there was minimal aerial drift from the herbicide, and that Agent Orange would not affect sailors on ships miles from the coastline. In 2013, researchers found that Agent Orange had been sprayed over waterways, and the contaminated water and sediment eventually spilled into the sea.
The VA now recognizes sailors like Bobby who were on ships near the coastline and exposed to Agent Orange. The herbicide was presumed to cause a growing list of diseases and illnesses.in the late 1970s when scientists associated Agent Orange exposure with the development of soft-tissue sarcomas. Soon, Hodgkin’s disease and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma were seen among servicemen exposed to Agent Orange.
The list of ailments will continue to grow, especially in Vietnam and Laos where the dioxin continues to impact the people.that the dioxin does not degrade easily. When buried in tropical soil, it can take as many as 50 years to degrade by 50 percent. In river and sea sediment, the half-life degradation can take more than a century, which means the herbicide may still harm generations to come.