Rainbow Herbicides

The United States discovered 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) during World War II. It was recognized as toxic and was combined with large amounts of water or oil to function as a weed-killer. Army experiments with the chemical eventually led to the discovery that 2,4-D combined with 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T) yielded a more potent herbicide. Some batches of 2,4,5-T manufactured for Rainbow Herbicide use were later found to have been contaminated with synthesis-byproduct dioxins including 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin (TCDD). Work by researcher Alvin Lee Young identifies examples of Agent Pink and Agent Green containing as much as double the TCDD concentrations observed in Agent Purple or Agent Orange. == Types ==

This is a list of the different types of agents used, their active ingredients, and the years they were being used during the Vietnam War as follows: == Use ==

In Vietnam, the early large-scale defoliation missions (1962–1964) used of Agent Green, of Agent Pink, and of Agent Purple. These were dwarfed by the of Agent Orange (both versions) used from 1965 to 1970. Agent White started to replace Orange in 1966; of White were used. The only agent used on a large scale in an anti-crop role was Agent Blue, with used. The bombardment occurred most heavily in the area of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. In addition to testing and using the herbicides in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, the US military also tested the "Rainbow Herbicides" and many other chemical defoliants and herbicides in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Korea, India, and Thailand from the mid-1940s to the late 1960s. Herbicide persistence studies of Agent Orange and Agent White were conducted in the Philippines. The Philippine herbicide test program was conducted in cooperation with the University of the Philippines College of Forestry, and was also described in a 1969 issue of The Philippine Collegian, the college's newspaper. Super or enhanced Agent Orange was tested by representatives from Fort Detrick and Dow Chemical in Texas, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and later in Malaysia, in a cooperative project with the International Rubber Research Institute. Picloram in Agent White and Super-Orange was contaminated by hexachlorobenzene (HCB). The Canadian government also tested these herbicides and used them to clear vegetation for artillery training. A 2003 study in Nature found that the military underreported its use of rainbow herbicides by . == Long-term effects ==

Vietnam remains heavily contaminated by dioxin-like compounds, which are classified as persistent organic pollutants. These compounds remain in the water table and have built up in the tissues of local fauna. However, the contamination has begun to deteriorate, and the forest canopy has regrown somewhat since the Vietnam War. Dioxins are endocrine disruptors and may have effects on the children of people who were exposed. Rainbow herbicides and other dioxin-like compounds are endocrine disruptors, and evidence suggests that they continue to have long-term health consequences many years after exposure. Because they mimic, or interfere with, hormonal function, adverse effects can include problems with reproduction, growth and development, immune function, and metabolic function. As an example, dioxins and dioxin-like compounds influence the hormone dehydoepiandosterone (DHEA), which has a role in the determination of male or female sex characteristics. There have been thousands of documented instances of health problems and birth defects associated with rainbow herbicide exposure in Vietnam, where tested levels remain high in the soil, water, and atmosphere, decades after initial exposure. Soldiers exposed to Rainbow Herbicides in Southeast Asia reported long-term health effects, which led to several lawsuits against the U.S. government and the manufacturers of the chemical. == See also ==