GMO’s – 12 Reasons To Avoid Them

On May 23, 2013 By Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

GMO Monsanto

Let’s Face It, There will always be someone who looks at you like a deer in headlights when you try to explain why GMO’s are not safe. Maybe this will help.

1. GMOs are grown with toxic chemicals and resulting pesticide residues are known to be harmful to human health.

2. Research has shown that laboratory mammals fed GMOs suffer adverse effects that include damage to kidneys, liver, adrenal glands, spleen, and heart. Additionally, their immune systems were compromised and in some cases brain size was reduced.

Environmental harms.

3. GMO crops require huge amounts of chemicals that are harmful to soil, water, the atmosphere, and creatures. Although they are promoted as a technology to reduce pesticide usage, GM crops in the U.S. used greater than 26 percent more pesticides per acre in 2008 than non-GMO crops, based on U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data.

4. GMOs are actually increasing the need for stronger and more poisonous pesticides. For example, one agrochemical company is awaiting USDA approval of corn and soybeans resistant to 2, 4-D, a chemical related to Agent Orange.

5. GMOs are causing a growing epidemic of “superweeds.” These massive weeds have evolved a resistance to glyphosate, a chemical used on GM crops. Stronger toxic chemicals and soil-eroding tillage operations are required in order to eliminate superweeds.

6. GMOs contribute to global warming: GM crops require synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, which are responsible for approximately 60 percent of total emissions of nitrous oxide (a greenhouse gas nearly 300 times more potent than CO2). GM crops use high amounts of fossil fuels through the production of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers.

7. GMO practices contaminate our organic and local food systems. A report titled, Gone to Seed, found that 50 percent or more of non-GMO corn, canola, and soybean seed have been contaminated with GM genes.

8. Beneficial insects can be harmed. A Cornell University study showed that monarch butterflies suffered higher mortality rates when consuming milkweed leaves dusted with the Bt toxin associated with GM crops. And recently, pesticides called neonicotinoids have been blamed for the collapsing bee populations.

Harms to social and human rights.

9. GMOs are promoted as way to feed the world and mitigate hunger; however, numerous studies demonstrate that the GM crops do not produce higher yields as claimed. As one example, a USDA publication reports that “GM crops do not increase the yield potential.”

10. GMOs lead to corporate control over seed and food: Today only one company controls about 95 percent of GM seeds. This limits access to seeds, which are the center of food and life.

11. These large agri-corporations do not let farmers save seeds, a basic practice that has continued for centuries to ensure food security.

12. GMO agriculture is an extension of current industrial-farming practices that have resulted in the loss of family farms and farmer livelihoods around the globe.

Read Full Article by guest blogger Alberto Gonzalez, founder and CEO of GustOrganics

Monsanto – A Half Century Of Health Scandals

On May 22, 2013 By Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

Agent Orange, Dioxin, GMO, Aspartame, Growth Hormones, Herbicides, PCBs,

The giant U.S. agribusiness Monsanto was found guilty on Monday Feb. 13, after being sued by a small farmer from Charente who had been poisoned by a herbicide. This event is a first in France. On the scale of the history of the one-hundred-year-old multinational, this sentence constitutes just one more episode in an already long record of court procedures.

PCBs, Agent Orange, dioxin, GMO, Aspartame, growth hormones, herbicides (Lasso and Roundup) … a number of products that have made the fortune of Monsanto, have been marred by health scandals and trials sometimes leading to their prohibition. But nothing has so far hindered the irresistible rise of this former chemical giant who converted back to biogenetics and has mastered the art of lobbying. Portrait of a multinational multi-recidivist.

A chemical giant …explosive

Since its creation in 1901 in St. Louis, the small producer of saccharin that became one of the leading seed producers on the planet, has continued to make headlines. After the Second World War, the accidental explosion of a Monsanto plastics factory caused by a French freighter loaded with nitrate, which caused 500 deaths in Texas City in 1947, has remained in history as one of the first disasters of the chemical industry.

PCBs: the trial of shame

In 2001, 3,600 inhabitants of the city of Anniston, Alabama, attacked Monsanto for PCB contamination. According to a report, declassified by the U.S. Agency of Environmental Protection (EPA), Monsanto for almost forty years dumped thousands of tons of contaminated waste in a stream and an open garbage dump in the heart of a black neighborhood in the city.

Agent Orange: convinced of “poisoning”

During these same years, between 1961 and 1971, Monsanto produced Agent Orange, made up from the herbicide 2,4,5-T, whose dangerousness has been widely known ever since the explosion of the Nitro plant. This defoliant was massively dumped by U.S. aircraft over Vietnamese forests during the war. The consequences are still felt today, with many cancers and birth defects occurring in Vietnam, as well as various effects felt by many U.S. veterans.

In the 1970s, the Vietnam veterans opened a class action against the manufacturers of Agent Orange. Monsanto, alongside six other companies, was found to be the major guilty party in a lawsuit concerning damages for poisoning. In 1987, the seven manufacturers of Agent Orange were sentenced to pay $ 180 million to a compensation fund to U.S. soldiers.

During the trial, Monsanto presented scientific studies showing no link between exposure to dioxin and the cancers suffered by many veterans, in order to dismiss their action. It was demonstrated in the early 1990s that the studies based on the consequences of the explosion at the Nitro plant in 1949 were biased.

This scientific fraud is confirmed by the National Research Council, which found that Monsanto’s studies “suffer from misclassification between those exposed and not exposed to dioxin, and that this scientific fraud is confirmed by the National Research Council, and that they were biased in order to obtain the desired effect. “The case will be brought up again in 1990 by Greenpeace and the researcher Joe Thornton in a report entitled Science for Sale.

Read The Entire Article for more on Is Roundup herbicide toxic?, Herbicide Lasso : off sale, Growth Hormones: scandal on Fox News, GMO: Law suits galore, Aspartame health scandal,

http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/Monsanto-a-half-century-o-by-Soren-Seelow-Le-M-120325-363.html

Agent Orange Event Announcements

On May 21, 2013 By Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

Agent Orange COVVHA CO-Founders Announcement

Kelly L. Derricks will be speaking at The Philadelphia PA March Against Monsanto Location

This Saturday May 25, 2013

Heather A. Bowser will be speaking at The Akron OH March Against Monsanto Location

This Saturday May 25, 2013

Event Links Have Been Attached Below For More Details

Akron Ohio Link

Philadelphia Pennsylvania Link

Monsanto March Event Locations and Resource List

On May 20, 2013 By Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

GMO Agent Orange Monsanto

March Against Monsanto Resources and Information Links

Please Use The Following Link To Print Agent Orange Awareness Flyers

http://covvha.net/agent-orange-covvha-flyer-for-march-against-monsanto-events-public-posting

Please Use The Following Link To View Truth Teller’s Millions Against Monsanto Video

http://covvha.net/gmo-agent-orange-speech-given-by-truth-teller-at-millions-against-monsanto-nyc

Please Use The Following Link To View Monsanto’s Corporate Connection Map

http://covvha.net/monsantos-top-corporate-secrets-exposed/

Please Use The Following Link To Print A Single Page GMO Do Not Buy List

http://covvha.net/monsanto-gmo-brands-and-foods-printable-shopping-list

Please Use The Following Link For More GMO Resources

http://covvha.net/category/gm-food/

Please Use The Following Link To Find Your Local March Location

Locations Are Added Every 5 Minutes

http://www.march-against-monsanto.com/p/blog-page.html

AGENT ORANGE – Symptoms of Pesticide Poisoning

On May 17, 2013 By Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

Pesticide Poisoning Resources

http://www.getipm.com/sitemap.htm

Chemical and Pesticide Poisoning Research

Get Involved, Other are: Links for Environmental Activitists

Links to Sites on Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)

News and Articles on the Environment

Fight against the Poison (Chemical and Pesticide) Industry

Alternatives / Solutions for those seeking a chemical and pesticide free life.

Kids / Schools healthy environment

MONSANTO’S TOP SECRETS EXPOSED – CORPORATE CONNECTION MAP

On May 16, 2013 By Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

Monsanto Corporate Connections.

Apple Products Must Have Flash Players.

Browser Recommendation – Google Chrome.

I have been sitting on this information for several weeks now. Un-sure of how to present it to thousands of people, I have spent many hours becoming familiar with the project. It is an amazing piece of work that I have been navigating like a video game of sorts. I am offering this to all of you now so that everyone has an idea of what is going on in our World, Nation, States, Cities, and Towns behind closed doors.

I have started everyone with Monsanto’s Map. Each line draws a connection to another company. Each chair is yet another connection. Everything is “clickable” as well as allowing you to move the screen…Yes that’s correct, tap your mouse of the screen and drag it left right down up, and you will see the map expand.
After you become familiar with the idea of what you are navigating, Take your attention to the left hand side of the page. There you will find a world of links that you can learn to use individually. As an example, If you click on “companies” Box A and Box B will appear. You can then scroll on a list of companies to choose to see if they are connected to each other.

Please be patient when the program loads, after you watch the introduction, you will without a doubt know what you are seeing in front of your own eyes.

Enjoy.
I encourage everyone to SHARE… PLEASE DO NOT SEPARATE THE LINKS!!!! I worked very hard on this post so that everyone understood what they were looking at.

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” (Edmund Burke)

CLICK HERE TO BEGIN

© TRUTH TELLER

Agent Orange – Infertility In Children Of Vietnam Veterans

On May 15, 2013 By Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

Agent Orange – Infertility In Children Of Vietnam Veterans

AGENT ORANGE INFERTILITY CHILDREN OF VIETNAM VETERANS AO2GEN COVVHA.NET

“You Might Be Infertile Because Your Grandparents Were Mucking Around in Harmful Chemicals”

New research shows that if your grandmother or even your great-grandmother came in contact with some very common environmental chemicals, you could be suffering the consequences today in the form of male infertility, ovarian disease and the early or late onset of puberty.

It’s freaky when you think about it. It means that generations ago, for example, a pregnant woman was exposed to, say, DEET, the most common insect repellant in the whole world. Her baby grew up to have his own children and passed along mutations that occurred during mom’s exposure. Those children went on to also pass along those changes when they had their own kids, and there’s no telling how many future generations might be affected.

Michael Skinner and his colleagues at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, published data supporting this phenomenon today in Public Libray of Sciences. In addition to DEET, they looked at several other common chemicals including those found in soft plastics, pesticides, and jet fuel. They also looked at dioxin, the contaminant in Agent Orange.

Skinner and his colleagues have published several other studies looking at a chemical called vinclozolin, a common fungicide used on crops. They found it impaired fertility, and that the effect was carried down through generations. Now, the scientists are adding BPA, phthalates, pesticides, DEET, permethrin, dioxin, jet fuel, hydrocarbons, and JP8 to the list of chemicals with a similar effect.

“We didn’t expect them all to have transgenerational effects, but all of them did,” Skinner told me. “I thought hydrocarbon would be negative but it was positive too. This tells us that it’s not simply a unique aspect for a unique compound but that many environmental compounds have the ability to do this.”

The reasons behind choosing which chemicals to study partly came from the Department of Defense, which initiated the study. Why jet fuel? Because military bases spray it on roads to control dust. That’s also why they looked at three plastic compounds found in disposable water bottles: troops stationed overseas almost always drink bottled water.

Read Full Article

agent orange march against monsanto covvha.net

AGENT ORANGE COVVHA FLYER – March Against Monsanto Events & Public Posting

On May 14, 2013 By Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

Agent Orange Flyer by COVVHA for public postings and March Against Monsanto Events. During the Vietnam war era, Monsanto acting as contractors for the United States Gov’t produced the most lethal concentrations of Agent Orange. Millions internationally are dying from exposure and are being born after 4 generations with debilitating birth defects.

Please use the PDF DOWNLOAD link at the bottom left, save and print.

This File is verified safe by COVVHA when downloaded from the link given on this article.

Download (PDF, Unknown)

Agent Orange linked to deadliest forms of prostate cancer – NEW STUDY

On May 13, 2013 By Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

Agent Orange Prostate Cancer and related Diseases

(Reuters Health) – Men who were exposed to Agent Orange chemicals used during the Vietnam War are at higher risk for life-threatening prostate cancer than unexposed veterans, researchers have found.

By Genevra Pittman
NEW YORK | Mon May 13, 2013 12:23 am EDT

“This is a very, very strong predictor of lethal cancer,” said urologist Dr. Mark Garzotto, who worked on the study at the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Oregon.

“If you’re a person who’s otherwise healthy and you’ve been exposed to Agent Orange, that has important implications for whether you should be screened or not screened,” he told Reuters Health.

But one researcher not involved in the new study said it’s hard to take much away from it, given the imprecise way it measured exposure.

Agent Orange – named after the giant orange drums in which the chemicals were stored – was used by the U.S. military to destroy foliage, mainly in southern Vietnam. The herbicide was often contaminated with a type of dioxin, a potently carcinogenic chemical.

The Vietnam Red Cross Society has estimated that up to one million Vietnamese suffered disabilities or health problems as a result of Agent Orange, including children born with birth defects years after their parents were exposed.

Past research has also suggested that U.S. veterans who served where Agent Orange was used are at an increased risk of lymphoma and certain other cancers, including prostate cancer.

For the new study, researchers wanted to see whether exposure was more closely linked to slow-growing prostate cancers or aggressive tumors.

They analyzed medical records belonging to 2,720 veterans who were referred to the Portland VA for a prostate biopsy. About one in 13 of those men had been exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, according to their VA intake interviews.

One third of all men in the study were diagnosed with prostate cancer, about half of which were high-grade cancers – the more aggressive and fast-growing type.

When the researchers took men’s age, race, weight and family history of cancer into account, they found those with Agent Orange exposure were 52 percent more likely than unexposed men to have any form of prostate cancer.

Separating out different types of tumors showed the herbicide was not linked to an increased risk of slower-growing, low-grade cancer. But it was tied to a 75 percent higher risk of being diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer, the study team reported Monday in the journal Cancer.

“The increase in the rate of cancers was almost exclusively driven by the potentially lethal cancers,” said Garzotto, also from Oregon Health & Science University.

More research is needed to figure out exactly why that is, he said. In the meantime, Garzotto said veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange should discuss that with their doctors.

But Dr. Arnold Schecter, from the University of Texas School of Public Health’s Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Program in Dallas, said there’s a “big problem” with just asking veterans if they were exposed to Agent Orange or served in an area where it was sprayed.

“Of those most heavily exposed in the military as best we know, only a relatively small percentage of them had elevated dioxin from Agent Orange in their blood when tested by (the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention),” he told Reuters Health.

Schecter said that in Vietnam, people who have high levels of that type of dioxin in their blood live in places where the chemical has become integrated into the food supply – or were sprayed directly with Agent Orange.

Another researcher who has studied the effects of Agent Orange agreed that not having blood dioxin levels is a drawback, but said the findings are consistent with past research and general thinking about the chemical.

“Almost all studies have implicated that men with Agent Orange (exposure) either have higher-grade prostate cancer or a more aggressive clinical course,” said Dr. Gregory Merrick, head of Wheeling Hospital’s Schiffler Cancer Center in West Virginia, who also wasn’t involved in the new research.

But, he added, as long as men are getting into the VA system and getting regular evaluations and treatment for cancer, Agent Orange exposure “is not a death sentence by any means.”

SOURCE: bit.ly/gzHzeL Cancer, online May 13, 2013.

REUTERS - http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/13/us-agent-orange-cancer-idUSBRE94C03U20130513

AGENT ORANGE INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE – Official COVVHA Testimony Packet January 2013

On May 9, 2013 By Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

AGENT ORANGE INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE OFFICIAL COVVHA TESTIMONY
There is a renewed push for the Institute of Medicine to take seriously the claims made by the Children of Vietnam Veterans and their families about the birth defects and illnesses they are suffering from. The adverse affects of the dioxin laden herbicide sprayed over the jungles of Vietnam, AKA Agent Orange, have been well known since the government first admitted in 1991 to cause illnesses in Vietnam Veterans. For years, the veterans and their families have been saying birth defects and rare illnesses have affected their children’s health. These anomalies and illnesses are not only happening in the children of Vietnam Veterans (2nd generation), but now are showing up in alarming numbers in the grandchildren (3rd Generation) of Vietnam Veterans as well.

January 16, 2013, Children of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance (COVVHA) participated, in the public hearings for the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) Committee to Review on the Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans Exposure to Herbicides (Ninth Biennial Update) in Irvine, California. Tanya Mack, COVVHA Core Chairperson, and California resident, gave testimony on behalf of COVVHA to the committee. Tanya Mack is the Daughter of a recently, deceased Vietnam Veteran who succumbed service connected Agent Orange illnesses. She was born with severe hip dysplasia and has developed several rare aggressive cancers in her thirties which she is currently still fighting.

“The Institute of Medicine is an independent, nonprofit organization that works outside of government to provide unbiased and authoritative advice to decision makers and the public (From the IOM website).” They have been commissioned to review biannually, the most current data available about herbicides and the health effects on our Veterans. In the past, the IOM have been responsible for getting new illnesses added to the presumptive list for our ailing Vietnam Veterans. Like On October 13, 2009, when, the Veterans Affairs added three new medical conditions for Vietnam Veterans presumptively associated with exposure to herbicides; hairy cell and other B-cell leukemia’s, Parkinson’s disease, and ischemic heart disease, to the list of covered illnesses.

Included in COVVHA’s report to the committee, were the number and types of illnesses and congenital anomalies found in the second and third generation members of COVVHA. This includes the ailments that mirror the Vietnam Veterans and the congenital anomalies found on the list of birth defects covered in the children of women Vietnam Veterans. Tanya Mack, shared several studies from the early eighties including Ranch Hand studies and a current epigenetic study from Washington State that show a correlation to trans-generational exposures to dioxin, with the committee for them to consider. Several recommendations were made as to the next actions to help the children of Vietnam Veterans in the most practical ways.

Three of COVVHA recommendations included approving the currently covered eighteen plus, birth defects for children of female Vietnam Veterans for the children of male Vietnam Veterans. The second recommendation included the request for free DNA and Epigenetic testing for the biological children of Vietnam Veterans as needed, and an official Agent Orange Registry for Children of Vietnam Veterans. COVVHA made several other recommendations that were included in their submitted testimony.

Highlights of other participant’s testimony:
Ken Holybee, Director at Large, of Vietnam Veterans of America. Ken pointed out in the Veterans and Agent Orange 2008 Update, the IOM Committee concluded that it was plausible exposure to herbicides that could cause paternally mediated effects in offspring as a result of epigenetic changes, and that such changes would most likely be attributable to the TCDD contaminants in Agent Orange. He urged the committee to follow up on their 2008 recommendations. Due to the continued suffering the VVA sees in the families who attend their Agent Orange Town Hall Meetings.

Debra Kraus, widow of a Vietnam Veteran, Activist and Artist, shared a slideshow presentation of her art that is based on her experience through her husband’s dealings with the V.A. and health issues.

Elayne Mackey, National Health Committee co-chair for the Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America (AVVA). AVVA recommends the creation of Centers of Excellence to provide for research, treatment, and social services for the offspring of veterans of all eras who have been exposed to toxins while in service to our country.

Wesley T. Carter, Chair of the C-123 Veterans Association, asked for two possibilities, the Department of Defense designates the contaminated -123 aircraft, by specific tail number, as Agent Orange exposure sites. The other for the VA to accept claims from veterans able to provide evidence of service aboard the aircraft known to have been contaminated.

Andy Olshan, PhD, Chair of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina and Kim Boekelheide, MD, PhD, Professor of Medical Science, Brown University phoned into the meeting. The Doctors gave their opinion on the likelihood of Paternal Transmission of Dioxin through Sperm. The Doctors stated that paternal transmission is relatively small because the male system is made to minimize the transmission of issues and that there is not enough evidence to support the theory that Dioxin is transmitted through sperm.

COVVHA is committed to serving as a voice for the children of Vietnam Veterans including second and third generation victims of Agent Orange and Dioxin Exposures worldwide. We believe in empowering each other to hold the companies and governments responsible for causing so much devastation and suffering to our generations. We fight for justice globally. We hope the IOM will make the responsible recommendations to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Please, see the full testimony submitted to the Institute of Medicine attached which also includes Tanya Mack’s personal health struggle with Agent Orange related birth defects and cancers.

COVVHA members and supporters who have joined our email subscription will also receive the Video of Tanya’s testimony. If you would like to receive the video and other information from COVVHA you can subscribe in the box below

Committee to Review the Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans of Exposure to Herbicides (Ninth Biennial Update… by View Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance’s profile on Scribd” href=”http://www.scribd.com/COVVHA1″>Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

Heather A. Bowser, MsEd, LPCC

Camp LeJeune Toxic Water Health Update 2013

On May 8, 2013 By Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

Camp LeJeune, NC – Marine Toxic Water Update 2013

On March 15, 2013 the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) released its “Chapter A: Summary and Findings” water modeling report for the Hadnot Point and Holcomb Boulevard Water Treatment Plants and Vicinities for Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C. (http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune/hadnotpoint.html). Enclosed you will find a copy of the ATSDR fact sheet about this report and other information from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Camp LeJeune, NC – Marine Water Update

Hadnot Point-Holcomb Boulevard Reports http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune/hadnotpoint.html

During 2007–2009, ATSDR published historical reconstruction results for Tarawa Terrace and vicinity. Results for Hadnot Point, Holcomb Boulevard, and vicinity—based on information gathering, data interpretations, and water-modeling analyses—are now presented as another series of ATSDR reports supporting current health studies.

Supplements

Supplement 1: Descriptions and Characterizations of Data Pertinent to Water-Supply Well Capacities, Histories, and Operations [PDF, 2.06 MB]
Supplement 2: Development and Application of a Methodology to Characterize Present-Day and Historical Water-Supply Well Operations [PDF, 20.13 MB]
Supplement 3: Descriptions and Characterizations of Water-Level Data and Groundwater Flow for the Brewster Boulevard and Castle Hayne Aquifer Systems and the Tarawa Terrace Aquifer [PDF, 4.85 MB]
Supplement 4: Simulation of Three-Dimensional Groundwater Flow [PDF, 9.31 MB]
Supplement 5: Theory, Development, and Application of Linear Control Model Methodology to Reconstruct Historical Contaminant Concentrations at Selected Water-Supply Wells [PDF, 5.39 MB]
Supplement 6: Source Characterization and Simulation of Fate and Transport of Selected Volatile Organic Compounds in the Vicinities of the Hadnot Point Industrial Area and Landfill
Supplement 7: Source Characterization and Simulation of the Migration of Light Nonaqueous Phase Liquids (LNAPLs) in the Vicinity of the Hadnot Point Industrial Area [PDF, 4.01 MB]
Supplement 8: Field Tests, Data Analyses, and Simulation of the Distribution of Drinking Water with Emphasis on Intermittent Transfers of Drinking Water Between the Hadnot Point and Holcomb Boulevard Water-Distribution System.
READ MORE: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune/hadnotpoint.html#Chapter_A

Agent Orange Presumptive Exposure Veterans Information

On May 7, 2013 By Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

Agent Orange Presumptive Exposure – Information For The Vietnam Veteran

Information (evidence) that the Veterans Administration (VA) requires from vets for filing a claim for Agent Orange Presumptive Exposure can be mind consuming. This likewise may also apply for the widow of a veteran when applying for Dependence Indemnity Compensation (DIC). In some cases, children of a Vietnam veteran who are disabled due to Agent Orange by way of conception if qualified might also apply for compensation. Children infected with Dioxin are known as second generation. There is now third generation children showing up with illness’s from Agent Orange Dioxin.

Steps to take in filing a VA claim:

Contact the nearest VA office by phone, letter or E-mail for VA claim forms. Most forms can be downloaded on the VA website atwww.va.gov. Follow all instructions. Mail the form/s to the nearest regional VA office with a copy of your DD-214. (address/s can be found on their website). Once submitted, the VA will send you other forms to file with them. A letter of instruction will also be enclosed with the additional forms.

Note:

Be sure to include Social Security Number, you are identified by your SS#. It is also advised, all mailings to the VA be sent registered mail with return receipt. This insures they did in fact receive the forms.

Evidence:

The VA will require evidence of service. DD-214, Lists of service medals; especially the Vietnam Service Medal (VSM). The VA will supply you with a form for your personal statement. They will want to know if you feel your illness exposure to Agent Orange is combat related. Did you have boots on ground or at sea or in the air. If at sea, were you in the territorial waters of Vietnam. If in the air, did you fly over land Vietnam. When it comes to Navy, Coast Guard, Fleet Marines, there are two values, (1) Blue Water (2) Brown Water. Blue Water meaning at sea in the territorial waters of Vietnam combat zones. Brown Water meaning the inland water ways and or harbors of Vietnam. Nearly all US Army and Marine Corp and some Air Force were in country Vietnam, This is boots on ground. Some US Navy were also boots on ground. You determine which and must prove it.

Important:

Every item of evidence you send to the VA in support of your claim, put your SS# on each page. Accompany evidence with a letter.

Additional Evidence (Medical):

Doctor/s reports for your medical condition. Only medical conditions listed by the VA are accepted that are related to Agent Orange exposure. The VA with normally request medical reports from your doctor/s. You sign a release form for them to do this. However, it is your responsibility to insure that your doctor/s comply. A list of medical conditions that the VA accepts can be found on their website at www.va.gov .

Additional Evidence (Military):

Transfer orders to Ship, Unit or Command. Award of the Vietnam Service Medal, Personnel files that show your service onboard ship or on land. If you do not have these records, they can be gotten.

Army: US Army Reserve Personnel Center, 9700 Page Blvd, St, Louis, Mo. 63132-5100

Air Force: Air Force Reference Branch, Military Personnel Records, 9700 Page Blvd St. Louis, Mo. 63132-5100

Marine Corp

Coast Guard

Navy Navy Personnel Command. Room 5409, 9700 Page Blvd,

St. Louis, Mo. 63131-5100

General: National Personnel Records Center

1 Archives Drive

St. Louis, Mo. 63138-1002

In writing, you must be specific what you want in the way of files. I.E. Duty Station/s, Unit, Command, Medals, DD-214

Additional Evidence (Military Other):

Deck Logs, Navy, Fleet Marine, Coast Guard: Onboard ship, deck logs are important. They record the operations of the day, to include ship’s location at sea; Heading, and longitude and latitude. These sailing details can be mapped out. Some deck logs can be found on line. It is best to contact the Archives first:

Archives 2 Reference Section, Textual Archives Service Division

National Archives

8601 Adelphi Road

College Park, Md. 20740-6001

Ph# (301) 837-3510 Fax#(301) 837-1752

E-mail:

archives2reference@nara.gov

It is best to call first and ask if your ship is listed on line and what is the link.

You will need to give some detail information, Name and type of ship, Dates you think you were in the territorial waters of Vietnam (combat zone). Dates you think you were on inland water ways. Use a plus factor of approx. 8 to 10 days on both ends of the estimated dates; unless you do know the exact dates and time. The archives will do a records search, This could take up to 8 weeks to receive an response. There could be a small charge for the deck logs per page. There is the possibility that some deck logs are still classified, if so, the archive will have no record. Classified documents are nearly impossible to get. Not even your Congressman or Senator has clearance to get them. There were 714 Naval ships involved in the Vietnam war. The archives is a busy place. Let the archives know if your ship was designated Blue Water , Brown Water or both.

US Army Information:

There is a contact for Army info.

All request to the Army must be submitted on Standard Form 180

This form can be gotten by calling 1-888-276-9472

Or E-mail:

askhrc.army@us.army.mil

Or: access

https://www.hre.army.mil

Then click on ASK HRC

Note: This is a free service.

Other reliable sources for information and help:

www.bluewaternavy.org www.vnvets.com

Vietnam Veterans of America ph#1-800-vva1316

American Legion ph#1-202-861-2700

AmVets ph# 1-877-736-8387

Disabled American Veterans ph# 1-877-426-2838

Veterans of Foreign Wars ph# 1-816-756-3390

These veterans organizations can assign a Veterans Service Officer (VSO) to help with your case. Also contact your District member of US Congress and both of your States US Senators. It is their job to help you.

NOTE: When you do get approval from the VA and are rated for disability compensation, and are retired military, check the following website:

www.dafs.mil/retiredmilitary/disability/crpd.html

This website is only for those who retired from military service with 20 years active service or more, it is not for those who were disabled retired. To contact the author,please email John Bury at Jbury@Covvha.net

BECOME A MEMBER OF CHILDREN OF VIETNAM VETERANS HEALTH ALLIANCE

YOU WILL RECEIVE A ONCE DAILY EMAIL OF ANY BREAKING AGENT ORANGE NEWS AND RELATED TOPICS IN ADDITION TO ANY COVVHA UPDATES

PLEASE ENTER YOUR EMAIL IN THE BOX BELOW, A CONFIRMATION LINK WILL BE SENT TO YOUR EMAIL. YOU MUST OPEN THE EMAIL AND CLICK THE CONFIRMATION LINK TO COMPLETE THE PROCESS.

GMO & Agent Orange Speech Given By Truth Teller At Millions Against Monsanto NYC

On May 6, 2013 By Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

Agent Orange – Monsanto – GMO

March Against Monsanto 2013 season is here! Please read the following for important information.

Truth Teller 2013

On October 16, 2011, Kelly L. Derricks, also known as TRUTH TELLER traveled to New York City where she gave a public speech about Agent Orange after being invited by Millions Against Monsanto to participate in the rally event for World Food Day. Since then, the illness list she referenced reported by Children of Vietnam Veterans has grown to nearly 800 which are listed on the website of the Non-profit she Co-Founded, (COVVHA) Children of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance INC., with Heather A. Bowser.

Kelly has battled severe health issues since she was born that continue today. Some of her illnesses, presumed to be associated with the inter-generational effects of Agent Orange, include but are not limited to the following:

• Chronic kidney disease
• Crohn’s disease
• Addison’s disease
• Congenital adrenal hyperplaysia
• Intersticial cystitis.

*Her complete list of illnesses staggers to 35 different things.

Kelly will be speaking at the Philadelphia Location (Independence Mall) March Against Monsanto Event on Saturday May 25, 2013

Please Read Kelly’s Full Bio

http://covvha.net/children-of-vietnam-veterans-health-alliance-surviving-agent-orange-and-dioxin-exposures/

Please Watch the video below

http://www.youtube.com/user/teppnme

Kelly L. Derricks

BECOME A MEMBER OF CHILDREN OF VIETNAM VETERANS HEALTH ALLIANCE

YOU WILL RECEIVE A ONCE DAILY EMAIL OF ANY BREAKING AGENT ORANGE NEWS AND RELATED TOPICS IN ADDITION TO ANY COVVHA UPDATES

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Agent Orange – Who Ordered It To Be Sprayed…

On May 5, 2013 By James J. Alonzo

Who Ordered Agent Orange Sprayed

(C) James J. Alonzo

With all the illnesses, malformed babies, and suffering from Agent Orange, one could wonder who the person that ordered it to be used was. It was Elmo Zumwalt Jr., who as commander of U.S. naval forces in Southeast Asia that ordered the chemical defoliant sprayed over the South Vietnamese countryside to deprive communist troops of cover.

Elmo Russell Zumwalt, Jr. (November 29, 1920 – January 2, 2000) was an American naval officer and the youngest man to serve as Chief of navel Operations. As an admiral and later the 19th Chief of navel Operations, Zumwalt played a major role in U.S. military history, especially during the Viet Nam War.

After his selection for the rank of Rear Admiral, Zumwalt assumed command in July 1965 of Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla Seven. In September 1968, he became Commander Naval Forces, Viet Nam, and Chief of the Naval Advisory Group, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam.

Zumwalt’s command was not a blue water unit, like the Seventh Fleet; it was a brown water unit: he commanded the flotilla of Swift boats that patrolled the coasts, harbors, and rivers of Vietnam. Among the swift-boat commanders were his son, Elmo Russell Zumwalt III, and later future Senator John Kerry. During this time, the elder Zumwalt had an opportunity to safeguard the men who served under his command from the Viet Cong who hid in the jungle and ambushed American and ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) patrols at will.

A new group of herbicides, Agent Orange, White, and other assorted color names, could be sprayed on the foliage to remove the cover that the Viet Cong used so effectively. It was claimed at that time that the side effects on humans of long-term exposure to Agent Orange were not yet known, and the manufacturers, Dow and Monsanto, were eager to reassure potential users about its safety.

Admiral Zumwalt acted to protect not only his own son, but also his many comrades from a “clear and present danger,” but in so doing, he exposed them to chemicals now known to cause cancer. As all commanders must do, Admiral Zumwalt acted quickly and decisively on the available information; in this case, he relied on sources that were biased and unreliable, as later developments made clear.

In the end, he paid personally for his decision. Zumwalt’s son, Elmo Zumwalt III, died in 1988, aged 42;

Zumwalt’s grandson (born 1977) suffers from a congenital dysfunction that confuses his physical senses. Zumwalt’s son, prior to his own death, said in 1986 that

“‘I am a lawyer and I don’t think I could prove in court, by the weight of the existing scientific evidence, that Agent Orange is the cause of all the medical problems – nervous disorders, cancer and skin problems – reported by Vietnam veterans, or of their children’s severe birth defects. But I am convinced that it is.” He also said he never blamed his father for his disease.

Admiral Zumwalt said he felt his son’s cancer was most definitely due to Agent Orange. He also mentioned that his grandson Russell suffered from very severe learning disabilities that could possibly be traced to it as well. However, Zumwalt said he did not regret ordering the use of Agent Orange, because it reduced casualties by making it difficult for the enemy to hide and find food.

Admiral Zumwalt, along with his son, authored a book called My Father, My Son, published by MacMillan in September 1986, where they discussed the family tragedy of his son’s battle with cancer.

After treatment in a number of hospitals, Elmo Zumwalt III went to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center inSeattle, where he received a bone marrow from his sister Mouzetta, whose tissues fortunately matched his well enough for this treatment to be feasible. Results were promising but in the end, he died in 1988.

Sadly the Zumwalt family also suffered from Agent Orange. Was it all a case of “What goes around, comes around” or for those of the eastern thought, Karma”?

Agent Orange Resources – Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance On-Line Sites

On May 4, 2013 By Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

Where To Find Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance On-Line

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GMO Toxicology – Long term toxicity of Roundup herbicide

On May 3, 2013 By Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

The health effects of a Roundup -tolerant genetically modiﬁed maize (from 11% in the diet), cultivatedwith or without Roundup, and Roundup alone (from 0.1ppb in water), were studied 2years in rats. Infemales, all treated groups died 2–3 times more than controls, and more rapidly. This difference was vis-ible in 3 male groups fed GMOs. All results were hormone and sex dependent, and the pathological pro-ﬁles were comparable. Females developed large mammary tumors almost always more often than andbefore controls, the pituitary was the second most disabled organ; the sex hormonal balance was mod-iﬁed by GMO and Roundup treatments. In treated males, liver congestions and necrosis were 2.5–5.5times higher. This pathology was conﬁrmed by optic and transmission electron microscopy. Markedandseverekidneynephropathieswerealsogenerally1.3–2.3greater.Malespresented4timesmorelargepalpable tumors than controls which occurred up to 600days earlier. Biochemistry data conﬁrmed verysigniﬁcant kidney chronic deﬁciencies; for all treatments and both sexes, 76% of the altered parameterswere kidney related. These results can be explained by the non linear endocrine-disrupting effects of Roundup, but also by the overexpression of the transgene in the GMO and its metabolic consequences.

GMO Toxicology

Armed Forces Memorial Month

On May 1, 2013 By John J. Bury, US Navy Vietnam War veteran, Media, Pa.

Armed Forces Memorial Month

Armed Forces of wars past and present are honored with monuments and memorials. They are symbols to remind us Freedom is not Free, it is paid for in blood. Those who served wrote a blank check to our Country payable at any cost to include the giving of their life in the name of Freedom. The month of May is when we honor those who served in remembrance of the heroes who fought the battles.

For many, the battle is not over. The wars of Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf Desert Storm, Iraq, Afghanistan they burn deep within us. Many are laden with PTSD, diseases caused by agent orange dioxin exposure, dust inhalation caused by explosives. We battle with our legislators for equality. This addresses only a few of the battles we deal with today. For the most part we appear healthy unlike those with loss of limb and paralysis.

On those special days in May there are parades. The streets are lined with flag waving Americans to honor the fallen and those of the living. Politicians gather on the steps of government buildings making speeches of praise and glory that are soon forgotten. Those who fought the battles and their survivors never forget.

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen submit claims to Veterans Affairs for benefits to include hundreds of pages of required evidence to prove their disability a demanding effort for the veteran. The VA offers little assistance in how to locate the evidence required, for the most part the veteran is on his or her own. Many are denied benefits only to learn the injury or disease is not on the VA’s list or not enough evidence was presented. Some who served were on covert missions, where they were and what they did in time of war does not exist, personnel records are sealed classified, these are the unlucky vets who can not prove their very existence on a mission and are sick with diseases. These records should be made available to the veteran for their VA claim.

What does our Congress do about these discrepancies, nothing. Legislative Bills are introduced to afford VA benefits for better quality of life. All to often these Bills fail, why, because of expenditure. We who served are not worth the dollars. Yet there are dollars available to give to harboring terrorist active nations, government grants to study how high a grasshopper can leap, the counting of calories of a donut, the painting of a salmon on an Alaska airplane. To what extremes do our dollars go for, do not our veterans deserve to be thought of who are in need who fought the battles? It is not easy to accept what our government fails to do in caring for its veterans. Many of us have and in time to come will go to our graves with a thought in mind, our government did not care enough for we who fought the battles.

Yes, during the month of May the politicians will offer praise, glory and promises to help our veterans, only to forget their offering in months to follow. All we ask is for our Legislators to do their job, pass legislation to help our veterans in need.
-30-
By: John J. Bury, US Navy, retired, Vietnam War veteran, Media, Pa. for immediate press release

Agent Orange Infertility – For the hearts that Ache; but may still find joy

On May 1, 2013 By Q.A.S

Agent Orange & Infertility – Issues all too common for children of Vietnam Veterans

Today my words are meant to help uplift, empower and heal you. I know the feelings written here personally and it has hurt me in the past. I would like to give you some helpful ideas on how you can help children. How you can have them be a part of your life. How you can help them to fulfill their dreams, goals and lives even if you cannot have your own.

Recently I lost another child and finally put into motion a means that I would not concieve again to avoid the pain. I wanted to have my husbands child so badly that I could almost see him already. I felt that he was almost here and I could reach out and touch him and change my life. It was a boy I know that and it tore me open. I cried for weeks about this and I just want you to know that I truly understand how hard it is. This was not my first loss of a child but this one hurt the most.

I have had my share of trouble conceiving a child and then when I could was not able to carry to term. I made some changes in my lifestyle without the intention of having a baby at that time. I got rid of all the chemicals and animal products and voila ..side effect I was pregnant. I was so excited and happy. Then I found out the truth about what was happening and in the end I kissed my child goodbye and told him through tears that I was so sorry that I couldn’t be the mother that he had chosen.

I dealt with that pain and came out the other end knowing that I am here for another reason. That as much as my whole life i heard things like *Oh my god you will make such a good mom* to *You are so maternal* Why can’t I help children or adopt them and give them a better life? Why can’t I be their teacher and inspiration? Why can’t I help other people who feel like i do? I thought about it for months and came to the conclusion that I could do all and any of these things that I wanted to. The only limitation in place is what you believe there is. You can accomplish so much more than you may even realize.

I think that it is very important to remember that you may not be able to have your own child. But there are millions upon millions that could benefit from the love you hold in your heart for the ones you cannot have. They are just there waiting for you to find them, to lift them up and out of their desperate circumstances. To show them a better world and a kinder heart than they may have seen. So long as your choice is kindness and love towards a lonely or hurt child it is a good one.

These links will be a road that you may choose to go down. Remember while you do that just as you may feel alone and without joy and love, there are many children that feel the same exact way that you do. You hold this amazing gift in your hands and it is called free will. You can choose to gift and uplift and show these young people that they may suffer and that life is difficult but it is also filled with surprising kindnesses and gentle loving people.

http://kids-alliance.org/

http://www.casaforchildren.org/site/c.mtJSJ7MPIsE/b.5301295/k.BE9A/Home.htm

http://www.shiningstarsfoundation.org/how-to-help-1/volunteer/

http://www.ymca.net/volunteer

I try to think what the reasons could be as to why people cannot have children. There are so many it would take a very long time to cover even half of the reasons. But I think that while it is a heartbreaking thing to have to realize there is a reason I believe. We are here to help others. We are here to look at and find children that need us and just help them in any way we can. Mourn your losses and move on it is the best thing you can do for yourself. It may sound harsh but that is the truth. You are here for another potential purpose. Perhaps you are meant to be Father or Mother to the children of the world. Perhaps you were given a gift instead. One that could make a huge difference in the world. Have you considered that?

We are all here just floating around and sometimes we see something. We stop and look at it and examine it closely because it speaks to us. Loving other human being that may not be your blood is one of those things that passes by us. We should stop and examine it and see what we can do to help others and in doing so heal ourselves.

http://www.freearts.org/volunteers

http://www.pageahead.org/volunteer.php

I have been amazed at how many things we can do to help children. We could just type in volunteer to help children and find out for yourselves what is out there. What we can do to make a difference in the lives of so many children that lack hope. Because they have been hurt so badly that they find trusting someone difficult. But if this is what you want to do then there is nothing stopping you from helping someone else. Imagine the power that you possess! You could change the life of another human being for the better!

http://www.freethechildren.com/get-involved/

You could volunteer at your local school. See if they need any help and do what you can. If you have medical problems and I know that many of you do then tell them your limitations. Many would be happy to have the help from anyone. If they cannot work with you then keep trying and see what you might be able to start in your community. There is always some way to help others.

http://www.americaspromise.org/Act/Volunteer.aspx

http://www.abetterchance.org/abetterchance.aspx?pgID=963

http://www.mentoring.org/get_involved/become_a_mentor/volunteer_referral_service

http://www.bbbs.org/site/c.9iILI3NGKhK6F/b.5962345/k.E123/Volunteer_to_start_something.htm

I am including as many things that I can find that you could go out and do for yourself. Helping others can help to heal your own suffering. That is a proven fact in this world. If you reach out and help another human being you heal a hurt inside of you. These children that you help will not forget you or the things that you do to try and help them. I know you are hurting inside and I understand and this is a way to heal what is ailing you and your heart. Couples can benefit from this as well. Reach out and take a chance!

Quiescent Aureate Serpent

BECOME AN EMAIL MEMBER OF CHILDREN OF VIETNAM VETERANS HEALTH ALLIANCE

YOU WILL RECEIVE A ONCE DAILY EMAIL OF ANY BREAKING AGENT ORANGE NEWS AND RELATED TOPICS IN ADDITION TO ANY COVVHA UPDATES

PLEASE ENTER YOUR EMAIL IN THE BOX BELOW, A CONFIRMATION LINK WILL BE SENT TO YOUR EMAIL. YOU MUST OPEN THE EMAIL AND CLICK THE CONFIRMATION LINK TO COMPLETE THE PROCESS.

DIY Household Cleaners Instead of Toxic Chemicals

On April 30, 2013 By Q.A.S

DIY Household Cleaners Instead of Toxic Chemicals

Considering the world that we live in I thought it prudent to cover things that many people hardly think about. Or they consider them benign.They actually are not benign and many of these common household and beauty items are toxic.

You consider your dishcleaner, glass cleaner, carpet freshener, aerosol fragrances, fragrance candles, furniture polish, bathroom cleaners etc mostly safe right? Many of you do not blink before buying a bottle or a can of some cleaning product. But when you consider that you can make them yourself for less of a cost to your wallet, why not make it yourself? You could get your children involved with supervision and help them to learn what to do for their own future. Give them the power of self sufficiency.

If you say well I do not have time then you really have to ask yourself some questions:

1.Do you have time to get ready go to the store and go out purchase what you need everytime you run out?

2.Do you have the gas money to continually go purchase more chemicals that could be causing health problems in your home?

3.Do you have the money to invest in your health that could be avoided if you just made your own instead?

4.Do you have the money to take your children or your pets to the hospital or the vet?

5.Wouldn’t it be easier to just plan ahead, buy what you need in a larger amount and make it yourself?

6.Would you truly be better off doing what you have always done?

http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/community-news/toxic-cleaning-products-chemicals-461109

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_279.cfm

Your health and that of your loved ones is more important that some company making money off of something that you can produce yourself. You can make it from ingredients that are not so worrying. Such as baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice, orange oil, borax and castile soap? Would you worry as much if your cat or your child consumed some of this instead?

Would you rather they consumed things such as:

1.Carcinogens– Carcinogens cause cancer and/or promote cancer’s growth.
2.Endocrine disruptors – Endocrine disruptors mimic human hormones, confusing the body with false signals. Exposure to endocrine disruptors can lead to numerous health concerns including reproductive, developmental, growth and behavior problems. Endocrine disruptors have been linked to reduced fertility, premature puberty, miscarriage, menstrual problems, challenged immune systems, abnormal prostate size, ADHD, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and certain cancers.
3.Neurotoxins – Neurotoxins alter neurons, affecting brain activity, causing a range of problems from headaches to loss of intellect

Pesticides. One of the most counter-intuitive health threats is that of products that disinfect. Common sense tells us that killing household germs protects our health. However disinfectants are pesticides, and the ingredients in pesticides often include carcinogens and endocrine disruptors. Pesticides are fat-soluble, making them difficult to eliminate from the body once ingested. Pesticides, including disinfectants, may also include alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs).

APEs. APEs act as surfactants, meaning they lower the surface tension of liquids and help cleaning solutions spread more easily over the surface to be cleaned and penetrate solids. APEs are found in detergents, disinfectants, all-purpose cleaners and laundry cleansers. They are also found in many self-care items including spermicides, sanitary towels and disposable diapers. APEs are endocrine disruptors.

Formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is commonly known as a preservative. Many people do not know that it is also a germicide, bactericide and fungicide, among other functions. Formaldehyde is found in household cleaners and disinfectants. It is also present in nail polish and other personal care products. Formaldehyde is a carcinogen.

Organochlorines. Organochlorines result from the combination of hydrogen and carbon. Some types are highly deadly, such as DDT. OCs are bioaccumulative and also highly persistent in the environment. OCs are present in pesticides, detergents, de-greasers and bleaches. OCs are also present in drycleaning fluids. OCs are carcinogens and endocrine disruptors.

Styrene. Styrene is a naturally occurring substance derived from the styrax tree. Styrene is most commonly used in the manufacture of numerous plastics including plastic food wrap, insulated cups, carpet backing and PVC piping. Styrene is also found in floor waxes and polishes and metal cleaners. Styrene is a known carcinogen as well as an endocrine disruptor. Exposure may affect the central nervous system, liver and reproductive system.

Phthalates. Phthalates are most commonly used in the manufacture of plastics. Phthalates are also used as carriers for perfumes and air fresheners and as skin penetration enhancers for products such as moisturizers. These chemicals are classified as inert and as such no product-labeling requirements exist for phthalates. They are endocrine disruptors and suspected carcinogens. Phthalates are known to cause hormonal abnormalities, thyroid disorders, birth defects and reproductive problems.

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). VOCs are emitted as gases suspending themselves in the air. VOCs include an array of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects, and are present in perfumes, air fresheners, disinfectants and deodorizers. VOCs commonly include propane, butane, ethanol, phthalates and/or formaldehyde. These compounds pose a variety of human health hazards and collectively are thought to be reproductive toxins, neurotoxins, liver toxins and carcinogens.

Do these sound like something you want anywhere near someone you love? These are in many readily available products in your grocery.

The following link can help you to avoid some of these items.

http://life.gaiam.com/article/8-household-cleaning-agents-avoid

My first piece of advice would be this. READ ALL LABELS. Learn everything and if you do not recognize an ingredient then put the bottle or jar or box down. Go home or search on your cell phone what it is. Because what you choose to bring into your home are going to effect you and your family. If you are already ill then this can only make things worse. The idea is to remove as many toxins as you can from your home. Remove them and give your body a chance to heal itself. Again if you say I do not have time then you must consider do you have time for health problems that could be avoided?

The best cleaner I have found personally was vinegar and orange oil. It is not hard to do at all. Get two jars and fill one mostly with vinegar. Leave some room for orange peels. Buy orange and eat them as you finish them save the skins and put them into the jar.Close the jar and continue on in your day. Do this for two weeks and remove the vinegar and put it into some spray bottles. Then throw out the peels and normally you will create a few bottles of this cleaner. I use mine to clean windows, surfaces anything that i can use to spray and wipe down. Yes it does smell like vinegar at first but once that fades you will have a clean surface. That is important and you have no lingering toxic cloud of perfume. Usually if it has a strong perfume it isnt good for you or your lungs.

Here is where I will include some recipes for cleaning products.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/20-diy-green-cleaning-recipes-141129

http://www.goodlifer.com/2009/05/diy-cleaners-bathroom/

http://grist.org/green-living-tips/good-housekeeping-spring-cleaning-the-diy-way/

None of these are difficult to make and if you sit down and consider the annual cost of those chemicals that you are using. Now consider spending that money on items that are healthier i think it is worthwhile. You could go online and search for a bulk purchase store in your area. You could go to a grocery store and buy a big bag of baking soda, vinegar and lemon juice. Yes essential oils are expensive but you only need a few drops to make a quantity of cleaner. Well worth it i think compared to the chemical concoction sitting under your sink.

You can of course consider some of the ethical, natural and organic options of premade cleaners if you like too. Such as some of the ones listed on here.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/a-roundup-of-natural-cleaning-supplies-182384

http://ecoconceptsusa.com/

I do think however that if you consider the time that you have more carefully and make them yourself you will end up in the long run spending the same that you would on common cleaners from the store. If you purchase them from eco friendly websites and store you may end up paying a bit more. So why not do it yourself? You can do that and tell your friends and encourage them. See taking the power into your own hands can make you feel good. You are in control of what goes into your home. Take that power back!

You will be amazed at what you can accomplish if you just stop and consider what you can do instead of focusing on what you cannot do. The power is in your hands to change your life. I believe that anyone can make a change in their lives for the better. So take some time and consider what you really are putting into your home. Think about the effect it is having on your family. We all know the environment in the home is much more toxic than outdoors. So doing what I am suggesting can help to reduce that toxicity and give you fresher air to breathe.

Quiescent Aureate Serpent

BECOME AN EMAIL MEMBER OF CHILDREN OF VIETNAM VETERANS HEALTH ALLIANCE

YOU WILL RECEIVE A ONCE DAILY EMAIL OF ANY BREAKING AGENT ORANGE NEWS AND RELATED TOPICS IN ADDITION TO ANY COVVHA UPDATES

PLEASE ENTER YOUR EMAIL IN THE BOX BELOW, A CONFIRMATION LINK WILL BE SENT TO YOUR EMAIL. YOU MUST OPEN THE EMAIL AND CLICK THE CONFIRMATION LINK TO COMPLETE THE PROCESS.

GMO LEGISLATION Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act Endorsed By COVVHA

On April 25, 2013 By Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act

Take Action and make your voice heard now!!!!!!

All Legislation Endorsed and/or Opposed Has Been Approved and Reviewed by Kelly L. Derricks

It has never been easier to write your State Representative and share your position on current legislation. C.O.V.V.H.A. has been making it even easier for members, fans and followers!! The days of getting your pens and papers out to send your letters are over!!!

An “action page” link has been set up for the Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act H.R.1699 & S.809 which takes you directly to the specific legislation as well as an area for your Name, Zip Code, and YOUR VOTE. That’s it!!! You hit enter and your information is sent directly to your State Representative in letter form which you will receive a copy of via email.

Your VOICE does count, PLEASE, use it!!!

Kelly L. Derricks (T.T.)

CLICK TO CAST YOUR HOUSE VOTE ON POPVOX NOW

CLICK TO CAST YOUR SENATE VOTE ON POPVOX NOW

I personally casted both of my votes and included the following statement to the United States House and Senate: I support H.R. 1699 (“To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require that genetically engineered food”) because… GMO foods are engineered with health threatening compounds and chemicals and then sprayed with half of the chemical compound used in the production of AGENT ORANGE. The U.S. Gov’t killed my Father at the age of 37 after serving in the Vietnam War. Agent Orange/DIOXIN was passed through his sperm mutating my DNA. I have to fight for my life every single day with more than 30 diagnosed illnesses at the age of 38 and so do tens of thousands of other Children of Vietnam Veterans who were exposed. Now the gov’t doesn’t care that we are being DOUBLE EXPOSED. That’s Capital Murder if you ask me. You’ll see me standing in a court room bringing charges of Murder against the United States Govt before you see me standing down on GMO.

Truth Teller
www.covvha.net

GMO Just Label IT Bill Introduced – BREAKING NEWS

On April 24, 2013 By Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

The national Just Label It coalition applauded the introduction of bipartisan legislation today to require food manufacturers to inform consumers when packaged food contains genetically engineered ingredients.

The Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act was introduced today by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR).

“Americans want to know more, not less, about their food,” said Katey Parker of Just Label It, which has more than 650 partner organizations. “More than 90 percent of Americans want the same rights as consumers in 64 countries around the world. It’s time to trust American consumers with information about genetically engineered ingredients so they can make the best choices for themselves and their families.”

More than 1 million Americans have petitioned FDA to require labeling on packaged food containing GE ingredients.

To view the Senate version of the bill, click here.

To view the House version of the bill, click here.

By: Just Label It
Posted on April 24, 2013

See more via – http://justlabelit.org/just-label-it-applauds-ge-labeling-bill/

GMO Right to Know Act Organization and Business Supporters by Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

Join COVVHA’S Email List For Breaking Agent Orange News

On April 23, 2013 By Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

CHILDREN OF VIETNAM VETERANS HEALTH ALLIANCE EMAIL SUBSCRIPTION

YOU WILL RECEIVE A ONCE DAILY EMAIL OF ANY BREAKING AGENT ORANGE NEWS AND RELATED TOPICS IN ADDITION TO ANY COVVHA UPDATES

PLEASE ENTER YOUR EMAIL IN THE BOX BELOW, A CONFIRMATION LINK WILL BE SENT TO YOUR EMAIL. YOU MUST OPEN THE EMAIL AND CLICK THE CONFIRMATION LINK TO COMPLETE THE PROCESS.

CURRENT EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO YOUR CONTACTS & HELP US RAISE AWARENESS

AGENT ORANGE – Time Ticking Away For Children Of Vietnam Veterans While Authors Argue

On April 22, 2013 By Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

A note to C. Jack Ellis and David Oedel – What each of you “don’t get” is that while you banter back and forth, we sit hear dying. While the fight to bring justice to Vietnam Veterans and their children exposed Agent Orange rages on internationally, you both neglected to give your readers any information on where they can find help. Well gentleman, Here we are, (COVVHA) Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance INC. We respectfully ask that you stop arguing and start advocating.

Kelly L. Derricks – President/Co-Founder

(COVVHA) Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance INC.

ELLIS: David Oedel just doesn’t get it
Published: April 21, 2013 By C. JACK ELLIS — Special to The Telegraph

I have always considered David Oedel a friend; however, I am disappointed beyond belief with his attitude toward veterans in general and Vietnam veterans in particular, pertaining to the effects of Agent Orange.

Oedel is dead wrong on several of his pronouncements and assertions in his latest column in The Telegraph.

Let me be clear that my advocacy for veterans and their families did not begin when I first ran for elected office. The record will reflect that I have been on this journey since the 1970s when the Institute of Health discovered/revealed that the Agent Orange toxin was responsible for many ailments affecting Vietnam veterans and their offspring who were born with spina bifida shortly after their fathers returned from Vietnam.

Oedel states that my son was born in the early 1990s, which is not true. I returned from my first tour of duty in Vietnam in late 1968, and my son was born with spina bifida in late 1969. Most of the 2,200 children born with spina bifida to Vietnam veterans were conceived within a year after their fathers returned from Vietnam.

I guess Oedel’s way of thinking is that these 2,200 children of Vietnam veterans born with spina bifida shortly after their father’s return is just mere coincidence. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Oedel also stated in his April 14 column in The Telegraph) that children born to Vietnam veterans should not be compensated because they did not serve in the military. Oedel should know there are countless civilians affected by war. In the war zone, this is referred to as collateral damage.

Oedel went as far as quoting an ancient article in The New York Times as his source of information pertaining to Agent Orange and its effects on veterans and their offspring.

There was nothing casual about being sprayed with and/or operating in contaminated areas with this toxin for long periods of time. What was most shocking and appalling is Oedel’s assertion in his column that the thousands of Vietnam veterans suffering from prostate cancer because of Agent Orange and being compensated by the Veterans Administration are not deserving of such compensation. He further indicated that the only reason that our children are being compensated is because former President Bill Clinton needed to make amends with the military brass, so he decided to do so by throwing a bone to the veterans and their offspring.

For Oedel’s information, spina bifida and prostate cancer are not the only abnormalities caused by Agent Orange in which the VA is compensating veterans. The list is long. Among these include Hodgkin’s diseases, ischemic heart disease, multiple myeloma, Parkinson’s disease, respiratory cancers, diabetes and many others.

I am willing to bet that if Oedel and his offspring were suffering from such birth defects because of his exposure to a deadly toxin in combat that his attitude would be entirely different. I am inclined to believe that Oedel just doesn’t get it as it relates to veterans and their families being compensated with “largesse” for injuries caused in a war zone and beyond.

For whatever reasons, he insists on referring to these benefits as largesse or gifts from the government. Lastly, his implication that I and other politicians who fight for what’s rightfully due our veterans and their families are politically motivated. Those accusations are beyond the pale, and quite frankly, disgusting and insulting to every veteran who has worn the uniform, especially those who have worn it in combat, thus giving Oedel the right and freedom to state his uninformed opinions.

I feel Oedel owes an apology, not only to veterans, but politicians, as well. Oedel just doesn’t get it.

C. Jack Ellis is a retired Army non-commissioned officer and a former mayor of Macon.

Read Oedel Article here : http://www.macon.com/2013/04/14/2437885/oedel-extra-benefits-as-largesse.html

New GMO Review Links Roundup Glyphosate to Diabetes Autism Infertility and Cancer

On April 19, 2013 By Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

A new peer-reviewed scientific review paper has been released in the US stating that glyphosate-based herbicides such as Roundup are contributing to gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, autism, infertility, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

The review paper states that “glyphosate enhances the damaging effects of …food borne chemical residues and environmental toxins. Negative impact on the body is insidious and manifests slowly over time as inflammation damages cellular systems throughout the body. Here, we show how interference with CYP enzymes acts synergistically with disruption of the biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids by gut bacteria, as well as impairment in serum sulfate transport. Consequences are most of the diseases and conditions associated with a Western diet, which include gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, autism, infertility, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.”

New GMO Review Links Roundup Glyphosate to Diabetes, Autism, Infertility and Cancer by Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

AGENT ORANGE DARK MATTERS TWISTED BUT TRUE

AGENT ORANGE – The Accidental Inventor – VIDEO

On April 19, 2013 By Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

Dark Matters Season 3 Episode 1, Agent Orange – The Accidental Inventor
Synopsis: A chemical that speeds up the flowering process in soybeans turns into a weapon during Vietnam.
Original air date: November 22, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw8OS925lUY

Dark Matters: Twisted But True is a television series featured on the Science Channel. Hosted by actor John Noble of Fringe and Lord of the Rings, the show takes the viewer inside the laboratory to profile strange science and expose some of history’s most bizarre experiments. This show uses narration and reenactments to portray the stories in this show

GMO Health Risks: What The Scientific Evidence Says

On April 18, 2013 By Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

Genetic traits used to be literally shot into plants with a gun, using little metal bits coated with DNA. Nowadays, Monsanto employs a slightly different process, using a bacterium called Agrobacterium tumefaciens to infect plant cells with pieces of DNA containing the desired traits, as pointed out by Colorado State University ’s Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.

Monsanto also makes corn, potatoes, cotton and soybeans that can synthesize their own insecticide called Bt toxin, a trait grabbed from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis. Other GM crops are being developed to resist drought via the introduction of genes from other plants such as Arabidopsis thaliana, aka thale cress; moss; and yeast.

Genetic modification is the cornerstone of agriculture — through generations of breeding, humans took one species, the wild cabbage Brassica oleracea, and turned it into a host of different foods, including broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower and kale. Now, biotechnology has accelerated the process and allowed breeders more precision in designing their crops. There is much disagreement about the cost of these advances.

“There is broad scientiﬁc consensus that genetically engineered crops currently on the market are safe to eat,” Pamela Ronald, a Univeristy of California at Davis professor, wrote for Scientific American in 2011. But the American Academy of Environmental Medicine has warned of “serious health risks” indicated by animal studies measuring the effects of GM foods.

And much of the public is convinced that genetic modification is a health danger — hence the fierce push to label GMO food and broad restrictions on GM crops in Europe.

In 1996, the New England Journal of Medicine published a paper that identified a possible allergic reaction to GM soybeans. A team led by University of Nebraska scientists found that a Brazil nut protein introduced to improve the nutritional quality of GM soybeans was able to provoke an allergic reaction in people with Brazil nut allergies.

However, this problem can likely be nipped in the bud with proper safety testing. U.S. Department of Agriculture researcher Eliot M. Herman noted in the Journal of Experimental Botany in 2003 that the GM soybean injected with the Brazil nut gene “was abandoned during development, no product was released and no one was harmed.”

Currently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not require biotechnology companies to do premarket safety testing, including allergen testing (although the agency does recommend it). Calls for making premarket safety testing mandatory have come from numerous groups, including the American Medical Association, as reported by the Chicago Tribune . The prospect of hidden allergens could also be an arrow in the quiver of those who are pushing for labeling GMOs in the U.S.

Another health concern related to GMOs rests on the possibility that genes might be transferred elsewhere. The nightmare scenario would be an antibiotic-resistance gene getting inadvertently passed to pathogenic bacteria in a person’s stomach. Much of the work that’s been done indicates that the rate of horizontal gene transfer from plants to animals and bacteria is probably very low. But, admittedly, there’s a real gap in our understanding of how genes may or may not be transferred from GM crops — or other crops, for that matter — into the cells of the gut and the bacteria that live in the digestive tract.

Authors of a 2012 report on animal-feeding studies in the journal Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition found that while it’s clear a small amount of DNA from the diet can survive digestion, we have yet to see evidence that such dietary DNA can be integrated into the genome of an animal or even into the genome of a bacterium residing in the gut.

“However, major methodological limitations and knowledge gaps of the mechanistic aspects of [horizontal gene transfer] calls for methodological improvements and further studies to understand the fate of various types of dietary DNA in the [gastrointestinal tract],” the researchers at the University of Milan wrote.

The one major study of GMO feeding in humans that looked at horizontal gene transfer was published in 2004 in the journal Nature Biotechnology . Researchers looked to see if the Roundup Ready transgene — the one that codes for the herbicide-resistant enzyme — showed up in waste collected from seven volunteers who had had their large intestines removed for medical reasons. While a small amount of the transgene was found in bowel microbes in three of the seven subjects, the gene-transfer rate did not increase after they ate the transgenic soy, leading the researchers to conclude that whatever gene transfer occurred did not happen during the experimental period.

In subjects with fully intact intestinal tracts, the transgene did not survive passage. The results indicate that while horizontal gene transfer after eating GM crops might be feasible at low rates in certain medically compromised people, it would probably be quite rare in most consumers.

A 2008 paper in the journal Environmental Biosafety Research by an Australian researcher who reviewed the risks of GMOs associated with horizontal gene transfer concluded the potential danger was “negligible.”

Overall, it’s clear more research is needed about the ability of genes to move from GM crops into the animals or humans who eats them.

Meanwhile, some individual studies have conclusively found GMOs to be harmful. But many of these have been harshly criticized for loading the dice.

Gilles-Eric Seralini, a researcher at the University of Caen in France, took a second look at Monsanto data on experiments feeding GM corn to rats in three papers, and claimed the numbers actually showed the animals fed GMOs suffered organ damage, based on the rodents’ growth and organ weights. But several European Food Safety Authority reviews found that Seralini’s math was off, that the rats’ organ weights were within an acceptable range, and that his team’s conclusions were not supported by the evidence.

A 2012 paper by Seralini and other researchers purportedly found that a GM corn diet led to cancer in rats. But the study was released under extremely odd circumstances — Seralini made reporters sign confidentiality agreements that prevented them from asking other scientists to give their opinions on his research before an embargo lifted. And once other scientists got a look at the paper, the reaction was almost universally condemnatory, as exemplified by the European Food Safety Authority .

One main objection stemmed from the fact that the rats used in the study belong to a strain called Sprague-Dawley, which is extremely prone to tumors later in life. While Monsanto did use Sprague-Dawley rats in its own experiments with GM corn, such trials lasted for 90 days, whereas Seralini’s experiment went on for two years.

Many critics also said the number of rats used for such a long experiment — 10 rats for each experimental condition — was far too small, as Discover noted. In addition, there were curious gaps in the mortality data for the control rats: It’s unclear whether they died after developing tumors.

A 2011 paper by Canadian researchers supposedly found Cry1Ab, an insecticidal protein made in certain GM crops, in the blood of women and in the cord blood of fetuses. But the study, examining just 30 pregnant women (and their fetuses) and 39 nonpregnant women, also came under attack for its methods and conclusions by critics such as Food Standards Australia New Zealand . The method the researchers used to detect Cry1Ab in the blood has been called into question, and the authors provided no dietary evidence on any of the study subjects. Without that, there’s no way to conclusively draw a link between anything found in the blood and GM crops.

By ROXANNE PALMER |

Published on International Business Times (http://www.ibtimes.com)

NEWS ALERT – Monsanto joins forces with Bayer & Dow Chemical

On April 17, 2013 By Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

AGENT ORANGE FLYER CHILDREN OF VIETNAM VETERANS HEALTH ALLIANCE WWW.COVVHA.NET

WWW.COVVHA.NET

Herbicide use set to increase as Monsanto joins forces with Bayer, Dow Chemical

Today the Monsanto Company, well known for its pesticide and genetically modified seed technology, consolidated its influence over the agricultural industry with the announcement of a licensing agreement with rival Bayer CropScience.

The deal will give Bayer CropScience a license to use Monsanto’s herbicide-tolerant Roundup Ready® soybean technology in the U.S. and Canada. The technology allows for food crops to be doused in the chemical glyphosate, a powerful endocrine disruptor, in order to control weeds.

Bayer will also gain access to a second technology, known as Roundup Ready 2 Xtend, which is currently awaiting regulatory approval from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

Roundup Ready 2 Yield will enable crops to survive applications of Roundup and also a second herbicide, dicamba.

Dicamba has been identified as a developmental toxin, capable of interfering with the development of a fetus that may lead to birth defects or developmental malformations.

Read More Via - http://www.examiner.com/article/herbicide-use-set-to-increase-as-monsanto-joins-forces-with-bayer-dow-chemical
APRIL 16, 2013 BY: JUDSON PARKER

Download (DOCX, Unknown)

Agent Orange In A Town Near You?

On April 17, 2013 By Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

A clear path?
Bayonne moves to escape Agent Orange litigation

Bayonne City Council took the first step towards a possible resolution of a suit that has unwittingly ensnared Bayonne Municipal Utilities Authority over the cost associated with the dumping of the chemical defoliant Agent Orange in local waterways.

The City Council voted on a resolution at its March 20 meeting that would could allow the MUA to settle a suit it was sucked into several years ago, when state and federal authorities tried to get companies responsible for the dumping the toxic chemical into local waterways to foot the bill for some of its impact.

Although veterans from the Vietnam War suffered side effects from the chemical used to help clear jungles during the conflict in the 1960s and ’70s, many were unaware until years later that some of these agents spilled out into the Passaic River during manufacturing at a plant in Newark.

Several years ago, New Jersey filed suit against Occidental Chemical Corporation, Maxus Energy Corporation and Tierra Solutions, Inc., alleging they intentionally discharged dioxin – an extremely dangerous, cancer-causing chemical – and other contaminants into the Passaic River. New Jersey also ordered the three companies to pay the state $2.3 million to develop a plan to dredge contaminated sediments in a six-mile stretch of the Lower Passaic River that includes a portion of Essex and Hudson counties near Newark, Harrison, East Newark and Kearny.

Read more: Hudson Reporter Via A clear path?brfont size=2iBayonne moves to escape Agent Orange litigation/font/i.

Agent Orange still haunts Iowa Vietnam vets
Veterans waiting longer for aid as health problems persist

IOWA CITY — Unlike warmly welcomed veterans of earlier and later wars, Vietnam vets got the parting gift that keeps on giving: Agent Orange — a plant defoliant that mistakenly included the carcinogen dioxin.

Nearly 40 years after the war’s end, disability claims for often-deadly ailments caused by the ubiquitous toxic spray continue to mount, as do wait times for disposition of disability claims.

Though it would be difficult to confirm with government statistics, the number of veterans suffering Agent-Orange-related afflictions almost certainly exceeds the more than 358,000 U.S. military personnel killed or wounded in combat with the enemy during the Vietnam War.

“We track things by the condition itself, not by the cause of the condition,” said Randal Nollen, a spokesman for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C.

“The number one population that we handle for disability claims is Vietnam veterans with Agent Orange-related ailments,” ahead of veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Don Tyne, director of the Linn County Veterans Affairs Office.

During the past eight months, Tyne said his office has helped more than 1,000 Vietnam veterans apply for disability benefits.

Tyne said the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs has 7,000 pending disability claims, with an average wait for disposition of 18 months.

“This is the longest wait period since I’ve been here. Ten years ago it was 90 days,” Tyne said.

‘Blue water’ Navy veterans’ long waits often end in denials at VA

On April 16, 2013 By Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance

‘Blue water’ Navy veterans’ long waits often end in denials at VA

By Beena Raghavendran
McClatchy Newspapers
Posted: Tuesday, Mar. 26, 2013

WASHINGTON Bob Bauman is waiting.

Bauman, of Baltimore, remembers the orange-striped barrels sitting on a pier off Subic Bay in the Philippines. He’s convinced that they were filled with Agent Orange that leaked into the water where he and his fellow sailors went swimming.

Now 65, Bauman has diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, colorectal cancer and essential tremor. He blames the orange-striped barrels, but he hasn’t received disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA grants benefits only to Agent Orange-exposed veterans who served on the ground or in the rivers of Vietnam. Bauman and his fellow sailors – known as blue water Navy veterans – served off the coast of Vietnam and aren’t covered.

The fight between veterans such as Bauman and the VA has resulted in a cycle of denied claims and a lack of benefits for the majority of blue water veterans that can stretch several years, advocates say. Legislation to extend compensation to these veterans was introduced in the House of Representatives in February, but getting it through will be difficult: Five previous attempts to secure benefits have been unsuccessful.

“Fixing the VA is going to take more than this bill,” said John Wells, the director of legal and legislative affairs for the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Association. “Until the VA is purged of its bureaucratic resistance to facts, nothing’s going to get any better.”

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/03/26/3941514/blue-water-navy-veterans-long.html#storylink=cpy

Continue Reading .. ‘Blue water’ Navy veterans’ long waits often end in denials at VA | CharlotteObserver.com.