Jim:
Agent Orange was a mixture of the herbicide/defoliant chemicals 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). Both materials and their mixtures were very commonly used on lawns in this country. Unfortunately, some batches of the 2,4,5-T became contaminated with another chemical, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodiphenyl-p-dioxin ("dioxin" or TCDD). After a great amount of research this material was identified and chemical processing was changed so that it would not be produced.
"Dioxin" is an established cause of "chloracne," an aceneform dermatitis (blackheads perhaps all over the face) but no other disease of humans has ever been shown to have been caused by this material. In even small doses administered over a long time it can cause sufficient liver injury to kill lab rodents (in this respect it is one of if not the most toxic materials ever made by man--albeit inadvertently. The presence of "dioxin" in waste oil used to de-dust the streets of Times Beach eventually caused the EPA to buy the town even though no dioxin-related disease had occurred there.
---Jack--- |
