Agent Green is the code name for a powerful
herbicide and
defoliant
A defoliant is any herbicidal chemical sprayed or dusted on plants to cause their leaves to fall off. Defoliants are widely used for the selective removal of weeds in managing croplands and lawns. Worldwide use of defoliants, along with the ...
used by the
U.S. military in its
herbicidal warfare program during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
. The name comes from the green stripe painted on the barrels to identify the contents. Largely inspired by the British use of
herbicides and
defoliants
A defoliant is any herbicidal chemical sprayed or dusted on plants to cause their leaves to fall off. Defoliants are widely used for the selective removal of weeds in managing croplands and lawns. Worldwide use of defoliants, along with the ...
during the
Malayan Emergency, it was one of the so-called "
Rainbow Herbicides
The Rainbow Herbicides are a group of tactical-use chemicals used by the United States military in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Success with Project AGILE field tests with herbicides in South Vietnam in 1961 and inspiration by the Briti ...
". Agent Green was only used between 1962 and 1964, during the early "testing" stages of the spraying program.
Agent Green was mixed with
Agent Pink
Agent may refer to:
Espionage, investigation, and law
*, spies or intelligence officers
* Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another
** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...
and used for crop destruction. A total of 20,000 gallons of Agent Green were procured.
Agent Green's only active ingredient was
2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T), one of the common
phenoxy herbicide
Phenoxy herbicides (or "phenoxies") are two families of chemicals that have been developed as commercially important herbicides, widely used in agriculture. They share the part structure of phenoxyacetic acid. Auxins
The first group to be discover ...
s of the era. Even prior to
Operation Ranch Hand
Operation Ranch Hand was a U.S. military operation during the Vietnam War, lasting from 1962 until 1971. Largely inspired by the British use of 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D (Agent Orange) during the Malayan Emergency in the 1950s, it was part of the over ...
(1962-1971) it was known
[Berufliche Akne (sog. Chlorakne) durch chlorierte aromatische zyklische Äther](_blank)
Von J. Kimmig und K. H. Schulz in ''Dermatologica'' Vol. 115, 1957, p.540-6 (German; with English and French summaries; cited in CA 1958:22227) (accessed 2013-07-29)[Table TCDD-UNFÄLLE - Eine Bilanz des Schreckens](_blank)
pp. 54-59 in ''Seveso ist überall - Die tödlichen Risiken der Chemie'' by Egmont R. Koch, Fritz Vahrenholt; 1978, (accessed 2013-07-29)[p. 49 in ''Seveso ist überall - Die tödlichen Risiken der Chemie'' by Egmont R. Koch, Fritz Vahrenholt; 1978, ]
by Jon Dillingham; August 10, 2009 (accessed 2013-07-29)[REPORT TO SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS ON THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS AND EXPOSURE TO AGENT ORANGE](_blank)
as Reported by Special Assistant Admiral E.R. Zumwalt, Jr., May 5, 1990 (accessed 2013-07-29) that a
dioxin,
2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin (TCDD), is produced as a side product of the manufacture of 2,4,5-T, and was thus present in any of the herbicides that used it. Because Agent Green's only active ingredient was 2,4,5-T, along with the similar
Agent Pink
Agent may refer to:
Espionage, investigation, and law
*, spies or intelligence officers
* Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another
** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...
, and earlier-produced batches of 2,4,5-T having higher TCDD-levels,
[Stellman, Jeanne et al]
The Extent and patterns of usage of Agent Orange and other herbicides in Vietnam
Nature, Vol. 422 (17 April 2003) pp. 681-687 (accessed 2013-07-28) it contained many times the average level of dioxin found in Agent Orange.
During much of the fighting in the Vietnam War, chemical agents were used by the United States to defoliate the landscape. Although many different chemical agents were used, the most well known today is "
Agent Orange," one of the "
Rainbow Herbicides
The Rainbow Herbicides are a group of tactical-use chemicals used by the United States military in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Success with Project AGILE field tests with herbicides in South Vietnam in 1961 and inspiration by the Briti ...
"
References
{{Rainbow Herbicides
Auxinic herbicides
Defoliants
Military equipment of the Vietnam War