By The Veteran’s Administration has identified three more illnesses as being linked to Agent Orange:
Veterans Affairs officials added three new illnesses Tuesday to the list of diagnoses connected to Agent Orange, allowing quicker health care claims for Vietnam veterans suffering from Parkinson’s disease, hairy cell leukemia, and ischemic heart disease.
The move follows a study by the nongovernmental Institute of Medicine. The group has been studying the effects of Agent Orange since the early 1990s and this summer suggested a link between those diseases and the toxic Agent Orange chemicals.
In a statement, VA secretary Eric Shinseki said the additions bring to 15 the number of “presumed” sicknesses linked to Agent Orange. Others include prostate cancer and Hodgkin’s disease.
Veterans with those conditions will not have to prove any connection between their sickness and their military service when filing a health benefits claim. [Stars & Stripes]
The article only mentions Vietnam Agent Orange spraying, but Agent Orange was also sprayed along the Korean DMZ. I would assume these three additional illnesses for Agent Orange exposure would also apply to servicemembers that were exposed to the chemical while stationed in Korea.
Here are the illnesses now identified with Agent Orange:
- Acute and cubacute transient peripheral neuropathy
- AL amyloidosis
- Chloracne
- Chronic lymphocytic leukemia
- Diabetes mellitus (Type 2)
- Hairy cell leukemia
- Hodgkin’s disease
- Ischemic heart disease
- Multiple myeloma
- Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
- Parkinson’s disease
- Porphyria cutanea tarda
- Prostate cancer
- Respiratory cancers, and
- Soft-tissue sarcoma (other than osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, or mesothelioma)
The article says that veterans do not have to prove military service to file a health care claim. However, I have been contacted by many former USFK veterans over the years looking for assistance with filing Agent Orange claims that were not assigned to front line DMZ units, but worked temporarily at the DMZ for various reasons. Because they were not assigned to a front line unit they have no record of serving along the DMZ thus causing their health care claims to be denied by the VA.
You can find further information about Agent Orange spraying in South Korea at my prior posting here.
If anyone has any further information about Agent Orange spraying, feel free to leave a comment. Thanks.
1:01 am on October 14th, 2009 1
Here's some info on the Canadian victims of these pesticides.
http://www.agentorangecanada.com/
http://www.merchantlaw.com/agentop.html
http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/clients/sub.cfm?source=s…
(Apparently, Veterans Affairs Canada recognizes a different list of illnesses than US Veterans Affairs).
9:53 am on October 14th, 2009 2
I've been reading some articals about agent orange recently from the Canadian press… It would seem they tested this chemical in CFB(Canadian forces base) Gagetown New brunswick back in the 60's and a lot of military veterans who were posted there are trying to recieve benifits from it..All their efforts have been for nothing.
Might make a good story for you..
source thetelegram.com ( St.John's Newfoundland Canada
12:48 pm on October 14th, 2009 3
[...] rest is here: List of Sicknesses Linked to Agent Orange Spraying Updated By the …SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "LIST OF SICKNESSES LINKED TO AGENT ORANGE SPRAYING UPDATED BY THE [...]
4:37 pm on October 14th, 2009 4
Remember periodically in Thailand having to do radio work on the Agent Orange C-119s in the old days. Had a large tank in the cargo area and it was slippery as whale snot — a real bitch trying to balance an old ARC-27 on your shoulder and walk. The whole aircraft smelled like an old filthy garage with everything filmed over with oil. I have always had a lot of pity for the guys who flew those birds after it was announced that Agent Orange did some real bad stuff to your body.
But there is a more topical interest in Agent Orange. It was used in Korea to keep the weeds down in the DMZ and around Army outposts throughout Korea, but not much is publicized. A lot of Korea vets during the Vietnam War period might have been tramping through the stuff and not know it. I know of one guy who is trying to prove the linkage of Agent Orange in Korea to the illnesses his father (USAF retired) has now. He's not having much luck so far.
8:27 pm on October 14th, 2009 5
I did some training at Gagetown, but that was long after the 60's.
9:07 pm on October 14th, 2009 6
yeah TeaDrinker as did I.. I was 1 Royal newfoundland regiment before I joined the US army late 70's..spent a few summers all over Gagetown..nice area… a lot of people are having health problems..DVA is trying to figure out.. or not… if the issues are sevice related..they have handed out a few dollars here and there… but.. I dont think they really want to settle anything..
12:36 pm on February 24th, 2010 7
The Battle is Still ongoing!
TD