ATS: Agent Orange, Agent Purple on Trial, page 1

posted on Nov, 18 2005 @ 12:01 PM

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Exposure to Agent Orange, Agent Purple, and other defoliants caused long term and progressive health problems including cancer, diabetes, chronic pancreatitis, liver disease, brain atrophy, and other diseases, Canada's House of Parliament heard yesterday. Veterans and civilians at a New Brunswick military base were exposed to toxic defoliants under a deal Canada cut with the US military in the early 1950's to test the toxins. Victims and survivors in dead victims' families are testifying before Parliament.

www.cbc.ca
"As a result of my poisoning, I have diabetes, chronic pancreatitis, liver disease and brain atrophy, among other diseases," said Ken Dobbie, who had a summer job cutting brush at the base near Fredericton as a teen. ...The Canadian military agreed to help test the defoliants on behalf of the U.S. military, which later sprayed the chemicals to strip leaves from trees in Vietnam.

John Chisholm, a soldier at Gagetown in the 1960s, recalls coming home doused in defoliating chemicals on a regular basis. ...His first wife, who used to wash his clothing every night, later died a horrible death of cancer, he told the committee in emotional testimony. ..."When you see the people that we see and we know, and you see the condition their bodies are in today, after being in that area, it's absolutely horrifying," said. ..."I've got a friend that's sitting out there in Vancouver, out there on Victoria Island, with half his guts sitting in a bag on the side of his hip. And he was with me."

Testimony like Chisholm's left members of the parliamentary defence committee shocked. ...One of them, NDP MP Bill Blaikie, says he will fight to force the government to call an inquiry into the way the case has been handled over the decades.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

The effects of these toxins are similar to the chronic disease that is epidemic in the world today. As with chronic disease, there likely is no direct cause and effect relationship between the disease and a specific toxin. The health effects most likely result from the complex interraction of various factors.

The people now testifying before Parliament probably won't see justice until dogma catches up with science, and the planet and human body are recognized legally as complex systems.

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British MPs support victims of chemical weapons

GradyPhilpott

posted on Nov, 18 2005 @ 02:19 PM

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I would think that these individuals would have a pretty good chance of receiving some sort of compensation as long as their conditions are recognized already as being related to dioxin. Already, the US Department of Veterans' Affairs recognizes a number of conditions as presumptively related to Agent Orange exposure and there could be more in the future as more research is done.

The government was initially reluctant to acknowledge a connection between defoliant exposure and health problems, but that position was reversed over twenty years ago and the VA is more aggressive than ever in identifying those who have been exposed.

Currently, the following conditions have been presumptively recognized as service connected (SC) for the treatment of veterans who were exposed to herbicide agents during service:

(1) Chloracne (must occur within 1 year of exposure to Agent Orange);

(2) Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma;

(3) Soft-tissue sarcoma (other than osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, or mesothelioma);

(4) Hodgkin's disease;

(5) Porphyria Cutanea Tarda (PCT) (must occur within 1 year of exposure);

(6) Respiratory cancers (cancers of the lung, larynx, trachea, and bronchus);

(7) Multiple myeloma;

(8) Prostate cancer;

(9) Peripheral neuropathy, transient acute and sub-acute (must appear within 1 year of exposure and resolve within 2 years of date of onset).

(10) Type 2 diabetes; and

(11) Chronic lymphocytic leukemia. NOTE: Other conditions may be recognized in the future.

Agent_Orange_Reg_Handbook1302.1_10-05-04

So, there is a precedent for compensation of those who suffer the ill effects of defoliant exposure.

www1.va.gov...

Type 2 Diabetes has been connected to Agent Orange exposure and steps are being taken to add this condition to the list of presumptive disorders.

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[edit on 2005/11/18 by GradyPhilpott]

brodband

posted on Nov, 18 2005 @ 02:25 PM

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Finally someone posted something about this. Its about time somone is trying to do something about it. A man I know has an uncle that did this "waste testing" out at Area51. He was also in the Atomic Bomb research testing. I actually have a copy of his journal that he wrote while stationed out there. I forgot exactly where he was stationed at, but he said that just about everybody out there looked like they had backpacks on... because of the blisters caused by the nuclear materials and heat.

soficrow

posted on Nov, 18 2005 @ 02:27 PM

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Thanks Grady. Good stuff.

Unfortunately, things might be different in Canada. The CBC report said that only four people have been compensated out of 191 cases reviewed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Also, the fact of complex interractions remains important - but is NOT recognized. Only direct cause and effect effects are acknowledged. NG, IMO.

ShiftTrio

posted on Nov, 19 2005 @ 01:09 AM

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My Father, a 2 tour Vet, was confirmed by US Army for his Diabetes and Heart Disease that the cause was Agent Orange, He died not to long after, from Lung Cancer while about to go on Dialisis. Leaving my mother with a meger Army pention. It really stinks the way the place you were willing to give your life for doesnt do something more for these people and there spouses.

=(

soficrow

posted on Nov, 19 2005 @ 12:08 PM

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I'm sorry ShiftTrio.

These things should NOT happen, but they do. All the time.