Story did little to dispel myths about Agent Orange Re: "Fatal flaws" (A-1, Nov. 1)

Letter to the editor
Copyright 1998 San Diego Union Tribune
December 13, 1998



Your story on "Agent Orange" did a disservice to the Air Force Health Study (AFHS), which is recognized by responsible scientists as a hallmark epidemiology study of a human population. The inference that data on the effects of "Agent Orange" was withheld is not true.

Junk science takes no time. Good science takes time. The AFHS relies as much as possible on the examination of hard facts, physical examinations and written records -- not on self-reporting. All of those take time to collect, analyze and present for peer review prior to publication.

Your story incorrectly stated that 1,000 gallons were sprayed for "every three or four areas of vegetation." Our spray equipment was calibrated and maintained to spray at a rate of three gallons per acre.

Your article stated that "Agent Orange" contained dioxin, implying to the average reader that it was a significant component. Herbicide Orange did have a minuscule amount of dioxin present -- two parts per million (two inches in 200 miles)! The trace amount was due to the high temperature needed for production, and dioxin is degradable in light or sunlight, a fact largely unknown except in the science community.

Herbicide Orange was a mixture of two common herbicides developed in the 1940s and used by the agriculture community to control weeds for 15 years prior to its use in Vietnam. 24D is still in use today and can be purchased at K-Mart.

The men of Operation Ranch Hand had everyday contact with herbicides while serving in Vietnam. Our blood level of dioxin is 10 times higher than our matched comparison group. It is also 10 times higher than the general population in the United States. In spite of this factor, the Ranch Hand mortality rate is the same as our comparison group, and our current state of health, determined by five exhaustive physical examinations, reveals that, except for an elevated risk of onset diabetes proportional to our higher levels of dioxin, is essentially the same as our comparison group.

The veterans of Operation Ranch Hand are extremely proud of our service in Vietnam during that conflict, and we are proud of our continued service to this nation by participation in the AFHS and good science. We continue to be discontented with the biased reporting that has occurred since 1978, creating the impression that our mission harmed people.

That is simply not correct and is part of the myth regarding "Agent Orange." The myth will only be dispelled if the facts and science regarding Operation Ranch Hand and the Air Force Health Study are examined in toto by someone unbiased and without an agenda. "Fatal Flaws" does not meet that criteria.

Maj. JACK SPEY President, Ranch Hand Vietnam Association Ft. Walton Beach, Fla.

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