Agent Orange exposed in toxic genocide targeting Indian communities

Agent Orange was used in the US, BC and Ontario, prior to and after the Vietnam War

Update in the news: Agent Orange sprayed along Ontario roadways until the 1980s:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2011/02/24/agent-orange-ont-highways485.html?ref=rss

By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/
PINAL MOUNTAINS, Ariz. -- Arizona was one of 21 states where Agent Orange was stored, or tested, prior to and during the Vietnam War, according to the US Department of Veterans Affairs. The site in Arizona was in the Tonto National Forest in the Pinal Mountains near Globe, in the Apaches homeland.
The Department of Defense published studies showing that exposure to Agent Orange has led to adult onset diabetes. Medical studies have linked exposure to brain tumors, and diseases in grandchildren of those in contact with Agent Orange. The severe deformities and birth defects resulting from Agent Orange exposure of pregnant women in Vietnam can be seen online in the photos of their children.
The US Department of Veterans Affairs reveals that Agent Orange was tested and used in Florida and Texas as early as 1944. But even after it was banned in the US, it was sprayed in Canada.
In Canada, Agent Orange was sprayed in British Columbia during the 1980s. At Kapuskasing, Ontario, Agent Orange was sprayed about 20 kilometers from a First Nations community.
Agent Orange spraying in Gagetown and surrounding communities in Canada had far reaching effects, since soldiers from around the world trained there.
The spraying at Kapuskasing reveals the pattern of the US and Canada of targeting areas with Indian communities. Kapuskasing was not only the site of Agent Orange spraying, but was also the site of a WWI prisoner of war camp and later a power plant.
In a pattern of toxic genocide, areas near and on Indian communities have been used as prisoner of war camps, power plant sites and toxic waste dumps.
In Arizona, the WWII prisoner of war camps included sites on Gila River Indian Community and Colorado River Indian Nations. Coal-fired power plants are now on and around many Indian Nations, including the Navajo Nation. The Western Shoshone in Nevada and Goshute in Utah continue to be targeted with toxic and nuclear waste dumps.
Navajos in New Mexico, Havasupai in Arizona and Lakotas in Nebraska and the Dakotas are targeted with new uranium mining that could contaminate their drinking water. During the Cold War, Navajos, Acomas and Laguna Pueblos worked in uranium mines without protective clothing and many died of cancer and respiratory diseases. Today, radioactive tailings are strewn on the Navajo Nation.
Dene in Canada, like the Dine' in Arizona, were never told of the dangers of uranium mining during the Cold War, and worked in the uranium mines without protective clothing. In the Pueblos, the radioactive dust blew on their foods as they ate.
In the case of the Goshute in Utah, their neighbor continues to be a biological and chemical warfare testing site, the US military's Dugway Proving Ground.
John H.W. Hummel is pressing for an investigation of the use of Agent Orange in and around Indian communities in Canada and the United States.
"I think that herbicides (contaminated with dioxin) were sprayed on many of the forests and traditional territories of Indigenous people in North America. I think that this has harmed the health of many people," Hummel told Censored News.
"The infamous 'Agent Orange' was sprayed by the forest industry upon large tracts of Canadian forests in Ontario, New Brunswick, British Columbia and likely elsewhere in Canada and probably on American forests too.
"This should be investigated. It may well impact thousands of Indigenous people on this continent," Hummel said.
The US Department of Veterans Affairs now provides a list of sites where Agent Orange was tested and stored, beginning in 1944, in the US.
As more people who were exposed to Agent Orange develop cancer and other serious health problems, the liabilities multiply for the US. Veterans and other victims are now fighting for justice, both at Veterans hospitals for treatment and in court for restitution.
The US Veterans Affairs website states that Agent Orange was used to remove foliage providing cover for the enemy during the Vietnam War.
"Agent Orange was the most widely used of the herbicide combinations sprayed. Agent Orange and other herbicides used in Vietnam were tested or stored elsewhere, including some military bases in the United States," the Veterans Affairs website states.
"The U.S. military herbicide program in South Vietnam took place between 1961 and 1971. Herbicides were sprayed in all 4 military zones of Vietnam. More than 19 million gallons of various herbicide combinations were used. Agent Orange was the combination of herbicides the U.S. military used most often."
http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/outside_vietnam_usa.asp#Arizona
"Agent Orange and other herbicides used in Vietnam were tested or stored elsewhere, including many military bases in the United States. Below is information from the Department of Defense (DoD) on projects to test, dispose of, or store herbicides in the U.S. For projects outside the U.S., go to Herbicide Tests and Storage Outside the U.S."
Meanwhile, Agent Orange was used in BC, Canada, after the Vietnam War, during the 1980s.
Jorma Jyrkkanen said, "When I was habitat protection technician for the BC Fish and Wildlife Branch between 1981 and 1987, I got a request by the BC Ministry of Forests to use Estron 3-3E in a sensitive area near the mouth of the Lakelse River. Upon examination of the ingredients, I determined that it was in fact one of the Agent Orange (AO) concoctions and rejected the application along with a note to MOF that I was not very pleased that they had entertained such an option. Read more ...
http://jorma-jyrkkanen.livejournal.com/tag/pesticides%20orange
Ontario teens were soaked by Agent Orange spraying done at Kapuskasing: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/940243--star-exclusive-agent-orange-soaked-ontario-teens
The Toronto Star reported that, "records from the 1950s, 60s and 70s show forestry workers, often students and junior rangers, spent weeks at a time as human markers holding red, helium-filled balloons on fishing lines while low-flying planes sprayed toxic herbicides including an infamous chemical mixture known as Agent Orange on the brush and the boys below."
Agent Orange was used in Australia, New Zealand and Brazil (see Wikipedia link in references below.)
"The Brazilian government used Agent Orange to defoliate a large section of the Amazon rainforest so that Alcoa could build the Tucuruí dam to power mining operations. Large areas of rainforest were destroyed, along with the homes and livelihoods of thousands of rural peasants and indigenous tribes," according to Wikipedia.
In Feb., 2011, the Toronto Star exposed the fact that powerline corridors were sprayed with Agent Orange.
Hummel said, "If dioxin contaminated Agent Orange was sprayed along these transmission corridors, the implications are horrendous. Especially for the First Nations and Métis people who may hunt, fish and pick berries anywhere near these corridors. These transmission line corridors pass through many of the First Nation and Metis peoples Traditional territories.
"Dioxin has been linked to approximately 50 diseases and medical conditions: http://www.vva.org/agent_orange.html including Type II Diabetes. If Ontario Hydro, Forest companies, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Natural Resources were spraying Agent Orange all over Ontario, you can bet it happened all over Canada and in the United States as well. We need a truly National, coast to coast, enquiry about all of this."
US sites where Agent Orange was stored and tested, US Department of Veterans Affairs:
http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/outside_vietnam_usa.asp#Arizona
Arizona Arkansas California Florida Georgia Hawaii Indiana Kansas Kentucky Maryland Mississippi Montana New York North Dakota Pennsylvania Rhode Island Tennessee Texas Utah Washington Wisconsin
Read more at Wikipedia:
Miscarriages and birth defects linked to Agent Orange spraying in US and Vietnam; Dow Chemical and Monsanto produced Agent Orange; Agent Orange used in Australia and New Zealand:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange
Also see:
VA links Agent Orange to brain cancer in court decision:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/02/prweb5080394.htm
Department of Defense: Agent Orange exposure leads to adult onset diabetes:
http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=8662
Recent News Coverage
CANADA:
Agent Orange "soaked" Ontario teens:
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/940243--star-exclusive-agent-orange-soaked-ontario-teens
Agent Orange outrage - Timmins Daily Press:
http://www.timminspress.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2983915
Ontario probes Agent Orange poisoning: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/940878--ontario-probes-agent-orange-poisoning
Agent Orange probe widens: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/941635--agent-orange-probe-widens
Agent Orange spraying in Gagetown and surrounding communities:
http://www.agentorangecanada.com/
LINKS
Transportation Ministry also used Agent Orange, say NDP. Minister investigates. - Winnipeg Free Press:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/health/transportation-ministry-also-used-agent-orange-say-ndp-minister-investigates-116829673.html
'Sources of Dioxins and Furans in British Columbia':
http://groups.google.com/group/friends-of-agg/browse_thread/thread/1e068b72934933e5
Agent Orange Use in British Columbia: http://jorma-jyrkkanen.livejournal.com/tag/pesticides%20orange
Ontario probes Agent Orange poisoning: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/940878--ontario-probes-agent-orange-poisoning
WHEN DID TRANSPORTATION MINISTER KNOW ABOUT AGENT ORANGE USAGE: Why Does It Take the Opposition to Tell the Truth:
http://www.gillesbisson.com/newsitem.php?id=836
Just added: Sources of dioxins and furans in British Columbia:
http://friends-of-agg.googlegroups.com/attach/ddf3302e6fc3b7b4/img-221143025-0001.pdf?view=1&part=4