Agent Green is the code name for a powerful herbicide and

defoliant A defoliant is any herbicidal chemical sprayed or dusted on plants to cause their leaves to fall off. Defoliants are widely used for the selective removal of weeds in managing croplands and lawns. Worldwide use of defoliants, along with the ...

used by the U.S. military in its herbicidal warfare program during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. The name comes from the green stripe painted on the barrels to identify the contents. Largely inspired by the British use of herbicides and

defoliants A defoliant is any herbicidal chemical sprayed or dusted on plants to cause their leaves to fall off. Defoliants are widely used for the selective removal of weeds in managing croplands and lawns. Worldwide use of defoliants, along with the ...

during the Malayan Emergency, it was one of the so-called "

Rainbow Herbicides The Rainbow Herbicides are a group of tactical-use chemicals used by the United States military in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. Success with Project AGILE field tests with herbicides in South Vietnam in 1961 and inspiration by the Briti ...

". Agent Green was only used between 1962 and 1964, during the early "testing" stages of the spraying program. Agent Green was mixed with

Agent Pink Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...

and used for crop destruction. A total of 20,000 gallons of Agent Green were procured. Agent Green's only active ingredient was 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T), one of the common

phenoxy herbicide Phenoxy herbicides (or "phenoxies") are two families of chemicals that have been developed as commercially important herbicides, widely used in agriculture. They share the part structure of phenoxyacetic acid. Auxins The first group to be discover ...

s of the era. Even prior to

Operation Ranch Hand Operation Ranch Hand was a U.S. military operation during the Vietnam War, lasting from 1962 until 1971. Largely inspired by the British use of 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D (Agent Orange) during the Malayan Emergency in the 1950s, it was part of the over ...

(1962-1971) it was knownBerufliche Akne (sog. Chlorakne) durch chlorierte aromatische zyklische Äther
Von J. Kimmig und K. H. Schulz in ''Dermatologica'' Vol. 115, 1957, p.540-6 (German; with English and French summaries; cited in CA 1958:22227) (accessed 2013-07-29)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, (accessed 2013-07-29)p. 49 in ''Seveso ist überall - Die tödlichen Risiken der Chemie'' by Egmont R. Koch, Fritz Vahrenholt; 1978,
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
as Reported by Special Assistant Admiral E.R. Zumwalt, Jr., May 5, 1990 (accessed 2013-07-29) that a dioxin, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin (TCDD), is produced as a side product of the manufacture of 2,4,5-T, and was thus present in any of the herbicides that used it. Because Agent Green's only active ingredient was 2,4,5-T, along with the similar

, and earlier-produced batches of 2,4,5-T having higher TCDD-levels,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 2013-07-28) it contained many times the average level of dioxin found in Agent Orange. During much of the fighting in the Vietnam War, chemical agents were used by the United States to defoliate the landscape. Although many different chemical agents were used, the most well known today is " Agent Orange," one of the "

References

{{Rainbow Herbicides Auxinic herbicides Defoliants Military equipment of the Vietnam War