Agent Orange and the Vietnamese: the persistence of elevated dioxin levels in human tissues.

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  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: American Public Health Association Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 1254074 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Print ISSN: 0090-0036 (Print) Linking ISSN: 00900036 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Am J Public Health Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Publication: Washington, DC : American Public Health Association
      Original Publication: New York [etc.]
    • Subject Terms:
      2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic Acid/*analysis ; 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid/*analysis ; Adipose Tissue/*chemistry ; Defoliants, Chemical/*analysis ; Milk, Human/*chemistry ; Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins/*analysis; 2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic Acid/blood ; 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid/blood ; Agent Orange ; Defoliants, Chemical/blood ; Environmental Exposure/analysis ; Female ; Humans ; Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins/blood ; United States ; Vietnam ; Warfare
    • Abstract:
      Objectives: The largest known dioxin contamination occurred between 1962 and 1970, when 12 million gallons of Agent Orange, a defoliant mixture contaminated with a form of the most toxic dioxin, were sprayed over southern and central Vietnam. Studies were performed to determine if elevated dioxin levels persist in Vietnamese living in the south of Vietnam.
      Methods: With gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy, human milk, adipose tissue, and blood from Vietnamese living in sprayed and unsprayed areas were analyzed, some individually and some pooled, for dioxins and the closely related dibenzofurans.
      Results: One hundred sixty dioxin analyses of tissue from 3243 persons were performed. Elevated 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) levels as high as 1832 ppt were found in milk lipid collected from southern Vietnam in 1970, and levels up to 103 ppt were found in adipose tissue in the 1980s. Pooled blood collected from southern Vietnam in 1991/92 also showed elevated TCDD up to 33 ppt, whereas tissue from northern Vietnam (where Agent Orange was not used) revealed TCDD levels at or below 2.9 ppt.
      Conclusions: Although most Agent Orange studies have focused on American veterans, many Vietnamese had greater exposure. Because health consequences of dioxin contamination are more likely to be found in Vietnamese living in Vietnam than in any other populations, Vietnam provides a unique setting for dioxin studies.
    • Comments:
      Comment in: Am J Public Health. 1995 Apr;85(4):476-8. (PMID: 7702107)
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    • Accession Number:
      0 (Defoliants, Chemical)
      0 (Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins)
      2577AQ9262 (2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid)
      39277-47-9 (Agent Orange)
      9Q963S4YMX (2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic Acid)
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 19950401 Date Completed: 19950504 Latest Revision: 20190514
    • Publication Date:
      20221213
    • Accession Number:
      PMC1615128
    • Accession Number:
      10.2105/ajph.85.4.516
    • Accession Number:
      7702115