Agent Orange: What It Was and What It Caused.

Agent Orange: What It Was and What It Caused

Agent Orange, nicknamed from the orange stripes on the barrels it was kept in, was one of America’s worst accidents ever; or so they say. Agent Orange was created in 1962 by the United States government. It was meant to be used as a defoliant to destroy crop areas and to force Viet Cong Guerillas out from under their cover. Little was known that this lab created chemical would be death of thousands of people.
“Agent Orange began in 1962 when President John F. Kennedy and Secretary of Defense John McNamara, encouraged by President Diem, sought radical solutions to dealing with Viet Cong guerillas”. (Salem State University Library) Agent Orange is composed of two chemicals, known conventionally as 2,4,D and 2,4,5,T. The combined chemicals were mixed with kerosene or diesel fuel to make them more potent. 2,4,D, better known as Dioxin, is a chemical that stays persistent and remains in the environment for decades...