Agent Orange & Dioxin Delays, Pt. 5

Veterans get help for chemical exposure.

This is the Environment Report, I’m Lester Graham


During the Vietnam War – the herbicide agent orange was sprayed over the jungle to kill the plants and expose enemy soldiers.

The US soldiers who came in contact with the herbicide have long complained about health problems. Mark Brush is here… now the government says… maybe these vets should get some help…

Yeah, the US Department of Veteran Affairs says it will help.

Exposure to Agent Orange has been tied to things like parkinson’s disease, cancer, and heart problems.

I talked with Allan Oates. He’s with the U-S Military Veterans with Parkinson’s.

“It was just an exhilarating feeling to have these people knowing that they were going to get the help that they deserved.”

Oates says it’s important to get the word out to veterans exposed to agent orange that the VA will now get disability compensation.

THANX

This is The Environment Report.

Agent Orange was made by seven companies at plants across the nation. One of them was a Dow Chemical plant in central Michigan. Dioxin from that herbicide and other chemicals polluted the river, got into fish and game… and floodwaters carried contaminated silt onto backyards and in parks where kids play.

A recent study, though, suggests dioxin in the soil might not be the reason dioxin is getting into people living there.

That would be great for Dow Chemical because the company could argure there’s less reason to go to the expense of cleaning up contaminated soil.


Shawn Allee talked with one of researchers who put the study together.

He's Dr. David Garabrant, and he's researched public health at the University of Michigan.

His team looked at the factors most associated with dioxin in blood.

Factors that mattered most were age, living in the area a long time and eating fish from the contaminated area.

The controversy's here.

Garabrant: We found virtually no relationship between soil contamination and blood dioxin levels. In other words, the amount of soil contamination and your property really didn't relate to blood levels.

Sounds clear enough - no relationship between dioxin in soil and dioxin in your blood. What's the big deal?

Well, if people aren't getting much dioxin from soil ...

There'd be less reason to move it, and that's expensive.
Exactly.

But the Federal Environmental Protection Agency is negotiating with Dow about cleaning up soil - what's EPA have to say about this study?

The EPA wouldn't talk to US about that, but they did answer questions for the public and they have lots of public documents.

Their gist is pretty much, "University of Michigan, you've got a pretty good study, but it's beside the point."

What do you mean?

Here's one reservation they have.

Garabrant's team did not sample children's blood for dioxins.

EPA worries kids are at higher risk for exposure and effects.

EPA's own standards for soil across the country include risk to children.

Dr. Garabrant says it wasn't feasible to study children because they couldn't get enough good samples from them.

Who paid for the study?

That would be Dow Chemical - the same company that polluted the area with dioxins.

Dr. Garabrant says his team was independent - Dow had no influence.
Garabrant: The only thing we give Dow is that they sit in meetings like the rest of the public and they hear what we have to say.

Bet that doesn't satisfy everyone?

No, it hasn't.

The thing to keep in mind is that the EPA is finishing scientific work that could affect clean-up levels across the country.

This Michigan study is getting a lot of attention by scientists.

We're likely to hear more of this soon, then.

Yep - by the end of this year.

Thanks, Shawn.

You're welcome.

That's the Environment Report.