Appeals court rejects Agent Orange suits

Source- UPI

A U.S. appeals court has upheld the dismissal of lawsuits by veterans, their families and Vietnamese nationals over the use of Agent Orange in the Vietnam War.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York issued three opinions affirming lower court ruling that dismissed 16 civil actions against Dow Chemical Co., Monsanto Co. and other chemical makers.

The three-judge panel said makers of herbicides that comprised Agent Orange were protected by the "military contractor defense," which shields independent contractors from liability when fulfilling government procurement contracts.

US-Vietnam Project Starts Agent Orange re-mediation

(Source-Raw Story)

A US-Vietnamese group said Friday 1.2 million dollars had been spent to contain rainwater run-off from a "dioxin hotspot" at a war-time US airbase that was a depot for the toxic defoliant Agent Orange.

As part of the project, scientists had tested blood and breast milk samples from residents and workers near the base and found they exceeded safe levels of the most toxic dioxin type TCDD "by a wide margin," the group said.

Under the 1961-71 "Operation Ranch Hand" US forces sprayed about 80 million litres (21 million gallons) of Agent Orange and other herbicides on southern and central Vietnam to deprive enemies of forest cover and food crops.

Washington has rejected responsibility for the millions of people Vietnam says have suffered direct or second-generation disabilities due to Agent Orange, with US officials pointing to a lack of mutually agreed data.