From: john@anasazi.com (John R. Moore)
Subject: Re: Agent Orange update
Reply-To: john@anasazi.com
Organization: Anasazi Inc, Phoenix AZ USA
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 17:18:18 GMT

Keywords: 

In article <1992Jul21.173403.1501@cbnewsl.cb.att.com> oshea@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (d.o'shea) writes:
]This subject of Agent Orange has been glossed over by the military and
]government because of potencial liability.  The research paper you read
]raises some interesting questions.
]
]Item [1] :  This would indicate that AO has some potencial benifit with
]   respect to incidents of cancer.  It may protect against certain cancers.

Possibly... or more likely those farther from the action were more exposed
to other carcinogens such as solvents and exhaust gasses.
]
]Item [2] :  According to my copy of the "Handbook of Hazardous Chemicals",
]   few hazardous chemicals been shown to cause cancer.
]   However, thoes that are know to, have been proven.
]   A person can eat all the salt in the world and it will not cause cancer.

Those that are known to, have been proven???? Huh? We are hung up here on
the definition of "cause cancer." However, you are responding to a side note
so I'll let it slide.

]Item [3] :  The law states that any product that has been proven to cause
]  cancer in laboratory animals is not fit for human consumption.  Why?

Because congress doesn't understand things like orders of magnitude.
Besides, I don't think anyone claimed that Agent Orange is
fit for human consumption (although a Dow press agent once drank
a glass of it and showed no untoward effects). We are talking about
incidental exposure, not ingestion.

]  Does the USAF report state that every fire creates dioxins?
No, but it is well known.
]
]During the late 1940s, the Army marched thousands of solders into atomic
]bomb mushroom clouds.  This was done even after they know what effect
]radiation had on the survivors of Hiroshama and Nagazaki.  During the
]Bikini Atol tests in the 50s, servicemen were made to stand on ship decks
]during the detonation of some of our largest H-bombs.  You cannot prove
]that veterans who were exposed to these weapons suffered from cancers
]that were the direct result of such exposure.  How nice.

No, but you can show increased cancer rates among them, and you can show
other human data that shows that such exposure causes cancer. Neither
of these is true among AO veterans. I suggest you take a look at the
reports. AO may have been slighly dangerous, but then so is kerosene
(jet fuel), and certainly war is hazardous. I don't know of anyone
suing the government or anyone else for exposure to bullets! This
whole agent orange thing is bunk! Even if it caused cancer in a few
people, this would not indicate anything wrong with the government's
use of it. War is a hazardous business, and one trade's off benefits
(reduced jungle foliage in a combat zone) vs losses (possible
toxicity). Oh, another thing the study showed was that those most
exposed to AO (the air force people handling the material) are
in better health than those who were not exposed. If the effect is
so slight that these studies can't show it, which puts it in the
weeds compared to the other hazards of VN service, why such a fuss?

The Navy encouraged my smoking (I started in boot camp, and cigarettes
were subsidized and cheap, and available everywhere, and smoking
breaks encourage smoking). This is far more hazard than anyone exposed
to agent orange would have gotten. Should I scream and sue and holler
and claim coverup? I lost some hearing due to jet engine noise.
Should I scream and sue and holler and claim coverup? I was subject
to serious risk of death as an air crew member. Should I scream and sue and
holler and claim coverup? I used solvents in my work on aircraft, and
was exposed to toxic aircraft exhaust. Should I scream and sue and
holler and claim coverup? I contracted a tropical intestinal disease
that is still with me. Should I scream and sue and holler and claim coverup?


-- 
John Moore NJ7E, 7525 Clearwater Pkwy, Scottsdale, AZ 85253  (602-951-9326)
john@anasazi.com ncar!noao!asuvax!anasaz!john anasaz!john@asuvax.eas.asu.edu
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