[CPEO-MEF] Agent Orange inquiry raises veterans' concerns

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

Guam
Tuesday, May 13, 2003
Agent Orange inquiry raises veterans' concerns
By Katie Worth
Pacific Daily News; kworth@guampdn.com

The possibility that Agent Orange may have been stored on Guam during
the Vietnam War is a scary one for Vietnam veterans, many of whom suffer
from damage that may have been caused by exposure to the toxic defoliant
in Vietnam.

On May 9, Illinois Congressman Lane Evans sent a letter to Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld asking him to release any information the
Pentagon has on the chemical's use and storage on Guam and other areas
outside of Vietnam, according to Pacific Daily News files.

Agent Orange was extensively sprayed in Vietnam during the war to thin
out jungles and make it easier for U.S. troops to advance. Since then it
has been linked to diabetes, cancer, lymphoma and many other diseases.

Evans' letter said he had been contacted by veterans who say Agent
Orange, as well as herbicides Agents White and Blue, were stored at
Andersen Air Force Base during the Vietnam War era. The letter included
a study showing dioxins have been found in the soil at the base, which
sits on top of Guam's northern aquifer, and at other Guam locations,
according to PDN files.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.guampdn.com/news/stories/20030513/localnews/288034.html

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