Agent Orange
![]() ![]() (defoliant, herbicide, chemical weapon, carcinogen) ![]() ![]() | |
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Interest of | Richard Doll |
Introduction
Agent Orange is one of the defoliants in a group of defoliants that was used heavily in Vietnam from 1961 to 1971 and has caused ongoing damage to the people and environment of Vietnam and will continue to do so for generations to come. It is a combination of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T, variations of it where all given colour codes and they became known as Rainbow Herbicides each with different chemical constituencies. Agent Orange being the most heavily used of the group and was used from 1965 to 1970. Close to 20,000,000 gallons of Rainbow Herbicides were used, with Agent Orange claiming approximately 12,000,000 gallons.
- Full article: Operation Ranch Hand
- Full article: Operation Ranch Hand
Medical experts
While he was being paid $1,500 a day for twenty years in consultancy fees by Monsanto, a total of eleven million dollars, British epidemiologist Sir Richard Doll wrote to a royal Australian commission investigating the potential cancer-causing properties of Agent Orange. Sir Richard said there was no evidence that the chemical caused cancer.[1]