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Based on the IOM study, the VA announced in October 2009 that it would add Parkinson’s disease, B cell leukemias, and ischemic heart disease to the list of those presumed to be caused by exposure to Agent Orange. The VA’s decision was part of its effort to reduce obstacles to sick or disabled veterans’ receiving benefits. The department has come under sharp criticism from Congress and veterans groups for long delays in processing disability claims.
The new Agent Orange policy will apply to some 2.1 million veterans who set foot in Vietnam during the war, including those who came after the military stopped using Agent Orange in 1970. It will not apply to sailors on deep-water ships, though the VA says it plans to study the effects of Agent Orange on the Navy.
The decision to add Parkinson’s disease, B cell leukemias and ischemic heart disease brings the total number of “presumed” Agent Orange illnesses on the VA’s list to 15. Other presumed
Agent Orange illnesses include:
- Acute and Subacute Transient Peripheral Neuropathy
- AL Amyloidosis
- Chloracne
- Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
- Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2)
- Hodgkin’s Disease
- Multiple Myeloma
- Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
- Porphyria Cutanea Tarda
- Prostate Cancer
- Respiratory Cancers
- Soft Tissue Sarcoma (other than Osteosarcoma, Chondrosarcoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, or Mesothelioma)
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