Agent purple , Agent Purple , is the code name for the powerful herbicide and defoliant that the US military used during the environmental war against Vietnam . The name comes from the purple strip painted on barrels in which the herbicide was packaged. The drug, the creation of which was largely inspired by the use of herbicides and defoliants during the British war in Malaya, was one of the so-called "rainbow herbicides", which also includes the notorious "agent orange" . Agent purple and orange are also used for the mass destruction of plants in Canada . The largest producers of this mixture ordered by the US Department of Defense were Monsanto , Dow Chemical , and . [1] [2]
Development
Agent purple was developed in the USA during the Korean War [2] and is chemically similar in composition to the later and more well-known tactical herbicide Agent Orange, both of which are a mixture of 2,4-D and 2,4,5- herbicides T in equal parts [3] . The difference between them is in the form of 2,4,5-T. In the composition of the agent, orange 2,4,5-T was in the form of n- butyl ether, and in the agent purple as a mixture of n- butyl and isobutyl ethers in the ratio of 60% and 40% [3] . The general composition of the purple agent is as follows: 50% n- butyl ether 2,4-D , 30% n- butyl ether 2,4,5-T and 20% isobutyl ether 2,4,5-T [3] . The production of 2,4,5-T (the main component for "purple" and "orange") began at the Monsanto plants on the eve of the Korean War, in 1948 [2]
Even before the start of the Ranch Hand operation (1962-1971) it was known [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] that 2,4,5-T, and as a result agent purple, pink, green and orange were contaminated with tetrachlorodibenzodioxin ( TCDD ), an extremely toxic and persistent by-product formed during the synthesis of 2,4,5-T. The dioxin content varies significantly from batch to batch, and even within the same batch; as a rule, those substances that were produced earlier, such as purple and pink, had higher levels of pollution. In a 2003 article in Nature, Stellman et al. Recalculated the average TCDD content of an orange agent, increasing this number from 3 parts per million (US Air Force data) to 13 parts per million, and it was also estimated that the average agent in purple was 32.8 ppm of TCDD may be contained. The purple agent sample stored at Eglin Air Base has an even higher dioxin content of 45 ppm [10] .
Application
Agent purple was used only in the early stages of the herbicide spraying program, between 1962 and 1965, as well as in the earlier stages of tests conducted by the US military outside Vietnam [11] . Altogether, about 500,000 gallons (~ 1.9 million liters) were sprayed in Vietnam [12] . In 1966 and 1967, when there was a need to clear vegetation from the Gagetown base in Canada , agent orange and purple were sprayed over the base as part of the tests [13] [14] .
Notes
- ↑ Russell-Manning, Betsy . Malathion: Toxic Time Bomb. (English) - San Francisco, Calif .: Greensward Press, 1991 .-- P.46 - 258 p. - ISBN 0-930165-49-7 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 Bridger, Sarah . Scientists at War: The Ethics of Cold War Weapons Research - Harvard University Press, 2015 .-- P.71 - 368 p. - ISBN 978-0-674-73682-5 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 National Defense and the Canadian Forces: Health Information Summary for CF Members Archived on December 9, 2012. Date Modified: 2012-01-13; Subpage of DND CF The Use of Herbicides at CFB Gagetown from 1952 to Present Day Archived December 12, 2011. Project
- ↑ Berufliche Akne (sog.
- ↑ Table TCDD-UNFÄLLE - Eine Bilanz des Schreckens pp. 54-59 in Seveso ist überall - Die tödlichen Risiken der Chemie by Egmont R. Koch, Fritz Vahrenholt; 1978, ISBN 3 462 012908 (accessed 2013-07-29)
- ↑ p. 49 in Seveso ist überall - Die tödlichen Risiken der Chemie by Egmont R. Koch, Fritz Vahrenholt; 1978, ISBN 3 462 012908
- ↑ Peter H. Schuck: Agent Orange on Trial: Mass Toxic Disasters in the Courts p. 17 (accessed 2013-07-29)
- ↑ “Chemical companies, US authorities knew dangers of Agent Orange” Archived August 22, 2016 to Wayback Machine by Jon Dillingham; August 10, 2009 (accessed 2013-07-29)
- ↑ REPORT TO SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS ON THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS AND EXPOSURE TO AGENT ORANGE Archived April 6, 2016 by Wayback Machine as Reported by Special Assistant Admiral ER Zumwalt, Jr., May 5, 1990 (accessed 2013 -07-29)
- ↑ 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 (accessed 2013-07-29)
- ↑ Agent Orange: Herbicide Tests and Storage in the US Veterans Administration Website
- ↑ Stellman Jeanne et al. page 682
- ↑ “The Use of Herbicides at CFB Gagetown from 1952 to Present Day” Archived December 12, 2011. , Canadian Department of National Defense
- ↑ “Agent Orange and Agent Purple,” CBC News, 21 August 2007