How Were Our Soldiers Exposed to Agent Orange and Dioxin?
In an effort known as Operation Ranch Hand, Agent Orange was sprayed over 3.6 million acres of Vietnam from 1962 to 1971. Military personnel usually applied the herbicide using airplanes or helicopters. Sometimes, they used boats, trucks or even backpack sprayers. The heaviest exposure to Agent Orange occurred among the soldiers who used backpack sprayers, those who loaded airplanes and helicopters, and members of the Army Chemical Corps., who stored and mixed herbicides. Troops were exposed if they were near the path of the Agent Orange spray at the time it was applied. Because Agent Orange is persistent, soldiers that entered a previously sprayed area may still have been exposed to the herbicide (J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol., 2004 Jul; 14(4): 354–62). The dioxin in Agent Orange has a half–life of one to three years in surface soil, and up to 12 years in interior soil. Construction or other activities in Vietnam may have exposed both our soldiers and Vietnamese civilians to unknown
