agent orange guam latest news 2020 agent orange guam latest news 2020

There are unofficial groups devoted to the aftereffects of the chemical, but the VA has never officially recognized these claims (or the resulting illnesses) as valid. Cincinnati, OH: 300 E Business Way, Suite 200, Summit Woods Corporate Center, Cincinnati, OH, 45241 For instance, which pages you go to most. Mai is a graduate of Ryerson University's journalism program and completed her Master's in International Affairs and Public Policy at Carleton University. The Department of Defense maintained that Agent Orange was never used on Guam, despite claims by several Guam veterans who testified that they sprayed the herbicide on different areas on Guam. In late 2018, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reported that at least one ship carrying Agent Orange stopped at Apra Harbor en route to Vietnam more than 50 years ago. While there is no firm timeline, the local agency plans to interface with. 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Health care benefits and disability compensation may then be awarded, San Nicolas said. And its not just a veterans issue, according to Terlaje. The legislation expands benefits and services for veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances, includingherbicide exposure coverage for Vietnam War veterans who served in Guam, American Samoa, Johnston Atoll and other locations. we represent clients nationwide. A subsequent white paper released bytwo veterans advocacy groups determined that Vietnam War veterans in Guam were likely exposed to Agent Orange. Reporting on utilities, education and other topics. This website adheres to the W3Cs AA Accessibility guidelines. The US Government Won't Admit to Agent Orange Use on Guam During the Vietnam War, tens of thousands of veterans served on Guam, an important base for the Air Force's B-52 strategic bomber force. Among the so-called rainbow herbicides - chemicals used to clear vegetation during the Vietnam War - Agent Orange is perhaps the most well known, andhas been linked to several diseases. According to a new white paper released on May 8, 2020 by the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School (VLSC) and the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP), veterans who served on Guam from 1962 to 1975 satisfy the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) legal standard for exposure to Agent Orange and other dioxin-containing herbicides. Speaker Terlaje has continually urged for more environmental testing to include locations cited via first-hand accounts from veterans in order to overcome DOD denial . Streamline VAs review process for establishing toxic exposure presumptions, Concede exposure to airborne hazards/burn pits based on locations & dates of service, Require medical exams/opinions for certain veterans with toxic exposure disability claims, Add hypertension and Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance to the list of presumptions for Agent Orange exposure, Establish a presumption of service connection for 23 respiratory illnesses and cancers related to burn pits/airborne hazards exposure, Create a presumption of exposure to radiation for veterans who participated in cleanup activities in Palomares, Spain, and Enewetak Atoll, Allow for a new tort claim for veterans and families exposed to toxic water at Camp Lejeune, Expand agent orange exposure to veterans who served in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, Improve data collection between VA and the Department of Defense, Commission studies related to incidents of cancer among veterans, health trends of Post 9/11 veterans and feasibility of providing healthcare to dependents of veterans, Require VA to provide standardized training to improve toxic exposure disability claims adjudications, Require VA to conduct outreach and provide resources to toxic exposed veterans, 1082 Pale San Vitores Rd. Tens of thousands of U.S. service members were assigned to Guam during the Vietnam War, where three quarters of all U.S. B-52 bombers used in the air campaign were based. File photo. Terlaje says there are years of testimony and sworn affidavits from veterans who say they were exposed to dioxin and the other herbicides. In previous decades, the VA has outright dismissed these claims. Disclaimer: This information is not legal advice. "This whole tactical/commercial thing is a red herring. Disabled Veterans Sign up for a Career Change. Provide extension of combat eligibility for health care from 5 to 10 years with a one-year open enrollment period for those veterans who missed their window. And theyre also recommending that they go back to their original plan which was to test places on base, Terlaje said. tactical or just as a weed killer is really irrelevant. Brian Moyer, a veterans advocate and founder of Agent Orange Survivors of Guam, said he had been told by some veterans that VA staff members at the Orlando, Florida, medical center have told. In fact, given the overwhelming denial by the United State government, it would be easy to believe that there was no connection between the two. "Individual veterans should not be penalized for an incomplete evidentiary record when [the Department of Defense] has failed to maintain this record, or to resolve and refute extensive claims of Agent Orange and other toxic herbicide exposure," they wrote. The prior testing did not specifically test for dioxin and therefore the new round of testing was primarily conducted to look for TCDD specifically. no evidence indicated the cargo was offloaded on island, the report did acknowledge. It includes Navy Veterans who served offshore of Vietnam and those who served in the Korean Demilitarized Zone. We recommend the following MLA -formatted citation when using the information you see here in academic work: "S. 3446 116th Congress: Expedite Agent Orange Coverage Act of 2020." www.GovTrack.us. Leroy Foster and, the late Lonnie Kilpatrick who HR 3368 is named after. Its linked with harmful protein buildup, insulin overproduction, muscle illnesses, organ dysfunction, and chest pain. It follows a research report released by two veteran advocacy groups in May of this year which concluded that the weight of the evidence shows veterans during that time were exposed to Agent Orange and other dioxin-containing herbicides. Service members have said for years that they sprayed Agent Orange and other toxic herbicides all across Guam, said Brian Moyer, a Marine veteran who served in Guam from 197476 and leads the group Agent Orange Survivors of Guam, a section of Military Veterans Advocacy. Won Pat International Airport. Phoenix, AZ: One Renaissance Tower, Two North Central Avenue, 18th & 19th Floor, Phoenix, AZ 85004 Resolutions support bills that recognize Agent Orange exposure in Guam, Biden tax hikes: Road to economic decline, April Fools Day 2023 contains a cruel joke. In 2018, Brian Moyer, founder of Agent Orange Survivors of Guam, came back to Guam to assist a team from the Environmental Protection Agency in identifying the areas where veterans said they sprayed herbicides. The use of the herbicide i.e. The Legislature held a public hearing Tuesday on a pair of resolutions that each support U.S. House measures recognizing Agent Orange exposure in Guam and other areas, as well as expand exposure coverage for veterans affected by the toxic herbicide the Honoring our PACT Act of 2021 and the Lonnie Kilpatrick Central Pacific Relief Act. While there still is no presumption of exposure and veterans still have the burden of proving their condition was connected to exposure, this updated report can help bolster their claims. Read more: Army Wants Wearable Coronavirus Symptom Detector for Soldiers. In addition to Agent Orange, Guam veterans may have also been exposed to herbicides containing dioxin, a chemical labeled as a carcinogen by the World Health . They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant advertisements on other websites. Agent Orange is confirmed to have been used on Guam. Seamstress. Again, the limitations of the available documentation make it difficult to identify which specific herbicides or components were tested, as well as when and where. However, the report did acknowledge that Agent Orange components 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T were used on island in commercial herbicides. Chicago, IL: 332 S. Michigan Avenue, Floors 8 and 9, Chicago, IL 60604 The reason behind the reports mentioned above is to urge the VA to both address and take responsibility for the distribution of the chemicals, as well as the health concerns of the veterans who were negatively affected. These samples were first collected in April 2018 and sent to two labs for testing. New Conditions Added to Agent Orange Presumptive List, Agent Orange Benefits for Surviving Spouses and Dependents, Getting Veterans (VA) Disability for Agent Orange Diseases, Agent Orange Symptoms and Effects Explained, The Republic of Vietnam from January 9, 1962 to May 7, 1975 (including Brown Water veterans and. The new testing results ultimately showed thatTCDD was found at 8 out of the 10 locations sampled. The GAO also recognizes that this list has not been updated in over a decade, despite a significant amount of evidence and research collected regarding its shortcomings. Copyright 2023 Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD. All Rights Reserved. This report calls out certain government entities for being less than honorable with the handling of the issue of Agent Orange or "commercial herbicides" on Guam," Moyer said. John Wells is a retired U.S. Navy commander turned attorney and board chairman forMilitary Veterans Advocacy. To gather information, the GAO reviewed agency policies, documents, and available archival records; interviewed Department of Defense (DoD), VA, and other agency officials; and met with a non-generalizable sample of 38 veterans and a Veterans Service Organization. Agent Orange was an infamous chemical used as a tactical measure in the military during the Vietnam War. Robert and Nick move on to discuss what this means in . This new testing challenges the findings of a previous Government Accountability Office report which found that Agent Orange exposure could not be conclusively proved or disproved because of incomplete, lost and absent records and a lack of credible soil samples. Veterans who served on Guam between 1962 and 1975 may have valid claims to service-related disabilities as a result of exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides, according to a recent report. Tucson, AZ: One South Church Avenue, 12th Floor, Tucson, AZ, 85701 Michael San Nicolas. Since Thanksgiving, there are four Guam veterans who have died from Agent Orange-related illnesses,'" Moyer said. "It's good to see this congressional report stating what we Guam veterans have been saying all along. Counselor. It's the chemical composition that has harmed and killed people," Wells said. Two veterans advocacy groups published a policy paper Monday saying that veterans who served on Guam between 1962 and 1975 likely were exposed to herbicides disposed of on the Pacific island or used for vegetation control. Today, we are aware of the significant health effects related to herbicide exposure. The House report accompanying a bill for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 included a provision that the GAO review the governments handling of Agent Orange on Guam. Do You Qualify for Long Term Disability Benefits? Importantly, DoD has decided to move forward with testing for the acid form of the components of Agent Orange in Guam. Senator Therese Terlaje has been advocating in support of veterans on the issue. The study, from the National Veterans Legal Services Program and Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School, shows that Veterans who served in Guam from 1962 to 1975 were likely exposed to toxins, including Agent Orange. How concerned are you about Chinese warships patrolling within several hundred miles of Guam? Read moreBiden tax hikes: Road to economic decline, Ever since my childhood, April 1, or April Fools Day, was a day that people traditionally played jokes on each other, and we all got a laugh Read moreApril Fools Day 2023 contains a cruel joke, As we close out yet another April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the Bureau of Womens Affairs is launching Dont Be That Guy, a one-min Read moreDont be that guy. This is not the first time that the VA has been challenged about how the department has treated veterans who may have been exposed to Agent Orange. Service members have said that they used Agent Orange across Guam, as well as other types of toxic herbicides, yet the VA has largely ignored these claims. While the GAO reported that. The Veterans Legal Services Clinic was founded in 2010 to train law students and to serve the legal needs of veterans. So the Congressional approach is definitely, were hoping, the fastest.. Washington, D.C.: 1776 I Street, NW, 9th Floor, Washington, D.C 20006 This harmful defoliant was deployed in the 1960s and 1970s as a way to reduce the amount of vegetation in an area. New law recognizes Agent Orange exposure on Guam. VA often attempts to distinguish tactical andcommercialherbicides as a basis on which to deny service connection claims based on exposure to herbicides. The conclusion is based on an exhaustive review conducted over nearly two years of government, private, archival, and oral history evidence of herbicide use in Guam during the Vietnam era. While research on the use of Agent Orange in Guam is ongoing, you still might consider filing a claim. More than three-quarters of all US B-52 aircrafts that were available for operations were based in Guam. In this blog post, well look at the reports that have urged the VA to reconsider as well as the diseases that might be caused by Agent Orange. Guam veterans now have an overwhelming case that will require the VA to finally recognize these meritorious claims.. In May 2020, the National Veterans Legal Services program, as well as the veterans legal services clinic at Yale Law School, published their initial report indicating that veterans who served in Guam from 1962 to 1975 were at least as likely as not exposed to herbicides during their service. More research into the subject could reveal the use of Agent Orange and other herbicides in more locations on Guam. Guam EPA considered the investigation ongoing at the time, but the COVID-19 pandemic made its way to the island the following year. The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed the veteran healthcare expansion bill, which would facilitate the compensation of benefits claims sought by retired service members who were exposed to Agent Orange while stationed on Guam, American Samoa and Johnston Atoll. This is heart-wrenching because when theyre old and suffering, theyre still advocating for everything theyve got in them for some kind of justice and they believe this is justice that they are seeking, the senator said. She is excited to be reporting on Guam's current affairs, legislature and other topical issues. The standard of proof for the VA is whether veterans were as likely to have been exposed to harmful herbicides as they were likely to have not been exposed. She worked at CTV News and CFRA in Canada for over 5-years, where she was a reporter, anchor and show host. However, between the new reports by official parties as well as the overwhelming claims from the veterans themselves, there is reason to believe that the VA will begin to recognize a service connection between certain diseases if the veteran served in Guam during this time period. Brian Moyer,aveterans advocate and founder ofAgent Orange Survivors of Guam, said he had been told by some veterans that VA staff members at the Orlando, Florida, medical center have told them not to apply for benefits regarding Guam and Agent Orange exposure because it would be denied. April 21, 2023 <https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/116/s3446> show another citation format: APA Blue Book Wikipedia Template Thus, VA may not have accurate information when making decisions on veterans claims related to herbicide exposure. 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These cookies are also used to let affiliates know if you came to one of our websites from an affiliate and if your visit resulted in the use or purchase of a product or service from us, including details of the product or service purchased. President Biden has signed a federal law that acknowledges the use of the toxic herbicide Agent Orange on Guam. The VA recognizes that repeated exposure to Agent Orange causes a number of diseases, including: This chemical can clearly affect the body in a number of different ways. If these dioxins continue to exist in our soils and other places then we need to remove them, and I want that to happen thats my goal also, she said. Guam Speaker Therese Terlaje was pleased with the passage of H.R. This article may not be republished, rebroadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without written permission. Moyer assisted with soil sampling in October 2019. However, dioxin itself, which is a byproduct of those chemicals, is often found in the same herbicide agent and has a much longer half-life. These cases have been evaluated on a case-by-case basis. These cookies are essential so that you can move around the website and use its features. Numerous veterans have testified to the use or existence of Agent Orange in Guam, while the federal government denies this is the case. Since that time, we have provided compassionate When most people think about Parkinsons they think of the few, Direct Exposure to Agent Orange Subic Bay Philippines The VA has admitted that exposure to Agent Orange can be very harmful to ones health, and the exposure can lead to, Agent Orange Exposure and C-123 Aircraft U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has confirmed that eligible Vietnam War veterans are presumed to have experienced Agent Orange herbicide exposure between January 9,. Mai Habib is a radio and television broadcaster and journalist originally from Toronto, Canada. We still maintain that more sampling is necessary for the investigation.". through various military records, that Agent Orange components 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T were used on Guam in commercial herbicides. A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 9. Some veterans who served on Guam have been awarded disability claims for Agent Orange-related illnesses, but NVLSP and Yale believe all who served on Guam during the Vietnam era who have a presumptive condition should automatically qualify for VA benefits. The results then showed traces of dioxin but at non-toxic levels in the one sample location. TCDD is a carcinogen and an active component of Agent Orange and other rainbow herbicides. Relatively recent attention on Agent Orange in Guam culminated in a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which determined there was no evidence Agent Orange was offloaded here. Service Connection Due to Agent Orange Exposure in Guam, Locations in Guam Where Herbicides Were Used, The Myth of Tactical vs. Commercial Herbicides, February 2021 Updated Report on Exposure in Veterans Who Served in Guam. "I think you have to see it as an admission that Agent Orange, or at least some sort of herbicide, was used on Guam," said attorneyJohn Wells, a retired U.S. Navy commander and chairman ofMilitary-Veterans Advocacy Inc. What is certain is that the components of Agent Orange were used on Guam.