Canadian government examining use of Agent Orange on trees

The Canadian government used Agent Orange in its forestry program as late as the 1980s, in accordance with a Toronto Star study. The herbicide Agent Orange is infamous as a chemical warfare agent that was utilized by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. Numerous scientific studies have shown Agent Orange to be a reason for genetic defects upon people situated in the areas dispersed.

The Agent Orange story

According to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. military did use Agent Orange on Vietcong enemy forces hidden in trees and vegetation in Operation Ranch Hand, which was the operation code-name. Agent Orange is a mixture of two phenoxyl herbicides in iso-octyl ester form.

Anyone uncovered could have had various forms of cancer, nerve, digestive, skin and respiratory disorders. Some of the U.S. veterans ended up getting dispersed with this at the time. At least 3 million in Vietnam, including 150,000 kids, were affected in birth defects and genetic disorders, states the Vietnam Red Cross. Several other children were stillborn as a result of parental exposure to Agent Orange.

Worker gets it too, claims Star

Archived documents referenced in the Toronto Star Agent Orange investigation expose that Canada began to dump the herbicide from World War II-era planes onto birch and maple timber and shrubs that needed to be cleared. There was a rise in cancer, birth defects and troubles with food and water according to the Star study, since Forest workers got exposed. In the 1950s, there was not enough research on Agent Orange done yet to know the chemical was dangerous. Canada started to use Agent Orange to remove plants.

Canadian Provincial Transportation Minister Kathleen Wynne has promised that there could be an official government inquiry to the nation’s usage of Agent Orange, states BBC News.

"I don’t have the specific information on how much of it was used by the ministry of transportation, but the independent panel will look at that and we’ll work closely with them," Wynne told Canadian media.

Details from

BBC

bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12573599

The Star

thestar.com/news/canada/article/940243–star-exclusive-agent-orange-soaked-ontario-teens

U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs

publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/

Agent Orange: Death to Weeds

youtube.com/watch?v=2EaqwRtjVEM