Re: Replying to the list, Agent Orange, (was Re: The Bomb That Fell--was Gofm...

[RuthWeiner@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 6/8/03 2:40:02 PM Mountain Daylight Time, lists@richardhess.com writes:


> http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20030607/FCMALL//?query=heather+mallick



I read the article.


1.  Ordinary incendiary bombs are weapons of mass destruction, too.  Perhaps Ms. Mallick never heard of the Battle of Britain.  Actually, the first 20th century  use of chemical weapons was in WWI with the use of mustard gas, probably first used by the Germans, because its use was promoted by Haber.

2.  More to the point about dioxins: the article contains some facts and a generous helping of exaggeration.  Agent Orange and dioxin are not the same thing.  Agent Orange was used as a defoliant in Vietnam, and is primarily 2,4,5-T (2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid) which is slowly oxidized, and it was initially believed that this oxidation would destroy the 2,4,5-T, which it did,  The oxidation product of 2,4,5-T, however, is a dioxin, and dioxins in high enough concentration are both carcinogens and mutagens, as has been observed in animals.  Neither effect has been documented in human populations.   Exposure to dioxins, as in the Seveso, Italy accident, has resulted in loss of appetite, weight loss, nerve damage, and in particular a severe skin rash called chloracne (Cohrssen and Covello, RISK ANALYSIS, USEPA, 1989, p. 37 et seq),  No excess cancers have been observed in human populations 20 years after massive exposure.  Evidence from Vietnam is anecdotal, though it is likely that there was considerable dioxin exposure.

3.  Vietnam veterans would have been exposed to very small amounts of dioxin, since it was a contaminant of Agent Orange.  A study that compared the Vietnam veterans handling Agent Orange to a group of army veterans who had the same chemical exposure EXCEPT for Agent Orange showed no difference in health effects between the two groups (I heard a seminar on this in 1985, so I don't have a reference).

4.  Oxidation of many organic chlorine compounds produces dioxins.  So does barbecuing meat on your backyard charcoal barbecue.


Ruth

Ruth Weiner, Ph. D.

ruthweiner@aol.com