Eva Cheng
According to a university pilot study released on July 28, the dioxin-contaminated defoliant Agent Orange, which the US Army sprayed and dumped extensively during the Vietnam War, has led to significant genetic damage for those exposed to it. This has raised fear that gene damage suffered by NZ Vietnam War veterans may have had an adverse genetic impact on their children and grandchildren.
In Vietnam alone, the number of Agent Orange survivors and their offspring with similar health consequences is estimated to be 4 million. In the US, about 2.6 million military personnel served in that war, with tens of thousands of them seeking redress or compensation for health problems that they believe arose from their exposure to Agent Orange. There are also at least 20,000 known Agent Orange victims among South Korean troops who fought in Vietnam.
The New Zealand Massey University study examined the rate of "sister chromatid exchange" of a sample of 24 Vietnam War veterans, a test that analyses the way that chromosomes self-replicate, compared to another control sample of veterans who didn't serve in Vietnam. It found a higher level of sister chromatid exchange in the first group, indicating genetic damage.
Chris Mullane, a spokesperson for the Ex-Vietnam Servicemen's Association, said the study only confirms to the wider population what the veterans have known for decades. He called for government support to fund more extensive research to help strengthen the veterans' case for compensation.
According to the July 29 New Zealand Herald, the study has come too late to be included in the Agent Orange Joint Working Group report, which is speculated to be recommending the NZ government apologise to veterans poisoned by Agent Orange and pay them [NZ]$50,000 each.
Yet the NZ study could be helpful to the separate lawsuits that the Vietnamese victims and US Vietnam veterans are filing against 30-odd chemical companies that produced the cancer-causing chemical for the US military. These were dismissed by the same Brooklyn Federal Court in the US early last year and are under appeal.