Grandchildren of Vietnam Veterans are being born with birth defects and heart problems that could be connected to exposure to Agent Orange. Agent Orange was a powerful poison sprayed by the military to wipe out vegetation, particularly in Vietnam during the war. The military sprayed more than 20 million gallons of Agent Orange in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia to deny the enemy food sources and cover.
Chemicals in Agent Orange are known to cause several illnesses including certain types of cancers. It took decades for the VA to admit that Agent Orange was a poisonous agent that affected many service members. The VA has conceded that certain illnesses are connected to exposure to Agent Orange:
- AL Amyloidosis
- Chronic B-cell Leukemias
- Chloracne (or similar acneform disease)
- Diabetes Mellitus Type 2
- Hodgkin’s Disease
- Ischemic Heart Disease
- Multiple Myeloma
- Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Peripheral Neuropathy, Early-Onset
- Prophyria Cutanea tarda
- Prostate Cancer
- Respiratory Cancers (including lung cancer)
- Cancers of the lung, larynx, trachea, and bronchus
- Soft Tissue Sarcomas (other than osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, or mesothelioma)
- A group of different types of cancers in body tissues such as muscle, fat, blood and lymph vessels, and connective tissues
Currently, if a biological child of a man who served in Vietnam or the Korean DMZ was born with Spina Bifida, that child is eligible for VA benefits. The VA will cover the following birth defects for children born to women who served in Vietnam and the Korean DMZ:
· Achondroplasia
· Cleft lip and cleft palate
· Congenital heart disease
· Congenital talipes equinovarus (clubfoot)
· Esophageal and intestinal atresia
· Hallerman-Streiff syndrome
· Hip dysplasia
· Hirsschprung’s disease (congenital megacolon)
· Hydrocephalus due to aqueductal stenosis
· Hypospadias
· Imperforate anus
· Neural tube defects
· Poland syndrome
· Pyloric stenosis
· Syndactyly (fused digits)
· Tracheoesophageal fistula
· Undescended testicle
· Williams syndrome
Currently, the VA does not believe there is enough research to conclude that any birth defects in grandchildren could be connected to Agent Orange. Congress has mandated research, however, the VA has not begun this process.
For more information on VA Disability Benefits, contact an experienced VA disability attorney at Gardberg & Kemmerly, P.C. Gardberg & Kemmerly, P.C. represents VA disability claimants in Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, and Louisiana at all levels of the disability process