How Did Agent Orange Affect Vietnam

The Vietnam War continues to have lasting impacts even though the war ended more than forty-three years ago. The herbicides used during the Vietnam War can still be found in high traces in some places in Vietnam. The environmental impacts caused by Agent Orange and other herbicides than lead to many deadly illnesses for soldiers and local natives. The used of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War has effects millions of people and it will affect many more in the years to come.
Clearly, herbicides like Agent Orange have lasting effects on the surrounding environment, soldiers, and local natives exposed to the deadly weapon.
Agent Orange was the most common herbicide used in the Vietnam War, however, the US government also used Agent Blue, Green, and Purple. The potent herbicide, known as Agent Orange, was the most common …show more content…
The deadly herbicides that were sprayed, it had little impact on the trees but a greater impact on the soil. Once the toxic herbicides had reached the soil the can remain there for more than a century. In addition, the herbicides can leak into ground water sources and runoff into lakes and rivers. Agent Orange also greatly affected the wildlife living in the areas that the herbicides were sprayed. Native animals to South Asia include cranes, tigers, Asian elephants, gaur, water buffalo, boars, bears, deer, leopards, and many more (“Agent Orange and the Environment”). After the Vietnam War, many of these already rare species were pushed to the brink of extinction. Additionally, after the war, locals began logging the remaining forests and turning them into plantations allowing even less land for animals to live on. Once the Vietnam government realized the extensive damaged caused to their delicate ecosystem, they started reforestation efforts to help the animals thrive once