Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Arnold Schecter, MD, MPH, University of Texas, School of Public Health at Dallas, 6011 Harry Hines Blvd., V8.112, Dallas, TX 75390, 214-648-1096, arnold.schecter@utsouthwestern.edu, Hoang Trong Quynh, MD, PhD, Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, No 180 Ba Trieu St., Hai Ba Trung district - Hanoi, Vietnam, and Olaf Paepke, MS, ERGO-Eurofins Laboratory, Forschungsgellschaft mbH Geierstrafse 1, Hamburg, 22305, Germany.

The findings of elevated TCDD from Agent Orange in Vietnam shows that TCDD from Agent Orange contaminated some people, food, and the environment. This was first detected in the 1970s and elevated TCDD from Agent Orange still can be found in some locations in the south of Vietnam at this time. Although such elevated levels can be found in Vietnam, because spraying of Agent Orange did not take place in the north of Vietnam and in most of the south of Vietnam, health issues from TCDD should be found almost exclusively in those areas where exposure was likely to have occurred. Other synthetic toxic chemicals have also been found which are not related to Agent Orange. These include DDT and its metabolites, HCH, HCB, PCBs and PCDFs. Because of recent findings in US veterans of an association between time served in Southeast Asia independent of blood TCDD levels and cancer, as well as an association between TCDD blood levels and cancers, it is likely that there are multiple causes of cancer in US Vietnam veterans and Vietnamese from chemicals found in the environment and other causes. From a public health perspective with prevention of disease in mind it will be helpful to ascertain causes of illness related to Agent Orange and also illnesses related to other causes.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe results of US-Vietnam Agent Orange research relating to chemicals and illness.
• Articulate possible chemical etiologies of diseases related to Agent Orange as well as other chemicals in Vietnam.
• Assess the strength of association between exposure to toxic chemicals in Vietnam and disease.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation