What does newly released information about Agent Orange mean for

US policy towards Indochina and research on veterans’ health?

Please join us for the:

Agent Orange Research and Policy Update

July 8, 2003

9:00 – 1:00 (buffet lunch to follow)

United Methodist Building,

100 Maryland Ave, NE.

Featured presenters:

Representatives Lane Evans (D-IL), Ranking Democratic Member of the House Committee of Veteran’s Affairs who has been a strong advocate for Agent Orange compensation for veterans’ and their children and for full disclosure of locations where Agent Orange was used will make opening remarks.

Dr. Jeanne Mager Stellman of Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health has found that 1.82 million more gallons of herbicides were sprayed during the Vietnam War, with nearly double the level of dioxin than previously calculated. She will present a comprehensive database of herbicide use in Vietnam, enabling exposure estimations for US veterans and affected Vietnamese.

Dr. Wayne Dwernychuk of Hatfield Associates in Vancouver, Canada, will provide a summary of findings in the A Luoi Valley (A So base) in central Vietnam, one of the many “dioxin hotspots” on former US military bases. Wayne will discuss the ongoing environmental impacts of herbicide use.

Roger Rumpf of Project Lao Agent Orange Survey will provide a summary of what is known about the use of Agent Orange in Laos and his efforts in cooperation with Rep. Lane Evans (D-IL) for the Pentagon and CIA to release more sealed records about the use of Agent Orange.

Diane Fox, a PhD candidate at the University of Washington, will report on efforts underway by non-governmental organizations and the Vietnamese government to address the humanitarian needs of people presumed to be affected by exposure to Agent Orange.

Rick Weidman, Director of Government Relations, Vietnam Veteran’s of America (to be confirmed)

A buffet lunch will be served, followed by the Washington premiere of the award-winning documentary “Friendship Village.”

Sponsors:

Fund for Reconciliation and Development

American Friends Service Committee

Oxfam America

Seating is limited. Please reserve a space by responding by e-mail to indochina@ffrd.org, by phone to 212-760-9903, or by faxing this form to 212-760-9906.

Names of persons attending _______________________________________________________

Congressional office or organization ________________________________________________

Contact e-mail and/or fax number ________________________Number of lunches _________

Agenda

Agent Orange Research and Policy Update

Tuesday, July 8, 2003

Conference Room, The United Methodist Building

100 Maryland Avenue, NE

9:00: Opening remarks by Rep. Lane Evans (D-IL) and the organizers

9:15 – 10:45: Review of recent research on spraying of herbicides and residual dioxin in

Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam; implications for future research and intervention.

Moderator: Lady Borton, American Friends Service Committee, Hanoi, Vietnam

Jeanne Stellman, PhD, Professor and Deputy Head of the Department of Health Policy and Management, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University

Research on the extent and patterns of usage of Agent Orange and other herbicides in Vietnam as published by Jeanne and Steven Stellman in Nature 422, 681 - 687 (17 April 2003) and development of a Geographic Information System or Herbicide Exposure Assessment in Vietnam (Geographic Information System for Characterizing Exposure to Agent Orange and Other Herbicides in Vietnam. Environmental Health Perspectives Volume 111, Number 3, March 2003)

L. Wayne Dwernychuk, Vice-President & Principal, Senior Biologist Hatfield Consultants

Overview of Hatfield research on levels of dioxin from war-time herbicides that remain in the Aloui Valley of Vietnam, including discovery of hotspots on former US military bases from which dioxin enters the food chain and affects nearby residents. In addition to historic impact of aerial spraying, there is current dioxin exposure due to storage of Agent Orange, spills and repeated perimeter spraying around military bases. Proposed remedial steps to contain/prevent further exposure to dioxin and to address environmental damage.

11:00 – 12:30 Addressing humanitarian needs in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam and among US veterans and refugees as a result of Agent Orange and related war legacies.

Moderator: John McAuliff, Executive Director, Fund for Reconciliation and Development

Roger Rumpf, Project Lao Agent Orange Survey

The hidden Agent Orange history of the Secret War.

Diane Fox, University of Washington PhD candidate

The social impacts of Agent Orange including the impact on families of people presumed to be affected by AO in Vietnam. Report on the work of the Vietnam Red Cross Agent Orange Victim’s Fund.

Rick Weidman, Director of Government Relations, Vietnam Veterans of America (to be confirmed)

12:30 Buffet sandwich spread

1:00 – 2:00 Friendship Village documentary film: THE FRIENDSHIP VILLAGE is an award-winning 50-minute documentary by Canadian filmmaker Michelle Mason about an international group of veterans who are building a village in Viet Nam for children with Agent Orange-related disabilities.