Re: [CPEO-MEF] HERBICIDES: "Agent Orange’s reach beyond the Vietnam War"

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

VA reverses denial of benefits for veteran in Agent Orange-related case

By Steve Vogel,
Washington Post
August 8, 2013

The Department of Veterans Affairs has reversed its denial of Agent  
Orange-related disability benefits for an Air Force veteran who flew  
on potentially contaminated C-123 aircraft after the Vietnam War, a  
decision advocates describe as the first of its kind for veterans  
seeking compensation for postwar exposure to the toxic defoliant.
Paul Bailey, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who is gravely  
ill with cancer, received notice Monday that he would receive "a  
total grant of benefits" for cancer associated with his 1970s-era  
service in the United States aboard the aircraft, which had been used  
to spray the toxic defoliant during the war.
"The preponderance of the evidence suggests that you were exposed to  
herbicide onboard U.S. Air Force C-123K aircrafts," said the VA  
decision, dated July 31. "Reasonable doubt in regards to the exposure  
to certain herbicide, to include Agent Orange, as the result of  
occupational hazards onboard C-123K aircrafts is resolved in your  
favor."
...

For the entire article, see
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/va-reverses-denial-of-benefits- 
for-veteran-in-agent-orange-related-case/2013/08/07/7cf1a680- 
ff81-11e2-96a8-d3b921c0924a_story.html
You may need to copy and paste the link.


On Aug 5, 2013, at 9:05 AM, Lenny Siegel wrote:

> Agent Orange’s reach beyond the Vietnam War
>
> By Steve Vogel
> Washington Post
> August 3, 2013
>
> Nearly three dozen rugged C-123 transport planes formed the  
> backbone of the U.S. military’s campaign to spray Agent Orange over  
> jungles hiding enemy soldiers during the Vietnam War. And many of  
> the troops who served in the conflict have been compensated for  
> diseases associated with their exposure to the toxic defoliant.
> But after the war, some of the planes were used on cargo missions  
> in the United States. Now a bitter fight has sprung up over whether  
> those in the military who worked, ate and slept in the planes after  
> the war should also be compensated. Two U.S. senators are now  
> questioning the Department of Veterans Affairs’ assertions that any  
> postwar contamination on the planes was not high enough to be  
> linked to disease.
> Complicating the debate is that few of the planes remain to be  
> tested. In 2010, the Air Force destroyed 18 of the Vietnam-era  
> aircraft in part because of concerns about potential liability for  
> Agent Orange, according to Air Force memos documenting the  
> destruction.
> ...
>
> For the entire article, see
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/agent-oranges-reach-beyond- 
> the-vietnam-war/2013/08/03/803e57c0-e816-11e2-aa9f- 
> c03a72e2d342_story.html
> You may need to copy and paste the link.
>
> --
>
> Lenny Siegel
> Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
> a project of the Pacific Studies Center
> 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
> Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
> Fax: 650/961-8918
> <lsiegel@cpeo.org>
> http://www.cpeo.org
>
> _______________________________________________
> Military mailing list
> Military@lists.cpeo.org
> http://lists.cpeo.org/listinfo.cgi/military-cpeo.org
--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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