VA Releases Newest C-123 Exposure Denials

In their most recent Internet posting, the VA's Public Health Division incorporates the results of the Air Force C-123 Agent Orange Report. In it they construct a false argument that crews weren't exposed when in fact, all scientific opinion is that we were! Three AF conclusions are cited by VA in their post and both the VA and AF have twisted scientific FACTS 180 degrees to deny the truth - aircrews WERE indeed exposed! (see their points below):

1. There indeed wasn't enough information or data to conclude how much any individual was exposed, but that cannot truthfully be used to deny that any of us were actually exposed. The lack of abundant data cannot be used to disprove a hypothesis when there is ample data indicating the certainty of exposure
2. Exposure in these aircraft was certainly more intense during Vietnam, and Ranch Hand aircrews were more greatly exposed, but this point cannot be used to create the false impression that post-Vietnam aircrews weren't also exposed - according to experts and testing data over the years, crews were exposed at a level greatly exceeding exposure by ground forces during the war
3. All evidence points to the fact that aircrews and maintenance personnel were indeed exposed to Agent Orange (TCDD) at an unsafe level, according to the CDC/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

Conclusion: VA Public Health is dedicated to preventing C-123 veterans' Agent Orange exposure claims, and to preventing any vet's case-by-case evaluation which may introduce the truth!

Here is the VA Internet post of 20 June which incorporates mistakes from the AF Report:

Some Veterans who were crew members on C-123 Provider aircraft, formerly used to spray Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, have raised health concerns about exposure to residual amounts of herbicides on the plane surfaces.

VA’s Office of Public Health thoroughly reviewed all available scientific information regarding the exposure potential. We concluded that the potential of long-term health effects for the post-Vietnam crews that flew or maintained these planes was extremely low and therefore, the risk of long-term health effects is minimal.

Testing for Agent Orange residue on planes used in Vietnam

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) collected and analyzed numerous samples from C-123 aircraft to test for Agent Orange. USAF's recent risk assessment report (April 27, 2012) (2.3 MB, PDF) found that potential exposures to Agent Orange in C-123 planes used after the Vietnam War were unlikely to have put aircrew or passengers at risk for future health problems. The report’s three conclusions:

1. There was not enough information and data to conclude how much individual persons would have been exposed to Agent Orange.

2.   It is expected that exposure to Agent Orange in these aircraft after the Vietnam War was lower than exposure during the spraying missions in Vietnam.

3.  Potential Agent Orange exposures were unlikely to have exceeded standards set by regulators or to have put people at risk for future health problems.

How Veterans may have been exposed

During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Air Force used C-123 aircraft to spray Agent Orange to clear jungles that provided enemy cover in Vietnam. At the end of the spraying campaign in 1971, the remaining C-123 planes were reassigned to reserve units in the U.S. for routine cargo and medical evacuation missions spanning the next 10 years.

Crew members aboard one of these post-Vietnam C-123 planes reported smelling strong odors, which raised concerns about Agent Orange exposure – but Agent Orange is odorless. These odors may have come from various chemicals associated with aircraft.

Health effects of Agent Orange residue

The health effects of exposure to Agent Orange residue on airplanes differ from direct contact with liquid Agent Orange. In liquid or spray form, Agent Orange can enter the body through inhalation or ingestion (such as hand-to-mouth contact or getting into food). But in the dry form – for example, adhered to a surface – Agent Orange residue cannot be inhaled or absorbed through the skin, and would be difficult to ingest.

The potential for health effects depends on the amount of Agent Orange present, as well as its ability to enter the body. After reviewing available scientific reports, VA has concluded that the exposure potential in these planes was extremely low and therefore, the risk of long-term health effects is minimal. Even if crew exposure did occur, it is unlikely that sufficient amounts of dried Agent Orange residue could have entered the body to have caused harm.

Research studies on Agent Orange

Research on the health effects of Agent Orange has been extensive and it continues. Diverse populations have been studied, including herbicide sprayers and manufacturers, other Vietnam-era Veterans, and those exposed during industrial accidents. This information helps us to determine what potential health effects may be related to different levels of exposure.

Find out more about research on health effects of Agent Orange.

VA benefits

If you have health concerns about Agent Orange, talk to your health care provider or local VA Environmental Health Coordinator.

Veterans not enrolled in the VA health care system, find out if you qualify for VA health care.

Although the risk of long-term health problems from exposure to Agent Orange residue on post-Vietnam C-123 airplanes is minimal, Veterans who believe they have exposure-related health problems may file a claim for disability compensation. These claims will be decided on a case-by-case basis.

New Studies Not Needed- C-123 Agent Orange Benefits NOW!

Mention was made of a possible need for additional statistical or epidemiological studies of C-123 aircrews and maintenance personnel to better understand our dioxin exposure. The following note was submitted to two of the scientists who've looked into the situation:

Argument Against Time-Wasting Further Analysis:

A study could have been a good idea back in 1994 when the AF Museum/Brooks Armstrong Labs first identified the degree of toxicity on Patches. Studies could have been a good thing back in 1996 when, instead, the AF Office of Environmental Law directed that the info should "be kept in official channels only." In 1994 and 1996 most of us were still available to participate in a study, assuming enough veterans were existent to lend any accuracy to the study. It would have been decent...in fact, the only moral and legal decision, to alert our veterans so we could consider precautions and know to watch for AO-type symptoms. It would have been a better study if the veterans who've died before this problem was exposed in April 2011 had been able to participate - Lou Paskowitz, Paul Huffman, Bob Boyd, George Gadbois, Tim Olmsted, Warner Jones...all the others. 

I ask the VA and other government people to imagine what the public outcry would be if some large company exposed thousands of employees to dioxin (however innocently), learned about the exposure after the fact, and spent decades preventing notification of the affected employees...and even took steps to shred and smelt the evidence? This would be evening news headline matter...such criminal behavior would be meat for the grand jury! What would government employee unions do if workers had spent ten years inside a building with a 200-times greater risk of cancer due to dioxin exposure...and the government kept the information from them and even fought to prevent access to medical care when the news leaked? 

Imagine a whistleblower leaking an email in which managers labeled exposed employees "freeloaders", as our aircrews have been described by a VA consultant who has received support from the chemical industry for articles and served as an official of the Secretary of Defense office--he expressly cited the need to destroy the stored C-123s to prevent veterans' benefits from being awarded.

The last comprehensive study of contaminated aircraft at Davis-Monthan found half of the tested airplanes still hazardous in 2009 (nearly forty years after their last spray missions) except for short-term exposure!

It is flat-out unconscionable for VA to take any action that fails to recognize C-123 veterans' exposure NOW by citing cost, difficulty, small population or any other time-killer suggestion regarding further statistical or epidemiological studies, and unconscionable for VA to delay our care for the time to design, conduct, evaluate and obtain peer-review of such a study. Wasting still more time (what the Army veterans call "waiting for an Army to die") would obviously penalize the veterans by denying us essential medical coverage just so the VA could burn away a couple years for more studies followed by outside review of those studies.

The military completely failed to address the problem when it first surfaced, worrying only about the stored airplanes and avoiding EPA fines and bad publicity.Today, there can be no further failure of the AF or VA to promptly recognize our exposure to TCDD. There can be no further delay to conduct more "studies." Time enough is wasted in the VA application (FYI my own has gathered dust for 332 days so far.)

The studies have been done. The results have been validated by federal court, the GSA, the Air Force, the ATSDR and outside scientific experts. Crews and maintenance personnel were exposed to harmful amounts of dioxin....case closed!

The requirement for veterans (outside the Boots on the Ground Vietnam group) seeking service-connection for TCDD exposure is simply reasonable proof of exposure. That proof was developed in multiple tests by the Air Force, and substantiated by the GSA, federal court, ATSDR and reputable scientists. That proof has been offered, and substantiated, in spades!

We're not mad, but those of us still alive are sick as hell and we're not going to take it any more!