| |
Lawn Weed Killers and Agent Orange
Chances are your lawn weed killer is a cousin of the Vietnam-era defoliant Agent Orange.
 |
 |
|
DO YOU LOVE THE SMELL OF AGENT ORANGE IN THE MORNING?
Agent Orange and Lawn Weed Killers – What's the Connection?
|
|
Though it sounds a little like a character from the movie "Reservoir Dogs," Agent Orange was actually a killer herbicide used by US troops in the Vietnam War to defoliate the jungles and make it harder for enemy troops to hide. The chemical also appears to have imparted adverse health effects to some of the people who used or were otherwise exposed to it.
|
OK, exit the history lesson, fast forward to now, and get ready for a two-sentence chemistry class. The primary ingredients in Agent Orange were chemical compounds that lab geeks call "2,4,5-T" and "2,4-D." Though 2,4,5-T is banned today in the US, the bad news for American lawn lovers is that 2,4-D is commonly found in the lawn weed killers many people use today to lay waste to dandelions and other broadleaf weeds. Should we be worried?
|
|
OVER A BARREL |
|
The name "Agent Orange" signified the orange bands on the 55-gallon drums the herbicide was shipped in. Other Vietnam-era partners in pesticide proliferation: Agent White, Agent Blue, Agent Purple, Agent Pink, and Agent Green. No kidding!
|
|
Though the dioxin contaminants found in Agent Orange are thought to be the primary offenders with respect to the health problems suffered by Vietnam veterans, the US Center for Disease Control does note that 2,4-D is part of a class of chemicals—the chlorophenols—that are associated with adverse human health effects, including liver and immune-system
problems. A study by the University of Wisconsin and a Chilean university found that a common 2,4-D-containing weed killer mix available in your local hardware store caused a 20% rise in failed pregnancies in lab mice at dosages 7 times lower than the "safe limit" set by EPA.
Other studies have shown that dogs who live in homes where the lawns are treated with 2,4-D weed killers run a higher risk of contracting the canine version of non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, a type of cancer. (It's worth noting that if there are kids in the family, they're likely playing on the same lawn as the dog!)
|
Unless napalm, camouflage outfits, and toxic herbicides are what float your patrol boat, you might want to reconsider that toxic little can of "Weed Assassin" or 50-pound bag of "Multi-Phase Green Grass Growifier."
To keep your lawn weed-free—and "Agent Orange-free"—see our articles on
lawn care tips,
organic lawn care, and
dandelion removal.
It can be done without 2,4-D or other chemicals. C'mon, be your dog's best friend!
|
|
Know someone who might find this article about Lawn Weed Killers and Agent Orange interesting? Please forward it to them
Related info:
Get Grinning Planet free via email
|
| |
Agent Orange: Collateral Damage in Vietnam
by Philip Jones Griffiths
(Non-Fiction)
|
|
Part of the United States' war strategy in Vietnam was certainly to use the herbicide-defoliant "Agent Orange" to kill the jungle cover that was so cleverly used by the enemy. Lesser known was that their intent was also to degrade North Vietnam's ability
to grow crops. Pundits can argue about the ethics of such an approach, but decades later, it's easy to recognize the bigger fly in the ointment: that the herbicide contained a dioxin contaminant—a deadly toxin—and that it had a horrific effect on the reproductive and developmental health of those who were exposed. In this book, photographer Philip Jones Griffiths presents gripping pictorials of the children and grandchildren of the farmers who were exposed to the literal rain of the poison. We Americans have a way of remembering our wars; hopefully, we also have a way of remembering our mistakes. "Agent Orange: Collateral Damage in Vietnam" serves both as conscience and educator.
Read more reviews, see sample pages, or get purchase info for this book at
Amazon.com
|
See more Books for a Better Planet
|
Back to joke page
FREE AUDIO CLIPS
|
|
|
|
|
Hey, we don't pick
the Google ads! – GP
|
| |
| CLICKS ON OUR ADS AND PURCHASES VIA OUR AMAZON LINKS HELP SUPPORT THIS FREE SITE... THANKS! |
|
|
"Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them."
— Eeyore (from A. A. Milne's "Winnie the Pooh")
|
|
