The curse of Agent Orange

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 20 February 2019

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Millions suffered from exposure to toxic chemicals sprayed by US forces during the Vietnam war. The chemicals were defoliants and herbicides designed to destroy jungles and vegetation which provided cover for communist guerrillas. But the defoliants contained dioxin, one of the most toxic chemicals known to man. The most notorious defoliant was called Agent Orange. Decades later, Vietnamese are still being affected. Witness speaks to Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong about her struggle against the toxic legacy of the war. Photo: Child suffering from spinal deformity in rehabilitation centre in Saigon.

Transcript

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1:09.4	Welcome to the Witness History podcast from the BBC World Service with me Alex Last.
1:14.7	And today we go back to the 1960s when millions were exposed to toxic chemicals
1:20.0	sprayed by US forces over Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The most notorious was called Agent Orange.
1:28.7	We hear from a doctor who battled the terrible impact of these chemicals on generations of Vietnamese people. decades ago during the Vietnam War fleets of American aircraft
1:56.7	sprayed vast amounts of chemical defoliants and herbicides over
2:00.9	South Vietnam. The aim was to destroy the forests, jungles and vegetation
	...

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