Agent Orange was the nickname given to a herbicide and [defoliant] used by the US Military in the Vietnam War. It was one of the [rainbow herbicides] (the others being Agents [Purple], [Pink], and [Green]) the military employed in its [Herbicidal Warfare] program aimed at destroying vegetation that the North Vietnamese Army and Vietcong used as cover.

As Agent Orange decayed, it released dioxins which has been shown to have disastrous health effects including Cancer and genetic defects. Since the 1980s several lawsuits have been filed against the companies responsible for making the chemical including [Monsanto] and [Dow Chemical]. US Veterans received $180 from the companies and similar decisions have been reached in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and South Korea yet no money has gone to victims in Vietnam. Also, please see Times Beach.

Chemical Description

Agent Orange is a 1:1 mixture of two [phenoxy herbicides] in [ester] form, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T).