Gulf War Veterans Issues

Diseases Associated with Agent Orange Exposure

The government dragged its heels on investigating the health effects from Agent Orange exposure, so Congress shifted the responsibility away from federal agencies and to the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine (IOM). IOM formed an expert, independent panel in 1992, and it has produced three reports since then. The reports review all the available scientific literature and judge which diseases may be associated with Agent Orange exposure. The Department of Veterans Affairs can then pay disability compensation to any Vietnam veteran who develops that disease. The list of diseases follows.

• Chloracne
• Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• Multiple myeloma
• Respiratory cancers
• Lung
• Trachea
• Larynx
• Bronchus
• Prostate Cancer
• Soft Tissue Sarcoma
• Hodkins disease
• Porphyria cutanea tarda
• Peripheral neuropathy
• Spina Bifida in the children of Vietnam veterans
• Type 2 Diabetes
  

• New Legislation Contains Several Agent Orange-Related Provisions

• National Commander Urges VA Secretary to Extend Service-Connected Benefits to Vietnam Veterans with Diabetes
  

• Final Rules for Diabetes-Agent Orange Presumption Published in Federal Register

• Benefits for Childhood Agent Orange Victims Backed by Legion

• Benefits for Agent Orange Veterans An American Legion Veterans Day Victory

Available Publications

The following publications can be downloaded in Adobe PDF format. You will need the Adobe Reader installed on your computer to read these. See our tutorial on How-To download PDF files here.

• Guide to Understanding Agent Orange
• Guide to Agent Orange Benefits
• The Institute of Medicine and Agent Orange Research

The American Legion and Columbia University: 1980's

In the early 1980s, with a significant number of Vietnam veterans having developed various cancers, neurological disorders, liver dysfunction, and other severe diseases, Columbia University collaborated with The American Legion to study these veterans. This was done in the absence of any credible government study. This effort produced a report that found that Vietnam veterans suffered from more illnesses and readjustment problems than non-deployed Vietnam era veterans. This landmark study laid the foundation for the Agent Orange Act of 1991.

Details of the 1980's Study

The American Legion and Columbia University: Today

The federal government has still not conducted a major epidemiological study of Vietnam veterans in spite of Congress directing that this study occur almost ten years ago. The American Legion sued the federal government over this failure, and the case made its way all the way to the United States Supreme Court. The Court, however, refused to hear the case. We therefore set out to collaborate, once again, with Columbia University, in order to help design such a large epidemiological study. The effort is in its first year, and it seeks to re-survey the over 10,000 Legionnaires questioned over 10 years ago for the first landmark study. This effort is planned to be the first large step in finally conducting the first comprehensive health study of Vietnam veterans’ health.

Progress Report 1999
(Vietnam Veterans Health Study Newsletter)