Thousands of Vietnam veterans poisoned by the herbicide Agent Orange, now known to cause cancer, were refused compensation or denied treatment because of corruption, concealment and manipulation of a US air force medical study, it has been revealed.
Dr Richard Albanese, one of four scientists who designed the study but who was later transferred after making criticisms, has broken a decade-long silence in an investigative report by the San Diego Union-Tribune. He charges military authorities with "a medical crime" in their treatment of the report, which was flawed because of its fundamental conflict of interest - the air force's dual role in both spraying the defoliant and researching its effects.
The study, named after Operation Ranch Hand in which the US sprayed 18 million gallons of Agent Orange over 3.6 million acres of Vietnamese forests to strip the leaves and expose enemy movements, began in 1979 and continues into 2006. It tracks the health of 1,000 military personnel who did the spraying, many of whom have died or are ill with cancer and other illnesses, or whose children have been born with disabilities. The participants are monitored in San Diego, California.
The suspicions raised by the research into Agent Orange indirectly influence concern about toxic chemicals used in the Gulf war. Controversy continues over health problems military personnel brought back from that conflict. A Vietnam embassy spokesman in Washington said: "Based on our incomplete studies, two million Vietnamese were harmed by toxic chemicals used in the war and international organisations are helping our medical efforts."
The USAF wrote two reports on Agent Orange in 1984, but published only one. It concluded that little difference appeared between the health of Ranch Hand personnel and a comparison group which had not been exposed. But removed from the report was a table showing that Ranch Hand veterans were "less well" by a 5-1 ratio, that they reported significantly more birth defects among their children, and suffered twice as many cancers.
During a publication press conference, Dr Albanese repeated a phrase deleted from the report, that "a degree of concern is warranted." He still works for the air force, but had not gone public before to preserve his career. Meanwhile, thousands of veterans have not been compensated because of the report's slanted conclusions.