|
Exposure of Air Force Veterans to Agent Orange in Vietnam
Health problem
Air Force personnel in
"Operation Ranch Hand" aerially sprayed Agent orange, which was contaminated
with dioxin, in Vietnam.
Scientists had estimated
the amount of exposure of these veterans, but there was no way to verify these estimates,
since no method existed to measure dioxin in blood.
Air Force spraying Agent Orange in Vietnam
 Lab response
The lab developed a method
to measure dioxin in blood—the first lab in the world to have this capacity.
Blood dioxin levels of a
sample of Ranch Hand veterans showed that the previous estimates did not accurately
reflect dioxin exposure.
Therefore, the lab measured
blood dioxin levels in all 1200 Ranch Hand veterans and a control group of about 600
veterans.
Health impact
Without the blood dioxin
measurement, the Air Force health study would have been scientifically
invalid—wasting more than $140 million.
The Air Force can now
validly relate dioxin exposure to disease and properly care for Air Force Ranch Hand
veterans.
Return to Top
Home
| Programs
| Biomonitoring
| Cardiovascular
Disease
Diabetes | Genetics
| Global
Nutrition Programs | Lead
NCEH
Home|
Programs | Publications |
Contact NCEH | Privacy
| About NCEH
CDC Home | CDC Search | CDC
Health Topics A-Z
|
