Defoliants Used in the VietnamWarBy Sarah HarveyOverview General background Agent Purple Agent Blue Agent White GraphsGeneral Background Used between 1961 and 1971 Nicknamed by color band paintedaround storage containers Purpose for use– Defoliate forests and mangroves– Clear perimeters of military installationsand roads– Destroy “unfriendly” cropsGeneral Background (cont) Main ingredients– 2,4-D - dichlorophenoxyacetic acid– 2,4,5-T - trichlorophenoxyacetic acid• 65% of defoliants used contained this• Contaminated with dioxin– Picloram• Contaminated with 2 known carcinogens:hexachlorobenzene & nitrosamines– Cacodylic AcidAgent Purple 50:50 mixture of 2,4-D& 2,4,5-T First agent used inlarge-scale defoliationtesting– Camp Drum, NY in 1959 Years used: 1962 -1965 Estimated 1.9 millionliters sprayed 3 times the levels ofdioxin than in AgentOrangeAgent Blue Cacodylic Acid &sodium cacodylate– Starves plants ofmoisture Sprayed on ricepaddies & other crops Years used: 1962 -1971 Estimated 4.7 millionliters sprayedAgent White 4:1 mixture of 2,4-D &Picloram (aka Tordon) The Super Agent Orange Years used: 1966 - 1971 Estimated 20.5 million literssprayed Did not contain dioxin Tordon products areextremely poisonous– EPA classifies as 1 of 37(out of thousands)“restricted use”pesticides Major manufacturer - DowChemicalBreakdown of Agents Used byYearVolumes of Herbicides SprayedReferences Richard Christian, Jeanne Stellman, Steven Stellman, CarrieTomasallo, and Tracy Weber, “The extent and patterns of usage ofAgent Orange and other herbicides in Vietnam, ” Nature, 422, no. 6933(April 7, 2003); 687-694. Jensen, Carl. 20 Years of Censored News. New York City: SevenStories Press, 1997. “Profile Monsanto” 4 October 2007.http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/rs/profile.cfm?id=268 (Accessed26 February 2008) “ Deadly Defoliants” 14 June 2005.http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/agentorange/defoliants.html(Accessed 26 February