the Agent Orange Act was enacted by Congress in 1991. The
National Academy of Science has been directed by the Veteran's Affairs to study
the health affects of Agent Orange on Vietnam veterans since 1994.
Cancers found associated with Agent Orange include soft tissue
sarcoma,Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Hodgkin disease and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
The committee found "limited or suggestive evidence" of an association with
respiratory cancers, including lung, trachea, bronchus and larynx, and prostate
cancer and multiple myeloma, according to the American Cancer Society.