Agent Blue, From the Vietnam War, to the War in Your Lawn.

I was doing some research on Arsenic and other chemicals after I read reports about the recent Hungary chemical disaster, and I came across some limited information on Agent Blue.

I will link you to what I found. Basically Agent Blue is one of the herbicides used in Vietnam along with Agent Orange, White, etc. However, the danger doesn't end there as you will see we use Agent Blue commercially in our own backyards.

en.wikipedia.org...

Agent Blue is one of the "rainbow herbicides" that is known for its use by the United States during the Vietnam War. It was sprayed on rice paddies and other crops in an attempt to deprive the Vietnamese of valuable crops. Agent Blue is a mixture of two arsenic-containing compounds, sodium cacodylate and cacodylic acid.

And here it explains exactly what the "official purpose" of this chemical was used for.

As rice is incredibly durable, and difficult to destroy with conventional explosives, and does not burn, the weapon of choice was herbicides. Agent Blue affects plants by causing them to dry out.

At first glance it may look like a lot was used during the war, but I cannot find any statistics of how much of this stuff has been used in commercial weed killing products for lawn care.

Approximately 1.25 million gallons (4.74 million liters) of Agent Blue were used in Vietnam during the war, destroying 500,000 acres (2,000 km2) of crops

Also apparently they even spray this stuff on cotton before it's harvested. Read this juicy part.

Arsenical herbicides containing cacodylic acid as an active ingredient are still used today as weed-killers. In the US they are used extensively, from golf courses to backyards. They are also sprayed on cotton fields, drying out the cotton plants before harvesting. So common -- and so profitable -- is the original commercial form of Agent Blue that it was among 10 toxic insecticides, fungicides and herbicides partially deregulated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in February 2004. Specific limits on toxic residues in meat, milk, poultry, and eggs were removed.

It seems the sources are "Znet Ecology" whatever that is, and
"Stellman, Jeanne et al. The Extent and patterns of usage of Agent Orange and other herbicides in Vietnam. Nature. Vol. 422 (17 April 2003) pp 681 - 687. "

Looks to be old info. I have never seen anyone talk about it before though. It's been mentioned in association with Agent Orange a few times, and people always refer to Orange particularly, but meanwhile Agent Blue has been in our backyard the whole time.

Seems pretty dangerous although I don't know the specifics. I don't think Arsenic containing compounds seem very safe. Well, look at what it does to the weeds in your backyard. Who knows what kind of health effects this stuff might have...

But notice the article says it's profitable in commercial applications.

Kind of frightening considering this research path started with that Hungarian chemical spill disaster.

Just a heads up for anyone interested in the subject. Also it's that kind of general conspiracy that's right under our noses the whole time, that chemical warfare goes on in our very own lawns. It's one of those hidden dangers very rarely spoken of.

Next time I'll just pull the weeds out the old fashion way, or use a weed-eater.


No need to risk health problems from toxic chemical exposure.

And pouring that stuff into your yard seem pretty unsafe as well. All kinds of issues there, from ground contamination to chemical runoff from water, etc.

Just thought I'd put this up here, because I was pretty surprised by what I randomly discovered. Admittedly, I don't know the health effects of this stuff exactly, but if anyone can find some literature about studies conducted I would be interested to review it. Thanks.

And here is the link I was reading when I found out about Agent Blue, just general info on Arsenic

en.wikipedia.org...

And here is a link to an ATS thread on the European chemical disaster that just went down recently, if you haven't heard about it yet.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

I'm feeling kind of silly.... I normally would have spotted this thread topic and followed it... I don't doubt that I have some form of this chemical in my house.... and as soon as I find it, it will be gone....

Which leads me to another sort of on topic question... how does one safely dispose of this stuff? It seems kind of improper to simply dump it or throw it in the trash....

a reply to: Maxmars

Sorry it took over 6 years to respond.
I brought this article up in a discussion just a min ago and saw your question.

Here:

Proper disposal of Hazardous Waste