Agent Orange: More Facts

To the Editors of The Crimson:

In a recent editorial that appeared in The Crimson, John D. Solomon wrote about the Agent Orange issue. It is sad to see that the facts concerning this issue have become confused and distorted.

Agent Orange was a mixture of the herbicides 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T that was used as a defoliant during the Vietnam War. When these herbicides are manufactured, the formation of a very small amount of a byproduct, TCDD (dioxin), is inavoldable. TCDD was present in these herbicides at a concentration of only a few parts per million. (The process has since been "cleaned up" so that TCDD is produced in concentrations of only parts per billion or trillion.) TCDD was not the active ingredient of Agent Orange, as Mr. Solomon states.

In addition, the herbicides have not been conclusively linked to cancer or birth defects as Mr. Solomon might have us believe. The worst incidence of human contamination by TCDD occurred in Seveso, Italy, in 1976. Some 37,000 people were exposed there when an industrial reactor exploded. No significant effects other than temporary skin irritation (Chloracne) have yet been reported. Extensive research has been done concerning Vietnam veterans, but the results have not been conclusive in linking the herbicides to any serious health effects.

When the Agent Orange controversy first started to rage, the manufacturers of the chemicals involved presented all the results of their research to the government. The fact that these herbicides are still in wide use today ought to reflect the government's agreement that they are not as dangerous as popular belief holds.

The controversy over Agent Orange has become complicated, and it is important that responsible political decisions be made concerning the government's action. However, before these important decisions are made, all the scientific knowledge available should be carefully studied and considered, and presented to the public in a way to prevent any possible misconceptions. Adam Bangs '86