This description explores the long-term effects of the Vietnam War, specifically the use of Agent Orange. It examines the devastating impact of this chemical weapon on the environment, public health, and the lives of those affected by it
Agent Orange is a chemical herbicide and defoliant. During the Vietnam War, the United States Armed Forces along with the South Vietnamese military used it in Operation Ranch Hand (1962–1971), part of a broader herbicidal warfare campaign intended to deprive the People's Army of Vietnam/Viet Cong of vegetation cover. It was one of a group of tactical-use herbicides, known as Rainbow Herbicides. Agent Orange was earlier used by the British during the Malayan Emergency which influenced its later use by the U.S. Primarily a mixture of equal parts of two herbicides, 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D, it contained trace amounts of 2,3,7,8-TCDD, a dioxin compound established as a carcinogen and persistent organic pollutant.