The Orange Stripe

Your Information Center For All Veterans

VA Information Resources on Agent Orange and Related Matters

Agent Orange, Anthrax, Depleted Uranium, Dioxin, Gulf War Veterans' Health, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans, Herbicidal Warfare, Hodgkin's Disease, News, Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas PTSD, Multiple Myeloma, Radiation-Related Health Issues, Respiratory cancers, Spinal Cord Injury, Traumatic Brain Injury, Veterans' Health, WWII, Korean, Vietnam Veterans and more.

Agent Orange Brief

VA Information Resources on Agent Orange and Related Matters

Today there is a great quantity of available information regarding the possible long-term health consequences of exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides used in Vietnam.

The following listing provides the reader with a wealth of valuable information resources on this subject.

Web Page: http://www.va.gov/AgentOrange. The site provides a great deal of information including many of the publications listed below.

Agent Orange Review - VA has produced this publication since 1982 to provide information on Agent Orange to concerned veterans and their families. The newsletter provides updated information about government scientific studies, activities related to Agent Orange and the Vietnam experience, and new developments in VA compensation policy. Anyone interested in getting a copy of the past issue of this newsletter or getting on the mailing list for future issues of the "Review" should contact the Environmental Health Coordinator at the nearest VA medical center or the Environmental Agents Service (EAS) (131), Agent Orange Review, Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20420. The newsletter is posted on the Web site mentioned above.

The Environmental Agents Service (EAS), the office that has prepared the Agent Orange newsletter since 1989, also produces similar newsletters for Gulf War veterans, the "Gulf War Review;" for veterans exposed to ionizing radiation, "The Ionizing Radiation Review;" and for veterans of the Global War Against Terrorism, the "Operation Iraqi Freedom/Enduring Freedom Review."

Agent Orange Helpline - In March 2001, VA established a national toll free telephone number for Agent Orange related concerns (800) 749-8387. The operators, located in St. Louis, MO, have provided and continue to furnish a great deal of information to thousands of callers with Agent Orange-related questions. The Helpline also answers questions about Gulf War issues, Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, and other matters.

Veterans Health Initiative: Vietnam Veterans and Agent Orange Exposure - This 112-page independent study course for VA health care providers is designed to provide an introduction to issues regarding the long term health consequences of exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides used in Vietnam. The book, produced in 2001 provides an overview and history of Agent Orange, VA health care, research, and disability compensation programs for Vietnam Veterans and common symptoms and diagnoses of these veterans. The book, prepared by the Environmental Agents Service with the Employee Education System, is on the web at http://www.va.gov/AgentOrange/docs/VHIagentorange.pfd. This course is being revised and updated.

This book is one of series of self-study guides created by VA to keep VA health care providers up-to-date on a variety of health issues. While the primary audience is health care professionals, many veterans may find the book useful as well.

In addition to the Agent Orange program, the independent study guides are available on the following topics: cold injury, Gulf War veterans health hearing impairment, post-traumatic stress disorder, prisoners of war, radiation, spinal cord injury, traumatic amputation and prosthetics, visual impairment and blindness, war wounded, and more. All of these programs can be seen at www.va.gov/VHI.

Agent Orange Brief - The paper you are now reading is one of a series of two-to-twelve page fact sheets, prepared by the EAS, to help answer questions about Agent Orange and related matters. The series is updated on a regular basis. The Environmental Health Coordinator at all VA medical centers should have copies of all Agent Orange Briefs. Questions or ideas concerning these fact sheets should be directed to the EAS (131), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20420.

The following Briefs are currently available:

A1. Agent Orange General Information;

A2.Agent Orange Class Action Lawsuit;

B1.Agent Orange Registry Program;

B2.Agent Orange - Health Care Eligibility;

B3.Agent Orange and VA Disability Compensation;

B4.VA Information Resources on Agent Orange and Related Matters;

C1.Agent Orange - The Problem Encountered in Research;

C2.Agent Orange and Vietnam Related Research - VA Projects;

C3.Agent Orange and Vietnam Related Research - Non-VA Projects;

D1.Agent Orange and Birth Defects;

D2.Agent Orange and Chloracne;

D3.Agent Orange and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma;

D4.Agent Orange and Soft Tissue Sarcomas;

D5.Agent Orange and Peripheral Neuropathy;

D6.Agent Orange and Hodgkin's Disease;

D7.Agent Orange and Porphyria Cutanea Tarda;

D8.Agent Orange and Multiple Myeloma;

D9.Agent Orange and Respiratory Cancers;

D10.Agent Orange and Prostate Cancer;

D11.Agent Orange and Spina Bifida;

D12.Agent Orange and Diabetes; and

D13.Agent Orange and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.

VA Field Staff - Each VA medical center has an Environmental Health Clinician and an Environmental Health Coordinator, previously known a Registry Physician and Agent Orange Registry Coordinator, respectively. Environmental Health Clinicians are responsible for the clinical management of the Agent Orange program at the VA facility where they work. These doctors (and other specially trained health care professionals) meet with concerned veterans, conduct examinations, document medical programs, and answer health-related questions from Vietnam veterans and their families. Environmental Health Coordinators handle Agent Orange program administrative matters at VA health care facilities. They schedule appointments, review records for accuracy and completeness, and collect data for reporting purposes.

Veterans Services Representatives (VSR), located in VA regional offices and many medical centers, possess a wealth of information about the wide range of VA benefits. These counselors have all the forms necessary to apply for VA benefits, including disability compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation. VSR's also assist veterans and their survivors in completing these forms, if necessary.

VA vet center personnel also are very helpful to Vietnam veterans experiencing difficulties readjusting to civilian life. There are 206 vet centers nationwide, and they are listed in your local telephone book. Vet centers offer individual, group, and family counseling.

VA National Headquarters - The Environmental Agents Service or EAS in Washington, DC, is an excellent source of information about Agent Orange. The office was established in 1980. While the staff is quite small in number several employees have been there for many years, and many veterans have found the personnel to be very helpful. Comments, suggestions, and criticisms about VA's Agent Orange program are always welcome. The mailing address is EAS (131), 810 Vermont Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20420. The telephone number is 202-273-8580.

Non-VA sources -

Veterans service organizations (such as The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, Disabled American Veterans, AMVETS, Vietnam Veterans of America) and State government entities (such as Agent Orange Commissions, Departments or Divisions of Veterans Affairs, Departments of Health) have also assisted many veterans. The major service organizations can be contacted at the following numbers: The American Legion - 1-800-433-3318; Veterans of Foreign Wars - 1-800-VFW-1899; Disabled American Veterans - 1-877-426-2838, AMVETS - 1-877-726-8387; and Vietnam Veterans of America - 1-800-882-1316.

National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - Public Law 102-4, the Agent Orange Act of 1991 required VA to seek to enter an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences, a widely respected, independent, non-government scientific organization for a series of reviews and analyses and advise regarding Agent Orange. The requirement for the biennial reviews was extended until 2014 by the Veterans Education and Benefits Expansion of 2001.

In July 1993, under contract with VA, the Institute of Medicine, a component of the NAS, prepared an 800+page report, entitled Veterans and Agent Orange: Health Effects of Herbicides Used in Vietnam. Subsequently, the IOM has issued comprehensive updates dated 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2004, plus two special reports that focused on specific, limited conditions (that is type 2 diabetes in 2000; and acute myelogenous leukemia in the children of Vietnam veterans in 2002), and a report on the feasibility of research in 2003).

For more information about these NAS efforts, see Agent Orange Brief C3, Agent Orange and Vietnam Related Research Projects - Non-VA Projects, or the National Academy Press at www.nap.edu.

Single copies of the NAS books are distributed to all VA medical center libraries. Organizations or individuals interested in purchasing these documents and subsequent publications can contact the publisher: National Academy Press, 500 Fifth Street, N.W. Box 285, Washington, DC 20055. The telephone numbers are 1-800-624-6242 and 202-334-3313. These documents can be seen on the web at www.nap.edu.

Congressional committees, especially the House and Senate Committees on Veterans' Affairs, have collected a great deal of information regarding the long-term health consequences of Agent Orange exposure to Agent Orange.

Historian Alert:

Public Law 96-151 mandate. In December 1979, Public Law 96-151 was enacted. Among other things, this legislation required VA to "conduct a comprehensive review and scientific analysis of the literature covering … studies relating to whether there may be long-term adverse health effects in humans from exposure to such dioxins or other dioxins."

A two-volume document entitled Review of Literature on Herbicides, Including Phenoxy Herbicides and Associated Dioxins, prepared by an outside contractor was released in October 1981. The first volume was subtitled, "Analysis of Literature;" and the second, subtitled "Annotated Bibliography." Updates (in similar two volume sets) were issued in 1984 and annually through 1994. Independent contractors prepared each of these reports.

Because the NAS is reviewing the same scientific literature on the health effects of herbicides and reporting biennially, this project was discontinued after the publication of Volume 23 and 24 in June 1994. These volumes were stocked by the Government Printing Office and were available for purchase. Some of them may still be available. This publication was primarily designed for use by researchers, physicians, scientists, and other with technical backgrounds.

To assist Vietnam veterans and others in understanding these reports, VA arranged for non-technical language summaries of the literature reviews. These summaries are entitled Synopsis of Scientific Literature on Phenoxy Herbicides and Associated Dioxins. A very limited supply of the scientific reports and lay language summaries are available, without charge, from the Environmental Agents Service in VA Central Office (see address above).

This fact sheet was updated in August 2005 and does not include subsequent developments.