Agent Orange On Trial

Author : Peter H. Schuck
Publisher : Harvard University Press
Page : 380 pages
File Size : 43,5 Mb
Release : 1987
Category : History
ISBN : 0674010264

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Agent Orange on Trial by Peter H. Schuck Pdf

Agent Orange on Trial is a riveting legal drama with all the suspense of a courtroom thriller. One of the Vietnam War's farthest reaching legacies was the Agent Orange case. In this unprecedented personal injury class action, veterans charge that a valuable herbicide, indiscriminately sprayed on the luxuriant Vietnam jungle a generation ago, has now caused cancers, birth defects, and other devastating health problems. Peter Schuck brilliantly recounts the gigantic confrontation between two million ex-soldiers, the chemical industry, and the federal government. From the first stirrings of the lawyers in 1978 to the court plan in 1985 for distributing a record $200 million settlement, the case, which is now on appeal, has extended the frontiers of our legal system in all directions. In a book that is as much about innovative ways to look at the law as it is about the social problems arising from modern science, Schuck restages a sprawling, complex drama. The players include dedicated but quarrelsome veterans, a crusading litigator, class action organizers, flamboyant trial lawyers, astute court negotiators, and two federal judges with strikingly different judicial styles. High idealism, self-promotion, Byzantine legal strategies, and judicial creativity combine in a fascinating portrait of a human struggle for justice through law. The Agent Orange case is the most perplexing and revealing example until now of a new legal genre: the mass toxic tort. Such cases, because of their scale, cost, geographical and temporal dispersion, and causal uncertainty, present extraordinarily difficult challenges to our legal system. They demand new approaches to procedure, evidence, and the definition of substantive legal rights and obligations, as well as new roles for judges, juries, and regulatory agencies. Schuck argues that our legal system must be redesigned if it is to deal effectively with the increasing number of chemical disasters such as the Bhopal accident, ionizing radiation, asbestos, DES, and seepage of toxic wastes. He imaginatively reveals the clash between our desire for simple justice and the technical demands of a complex legal system.

Author : Peter Sills
Publisher : Vanderbilt University Press
Page : 297 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2014-02-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9780826519641

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Toxic War by Peter Sills Pdf

The war in Vietnam, spanning more than twenty years, was one of the most divisive conflicts ever to envelop the United States, and its complexity and consequences did not end with the fall of Saigon in 1975. As Peter Sills demonstrates in Toxic War, veterans faced a new enemy beyond post-traumatic stress disorder or debilitating battle injuries. Many of them faced a new, more pernicious, slow-killing enemy: the cancerous effects of Agent Orange. Originally introduced by Dow and other chemical companies as a herbicide in the United States and adopted by the military as a method of deforesting the war zone of Vietnam, in order to deny the enemy cover, Agent Orange also found its way into the systems of numerous active-duty soldiers. Sills argues that manufacturers understood the dangers of this compound and did nothing to protect American soldiers. Toxic War takes the reader behind the scenes into the halls of political power and industry, where the debates about the use of Agent Orange and its potential side effects raged. In the end, the only way these veterans could seek justice was in the court of law and public opinion. Unprecedented in its access to legal, medical, and government documentation, as well as to the personal testimonies of veterans, Toxic War endeavors to explore all sides of this epic battle.

Author : Institute of Medicine,Board on the Health of Select Populations,Committee on Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans and Agent Orange Exposure
Publisher : National Academies Press
Page : 158 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 2011-07-01
Category : Medical
ISBN : 9780309162470

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Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans and Agent Orange Exposure by Institute of Medicine,Board on the Health of Select Populations,Committee on Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans and Agent Orange Exposure Pdf

Over 3 million U.S. military personnel were sent to Southeast Asia to fight in the Vietnam War. Since the end of the Vietnam War, veterans have reported numerous health effects. Herbicides used in Vietnam, in particular Agent Orange have been associated with a variety of cancers and other long term health problems from Parkinson's disease and type 2 diabetes to heart disease. Prior to 1997 laws safeguarded all service men and women deployed to Vietnam including members of the Blue Navy. Since then, the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) has established that Vietnam veterans are automatically eligible for disability benefits should they develop any disease associated with Agent Orange exposure, however, veterans who served on deep sea vessels in Vietnam are not included. These "Blue Water Navy" veterans must prove they were exposed to Agent Orange before they can claim benefits. At the request of the VA, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) examined whether Blue Water Navy veterans had similar exposures to Agent Orange as other Vietnam veterans. Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans and Agent Orange Exposure comprehensively examines whether Vietnam veterans in the Blue Water Navy experienced exposures to herbicides and their contaminants by reviewing historical reports, relevant legislation, key personnel insights, and chemical analysis to resolve current debate on this issue.

Author : Committee to Review the Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans of Exposure to Herbicides,Institute of Medicine
Publisher : National Academies Press
Page : 791 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 1994-01-15
Category : Medical
ISBN : 0309075297

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Veterans and Agent Orange by Committee to Review the Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans of Exposure to Herbicides,Institute of Medicine Pdf

Have U.S. military personnel experienced health problems from being exposed to Agent Orange, its dioxin contaminants, and other herbicides used in Vietnam? This definitive volume summarizes the strength of the evidence associating exposure during Vietnam service with cancer and other health effects and presents conclusions from an expert panel. Veterans and Agent Orange provides a historical review of the issue, examines studies of populations, in addition to Vietnam veterans, environmentally and occupationally exposed to herbicides and dioxin, and discusses problems in study methodology. The core of the book presents What is known about the toxicology of the herbicides used in greatest quantities in Vietnam. What is known about assessing exposure to herbicides and dioxin. What can be determined from the wide range of epidemiological studies conducted by different authorities. What is known about the relationship between exposure to herbicides and dioxin, and cancer, reproductive effects, neurobehavioral disorders, and other health effects. The book describes research areas of continuing concern and offers recommendations for further research on the health effects of Agent Orange exposure among Vietnam veterans. This volume will be critically important to both policymakers and physicians in the federal government, Vietnam veterans and their families, veterans organizations, researchers, and health professionals.

Author : United States. District Court (New York : Eastern District)
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 480 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 1984
Category : Agent Orange
ISBN : HARVARD:32044046964284

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In Re "Agent Orange" Product Liability Litigation by United States. District Court (New York : Eastern District) Pdf

Author : National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine,Health and Medicine Division,Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice,Committee to Review the Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans of Exposure to Herbicides (Eleventh Biennial Update)
Publisher : National Academies Press
Page : 739 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 2019-01-20
Category : Medical
ISBN : 9780309477161

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Veterans and Agent Orange by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine,Health and Medicine Division,Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice,Committee to Review the Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans of Exposure to Herbicides (Eleventh Biennial Update) Pdf

From 1962 to 1971, the U.S. military sprayed herbicides over Vietnam to strip the thick jungle canopy that could conceal opposition forces, to destroy crops that those forces might depend on, and to clear tall grasses and bushes from the perimeters of US base camps and outlying fire-support bases. Mixtures of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T), picloram, and cacodylic acid made up the bulk of the herbicides sprayed. The main chemical mixture sprayed was Agent Orange, a 50:50 mixture of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T. At the time of the spraying, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), the most toxic form of dioxin, was an unintended contaminant generated during the production of 2,4,5-T and so was present in Agent Orange and some other formulations sprayed in Vietnam. Because of complaints from returning Vietnam veterans about their own health and that of their children combined with emerging toxicologic evidence of adverse effects of phenoxy herbicides and TCDD, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine was asked to perform a comprehensive evaluation of scientific and medical information regarding the health effects of exposure to Agent Orange, other herbicides used in Vietnam, and the various components of those herbicides, including TCDD. Updated evaluations were conducted every two years to review newly available literature and draw conclusions from the overall evidence. Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 11 (2018) examines peer-reviewed scientific reports concerning associations between various health outcomes and exposure to TCDD and other chemicals in the herbicides used in Vietnam that were published between September 30, 2014, and December 31, 2017, and integrates this information with the previously established evidence database.

Author : Robert J. Topmiller,T. Kirby Neill
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 224 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2015-12-03
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781317263104

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Binding Their Wounds by Robert J. Topmiller,T. Kirby Neill Pdf

The victims of US military campaigns are usually nameless civilians in far away places, but there are also victims closer to home - the soldiers so often used and then discarded by the establishment. Binding Their Wounds is a book about US veterans written by a US veteran - Bob 'Doc' Topmiller. Topmiller fought in Vietnam, founded a school for orphans there, and become a professor of history before he tragically committed suicide. Close friend and scholar Kerby Neill stepped in to complete the book. The result is a history of US veterans and their treatment by the US establishment from the early republic to the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Binding Their Wounds offers policy recommendations to improve post-conflict treatment and care for veterans which are long overdue.

Author : Elmo Zumwalt,John Pekkanen
Publisher : Dell
Page : 270 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 1987-10
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 0440159733

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My Father, My Son by Elmo Zumwalt,John Pekkanen Pdf

The powerful personal account of Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, Jr., and his son, Elmo III in Vietnam. For it was the father who ordered the waterways that his son patrolled to be sprayed with Agent Orange. And it was the son, and eventual grandson that developed medical complications as a result of exposure to the defoliant. 8 pages of photographs.

Author : David Zierler
Publisher : University of Georgia Press
Page : 260 pages
File Size : 44,8 Mb
Release : 2011-05-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9780820339788

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The Invention of Ecocide by David Zierler Pdf

As the public increasingly questioned the war in Vietnam, a group of American scientists deeply concerned about the use of Agent Orange and other herbicides started a movement to ban what they called “ecocide.” David Zierler traces this movement, starting in the 1940s, when weed killer was developed in agricultural circles and theories of counterinsurgency were studied by the military. These two trajectories converged in 1961 with Operation Ranch Hand, the joint U.S.-South Vietnamese mission to use herbicidal warfare as a means to defoliate large areas of enemy territory. Driven by the idea that humans were altering the world’s ecology for the worse, a group of scientists relentlessly challenged Pentagon assurances of safety, citing possible long-term environmental and health effects. It wasn’t until 1970 that the scientists gained access to sprayed zones confirming that a major ecological disaster had occurred. Their findings convinced the U.S. government to renounce first use of herbicides in future wars and, Zierler argues, fundamentally reoriented thinking about warfare and environmental security in the next forty years. Incorporating in-depth interviews, unique archival collections, and recently declassified national security documents, Zierler examines the movement to ban ecocide as it played out amid the rise of a global environmental consciousness and growing disillusionment with the containment policies of the cold war era.

Author : John S. Allee,Theodore V. H. Mayer,Robb W. Patryk
Publisher : Law Journal Press
Page : 1216 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 1984
Category : Law
ISBN : 1588520269

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Product Liability by John S. Allee,Theodore V. H. Mayer,Robb W. Patryk Pdf

This book analyzes the theory and practice of products liability litigation, whether the issue is drugs, food, chemicals, or any of the 100s of other products that may be the subject of litigation.

Author : Wilbur Scott
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 285 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2017-09-04
Category : History
ISBN : 9781351476881

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The Politics of Readjustment by Wilbur Scott Pdf

Veterans of all wars face a demanding task in readjusting to civilian life. Vietnam veterans have borne an additional burden, having returned from a controversial war that ended in defeat for the United States and South Vietnam. To address this situation, leaders among the Vietnam veterans and their allies formed organizations of their own to articulate their problems and extract concessions from a reluctant Congress, Federal agencies, and courts.Scott, a former infantry platoon leader in Vietnam, describes the major social movements among his fellow veterans during the period of 196 to 1990 in a lively narrative, combining personal interviews with documentary and press records. Included in the book are the 'sociological stories' of protests against the war in Operations RAW and Dewey Canyon III: the successful effort to place post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Third Edition (DSM-III), of the American Psychiatric Association; the building of the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., despite fierce opposition; and the long-running controversy over the herbicide Agent Orange. In the last chapter the author details the sociological thinking that informs his stories, and develops the implications for understanding social movements in general and veterans' issues in particular.

Author : Wilbur J. Scott
Publisher : University of Oklahoma Press
Page : 324 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2004
Category : History
ISBN : 0806135972

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Vietnam Veterans Since the War by Wilbur J. Scott Pdf

War is hell, and the return to civilian life afterwards can be a minefield as well, especially for veterans of a “bad war.” Soldiers coming home from Vietnam faced unique challenges as veterans of a controversial war whose divisiveness permeated every step of the re-entry and readjustment process. In his balanced and highly readable account, Vietnam Veterans since the War, sociologist Wilbur J. Scott tells the story of how the veterans and their allies organized to articulate their concerns and to win concessions from a reluctant Congress, federal agencies, and courts. Scott draws on published records, hours of personal interviews with veterans, and his experience as an infantry platoon leader in Vietnam to explore the major social movements among his fellow veterans in the crucial years from 1967 to 1990, including the antiwar movement, the successful effort to win recognition of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by the American Psychiatric Association, the establishment of veterans’ outreach centers, the controversy over the defoliant Agent Orange and its long-term effects, and the struggle to create the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. His new afterword brings the story up to date and demonstrates that while the United States’ involvement in Vietnam continues to be controversial, many of the tensions engendered by the war have been overcome.

Author : Aaron B. Wildavsky
Publisher : Harvard University Press
Page : 588 pages
File Size : 52,7 Mb
Release : 1995
Category : Environmental health
ISBN : 0674089235

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But is it True? by Aaron B. Wildavsky Pdf

Amid the chaos of questions and conflicting information, Aaron Wildavsky arrives with just what the beleaguered citizen needs: a clear, fair, and factual look at how the rival claims of environmentalists and industrialists work, what they mean, and where to start sorting them out.

Author : Kenneth R. Feinberg,United States. District Court (New York : Eastern District)
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 1282 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 1985
Category : Agent Orange
ISBN : HARVARD:32044046964276

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In Re "Agent Orange" Product Liability Litigation by Kenneth R. Feinberg,United States. District Court (New York : Eastern District) Pdf

Author : Institute of Medicine,Division of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention,Committee to Review the Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans of Exposure to Herbicides (Third Biennial Update)
Publisher : National Academies Press
Page : 622 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2001-11-13
Category : Medical
ISBN : 9780309171014

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Veterans and Agent Orange by Institute of Medicine,Division of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention,Committee to Review the Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans of Exposure to Herbicides (Third Biennial Update) Pdf

Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2000 examines the state of the scientific evidence regarding associations between diseases and exposure to dioxin and other chemical compounds in herbicides used in Vietnam. It is the fourth in a series of comprehensive reviews of epidemiologic and toxicologic studies of the agents used as defoliants during the Vietnam War. Over forty health outcomes in veterans and their children are addressed. Among the report's conclusions is that there is sufficient evidence of a link between exposure and the development of soft-tissue sarcoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, and chloracne in veterans. Additionally, it found that scientific studies offer "limited or suggestive" evidence of an association with other diseases in veteransâ€"including Type 2 diabetes, respiratory cancers, prostate cancer, multiple myeloma and some forms of transient peripheral neuropathyâ€"as well as the congenital birth defect spina bifida in veterans' children.