toxic Agent Orange, Yale scientist testifies
In recent testimony before Congress, School of Nursing research scientist Linda Schwartz (see related story) said that the Air Force's $140 million investigation into Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam is fundamentally flawed, and that new evidence shows far more Americans were exposed to the dangerous herbicide during the war than previously believed.
Schwartz testified on March 15 before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform's Subcommittee on National Security, Veterans Affairs and International Security. The subcommittee is holding hearings chaired by U.S. Representative Christopher Shays (R-CT) into the Ranch Hand Study.
Ranch Hands were the Air Force members who sprayed Agent Orange on the Vietnamese countryside to defoliate it. Agent Orange contains dioxin, a carcinogen in humans, and is one of the few harmful substances capable of crossing the placental barrier, thus implicating the chemical in birth defects.
The Air Force measured dioxin levels in the blood of veterans who worked as Ranch Hands and evaluated the health of these men and their children.
Schwartz told Congress, however, that new evidence she has obtained in Vietnam indicates that virtually all veterans who served in Vietnam were exposed to Agent Orange, often at levels higher than those inflicted on the men who sprayed it. Canadian scientists analyzing soil samples have found the highest levels of dioxin not in the aerial spraying areas, but at the site of former U.S. military bases.
"In some of the most barren spots, the concentration of soil dioxin is as high as 100,000 parts per trillion," said Schwartz in her testimony. Ten parts per trillion is considered abnormal.
She suspects that the concentration is so high because Agent Orange was used to clear areas for bases and also stored at the bases without precautions. Chemical companies had assured the military that the herbicide was safe. Schwartz has reports of empty Agent Orange barrels being sawed in half and used as barbecues.
In her testimony, the Yale researcher cited evidence from a lawsuit filed by men who sprayed dioxin to clear brush in Canada as proving "that in 1965 manufacturers knew that TCDD (the chemical combination found in Agent Orange) was 'dangerous,' 'the most toxic compound ever experienced' and 'a potent carcinogen.'"
Schwartz believes that the evidence about base spraying may expand compensation for dioxin-related health problems. "The finding about dioxin levels at the bases changes everything when we start to talk about women veterans," said Schwartz. Her research focuses on the health effects of Agent Orange exposure on women veterans and their children. In the past, she had to scour military records to be able to place a woman's location when spraying was going on to establish a link.
One of her criticisms of the Ranch Hand Study is that it is the only major health study of Vietnam veterans and is wrongly generalized to all the men and women who served during the war, Schwartz says. She told Congress of many other scientific flaws in the Ranch Hand Study, spanning lack of confidentiality for subjects, failure of the Air Force to publish findings promptly so that other scientists might review them, and a study design that excluded many blood serum dioxin levels.
The School of Nursing has become a repository of data from the Ranch Hand Study, offering the first hope that independent scientists might analyze at least a portion of the information gathered in the study. Yale researchers have been unable to access the data, however, because the Air Force delivered it in such an antiquated format that they cannot open the computer files. Outside consultants were also unable to access the data. Schwartz requested a magnetic tape version of the data last month but has not yet received a response from Air Force officials.
"Lessons to be learned from Ranch Hand and other studies conducted in the post-Vietnam period indicate that agencies with a vested interest in the outcome of a study will always be questionable," Schwartz testified. "Thought should be given to the recent proposals for a freestanding agency, an Institute of Military Medicine dedicated to providing an unbiased, comprehensive scientific inquiry in support of the men and women we sent to war. This endeavor is as vital to national defense as any weapons system."
-- By Colleen Shaddox
T H I S
Bulletin Home
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
Student and Alumni receive noted awards
YSN scientist still uncovering Agent Orange's harmful effects
Book traces 'unsteady march' to racial equality
Endowed Professorships
Mullinix will take on new challenges as V.P. of the University of California
Grant to expand nurse's program for diabetic teens
Professors' model helps predict March Madness victors
Most Vietnam veterans were exposed to toxic Agent Orange, Yale scientist testifies
Joseph Goldstein, noted for his work in family law, dies
Exhibit celebrates 30 years of women artists at Yale
'Father and Sons' exhibit features works by three family members
Visual Journals' on view in Medical Library
CONFERENCES ON CAMPUS
Census count will be held on campus April 3-6
Faculty share 'experience' with students at teas
EPH seminar to examine impact of domestic violence on individuals, community
Labor conditions in developing nations will be focus of YCIAS roundtable
Yale researchers find no relation between PCBs, breast cancer
Liman Fellow Sager to discuss her work with 'All Our Kin'
Ovarian cancer is topic of forums
Yale authors will talk about their books
Yale Scoreboard
In the News
|Visiting on Campus|
Calendar of Events|Bulletin Board
Classified Ads|Search Archives|Production Schedule|Bulletin Staff
Public Affairs Home|News Releases|
E-Mail Us|Yale Home Page