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The History, Use, Disposition and Environmental Fate of Agent Orange pp 1–22Cite as

Vietnam and the Agent Orange Controversy Revisited

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For almost four decades, controversy has surrounded the tactical use of herbicides in Southeast Asia by the United States Department of Defense. Few environmental or occupational health issues have received the sustained international attention that has been focused on Agent Orange and its associated dioxin contaminant. However, the breadth of that controversy has spanned the gamut from alleged military use of chemical weapons, to ecological damage and public health impacts, and to social and political concerns. This spectrum of controversy has represented the crossroads of science and society, i.e., where the significance of the science is “filtered” by the perceptions of the society. Only now that much of the acrimony from that military conflict has subsided can we revisit the military’s use of tactical herbicides in Vietnam and the subsequent actions that have occurred since their use. Indeed, today the legacy issues of Agent Orange remain as one of the last contentious issues with the veterans of that war, and between the United States and Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

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    Alvin L. Young (Dr)

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Young, A.L. (2009). Vietnam and the Agent Orange Controversy Revisited. In: The History, Use, Disposition and Environmental Fate of Agent Orange. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-87486-9_1

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