http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=616652

Vietnam War victims of Agent Orange poisoning sue US chemical companies
By Andrew Buncombe in Washington

04 March 2005

Vietnamese citizens who say they have suffered a lifetime of health problems after being poisoned
by Agent Orange during the Vietnam War are suing the American chemical companies that provided the
Pentagon with the toxic defoliant.

The case has huge implications. If successful it could open the way for claims against companies
that produce weapons such as depleted uranium-tipped munitions, which have been strongly linked to
cancer.

In the lawsuit filed this week, it was alleged that up to four million Vietnamese suffered
persistent respiratory and reproductive problems as a result of being contaminated by Agent Orange.
They are seeking compensation that could run to billions of dollars from 30 companies, such as Dow
Chemical and Monsanto. One of the plaintiffs, Dr Phan Thi Phi Phi, told the court in New York she
had worked in an area that was heavily sprayed with the defoliant and suffered four miscarriages
during the early 1970s. "We did not know what happened to us, what was the cause of it, so we were
very sad because we had so many miscarriages and we could not have children," she said.

US forces routinely sprayed the defoliant to clear areas of jungle where they believed Communist
forces were hiding, and to destroy their crops.

Although $300m (£160m) has been paid out to American troops who fought in Vietnam, there has never
been any compensation paid to the Vietnamese. Scientists have stated that the defoliant can cause
cancer, diabetes, birth defects and other problems.

Jonathan Moore, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said: "The companies ... knew Agent Orange contained
high levels of dioxin and did not care because ... they figured the only people getting sprayed were
the enemy."

The firms have sought to dismiss the claim. This week their lawyers argued that the US courts had no
power to penalise companies for executing the orders of a president exercising his powers as
commander in chief. Lawyers also stated that companies normally enjoyed exemption from criminal and
civil liability for alleged war crimes. The Justice Department also sought dismissal of the lawsuit,
arguing that opening the US courts to former wartime enemies could threaten presidential power to
wage war. The US government has argued that the effects of Agent Orange are not supported by direct
evidence.

District Judge Jack Weinstein questioned whether presidential orders exempted the firms, citing the
actions of German corporations during the Second World War.

Dave Cline, of Vietnam Veterans against the War, supported the action. He said US veterans had
fought for years to receive compensation for 11 separate conditions and illnesses linked to Agent
Orange. "In Vietnam they say three million people still suffer," he said.

No one from Dow Chemical was available to comment.


6 March 2005 05:18