Information on Chemical UsageSeveral types and combinations of chemicals were used in Operation Ranch Hand, each one codenamed by the color of the identification stripe that appeared on its chemical storage drums. The best known mixture is popularly known as Agent Orange, although in the military it was referred to as Herbicide Orange (HO). All the herbicide mixtures were contaminated with varying levels of toxic chemicals, the most notorious and toxic of which was 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin (TCDD), often just called dioxin. Dioxin was found in Agents Orange, Green, Pink, and Purple. TCDD is an extremely toxic chemical, linked to a variety of diseases. |
Name | Chemical Constituents | Concentration of Active Ingredient | Years Used | Documented Quantities Sprayed |
Phenoxyacetic Acid Based Herbicides§ | ||||
Agent Pink* | 60%-40% n-Butyl: Isobutyl ester of 2,4,5-Ta | 961-1081 g/l acid equivalent | 1961,1965b | At least 50,312 |
Agent Green* | n-Butyl ester 2,4,5-T | 1961,1965c | 31,026 shown on procurement records | |
Agent Purple* | 50% n-Butyl ester 2,4,-D; 30% n-Butyl ester 2,4,5-T; 20% Isobutyl ester 2,4,5-T | 1033 g/l acid equivalent | 1962-1965 | 1,892,773 |
Agent Orange* | 50% n-Butyl ester 2,4,-D; 50% n-Butyl ester 2,4,5-T | 1033 g/l acid equivalent | ||
Agent Orange* II | 50% n-Butyl ester 2,4-D; 50% Isooctyl ester 2,4,5-T | (Assumed same as Orange) | After 1968 | At least 3,591,000 shipped. Quantity sprayed not known |
Agent Whited | Based on weight of acid: 21.2% Tri-isopropanolamine salts of 2,4-De and 5.7% Picloram; with water, wetting agent and other inerts for remainder | By acid weight: 240.2 g/l 2,4,-D and 64.9 g/l Picloram | 1966-1971 | 20,556,525 |
Arsenicals | ||||
Agent Blue (powder)f | Cacodylic acidg and sodium cacodylate | Acid: 65% active ingredient Salt: 70% active ingredient |
1962-1964 | |
Agent Blue (H2O solution) | 21% sodium cacodylate plus additional cacodylic acid to yield not less than 26% total acid equivalent on weight basis; by volume: 3-5% sufactant; 0.5% antifoam agent. | Cacodylic acid weight: 360.3 g/l | 1964-1971 |
Table 2 shows all herbicides sprayed over the Republic of South Vietnam between 1962-1971 by volume, type and year. These data are based our the corrected version of the HERBS file developed by the Stellman team, under contract to the US National Academy of Sciences. This table does not contain the small amounts of the 2,4,5-T/2,4-D mixtures known as Dinoxol and Trinoxol, and sprayed during tests carried out in 1961.
Table 2. Liters and per cent distribution of herbicides sprayed in the Republic of South Vietnam, 1962-1971, by agent2 and year of spraying.1Year | Purple | Pink | Orange | White | Blue | Unstated | Total |
1962 | 142085 | 10031 | 152117 | ||||
1963 | 340433 | 340433 | |||||
1964 | 831162 | 15619 | 846781 | ||||
1965 | 579092 | 50312 | 1868194 | 18927 | 2516525 | ||
1966 | 7602390 | 2179450 | 59809 | 126474 | 9968124 | ||
1967 | 12528833 | 5141117 | 1518029 | 86288 | 19274267 | ||
1968 | 8747064 | 8353143 | 1289144 | 249750 | 18639101 | ||
1969 | 12679579 | 3987100 | 1035385 | 274291 | 17976356 | ||
1970 | 2251876 | 845464 | 762665 | 96509 | 3956514 | ||
1971 | 50251 | 50698 | 9085 | 110034 | |||
TOTALS | 1892773 | 50312 | 45677937 | 20556525 | 4741381 | 861325 | 73780253 |
Percent | 2.6 | 0.1 | 61.9 | 27.9 | 6.4 | 1.2 | 100 |