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Rice residue in dried out fields similar to the rice paddies sprayed with Agent Blue in the 1960s and 1970s. Reprinted with permission from Editor of the Open Journal of Soil Science. [Reprinted with the permission of the editor of the Open Journal of Soil Science.]
Professor Kenneth Olson
Episode 2462 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature more portions of a scientific paper by Dr. Kenneth Olson about the origins of Agent Blue. The paper was published on The Scientific Research Publishing website and is titled: Agent Blue: A Secret Military and Environmental Chemical Weapon Used for Food Denial in South Vietnam during the Vietnam Civil War (1962-1965).
Kenneth R. Olson, [krolson@illinois.edu], College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, USA.
Citation for this paper: Olson, K.R. (2023) Agent Blue: A Secret Military and Environmental Chemical Weapon Used for Food Denial in South Vietnam during the Vietnam Civil War (1962-1965). Journal of Soil Science, 13, 151-186.
In this episode, the portion of Professor’s paper titled: Agent Blue Use in the Mekong Delta by RV Military and US Air Force’s Operation Ranch Hand.
The purpose of this episode is to help widen knowledge about another one of the herbicides used by the U.S. in the Vietnam War. Agent Orange is the most well known of the agents used. Another agent used in the War was known as Agent Blue.
The weed killer element in Agent Orange was tetracholodibenzodioxon, better known simply as dioxin. This agent was effective in eliminating broad leafed plants. The downside of its use was that it had lasting effects on the soil and it had a tendency to make people sick.
The killer element of Agent Blue was lab produced arsenic. Agent Blue was fatal for narrow leafed plants like rice and Bamboo.
According to Professor Olson, On November 30, 1961, President Kennedy accepted the joint recommendation for limited initial defoliation program restricted to transportation routes (presumably the Ho Chi Min Trail in Cambodia and Laos).
Listen to episode 2462 and discover more about Dr. Kenneth Olson’s description of the origins of Agent Blue.
