The children of Veterans are the innocent victims of Agent Orange

The debate goes on and probably will until the end of time as to the effects of DIOXIN on dozens of health related issues. The Veteran on this Veteran’s Day does not have to be reminded of the long battle with the Veteran’s Administration, the Department of Defense, and 13 chemical manufacturing companies on the massive exposure to dioxin from the use of Agent Orange and other defoliants during the Vietnam War.

The same hold true for the public population , both in the United States and many other countries, where dioxin laced products were used in a effort to “improve our lives”, by limiting growth of weeds, vegetation, and disease carrying insects, only to learn that increase health issues would become a nightmare for many of those exposed. We now understand that we cannot rewind the clock and easily solve the problems caused by dioxin, but must learn how to deal with it in a fair and equitable manner to all who have health related issues, and find ways to prevent further exposure.

As I have written, the effects of dioxin should not have been a surprise to anyone with an ounce of sense. As early-on as 1945, when scientist first began experimenting with defoliants for clearing vegetation which provided concealment to enemy forces in jungle warfare, dioxin was described as one of the deadliest compounds to human life as could ever be imagined. Yet dioxin is found in nature and created by volcanic eruptions, and wild fires which have occurred since the beginning of time. The problem does not reside in the backyard of dioxin alone, and while it is far more toxic than many other compounds, it is just one of many chemicals that that the public can be exposed to, which have an accumulative effect leading to adverse health conditions, can lead to an early death, and wreck havoc on the off-spring of those who have been exposed.

There are several observations that must be learned when we take on the issue of dioxin and other toxic chemicals, particularly those that can and do occur naturally. The first is that we must do everything in our power to limit our exposure and find ways to minimize the combined effects of a whole litany of compounds that can further exacerbate the problems, without everyone having to wear haz-mat protective gear, completely shutting down industry, shutting off all commerce, and going back to the Stone Age.

To the Veteran Dioxin leads the list of environmental-unfriendly chemicals which are extensively used in industry and commerce, such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and bisphenol A (BPA), and build-up in the human body, from the agricultural products we consume, and the meat, fish, and foul we eat during our life time. If you add purposely-driven exposure to products like Agent Orange to the mix it is like suicide. This is not just in the victim, but in the offspring for decades down the road from the genetic damage done to the one originally exposed.

The concept of genetically traced abnormalities is not new science here either. We have been teaching “evolution” for years (with most emphasis placed on naturally-occurring genetic changes) as species adapt to their environment, but now we see there can be man-made changes through pollutants as well.

What made me want to look into this phenomenon was being asked by the daughter of a retired Vietnam Veteran about her ADHA, and the autism affecting many of her special education students. I told her I had been writing articles regarding the Veteran and civilian exposure to Agent Orange, and how genetic damage could be the root cause, and nobody out here in the real world looking to “pin the tail on the donkey”, so to speak.

The more one looks, the more frightening the realization is that we as a nation just can’t seem to man-up holding those who have manufactured many of these products accountable. Whether it is Dow, Monsanto, or any of the other dozen or so companies which raced to fill the lucrative government contracts for defoliants during the Vietnam War, their compensatory efforts have been miniscule compared to that of the taxpayer. Billions in profit continue to flow into the coffers of Big Chemical, while the taxpayer bares the reoccurring cost of dealing with the problem…and what a problem it has become.

Source: http://www.veteranstoday.com/2011/11/11/the-children-of-veterans-are-the-innocent-victims-of-agent-orange/web-genes-1/