The Perpetrators
- agentorangechild
- Jun 30
- 2 min read
Did Dow and Monsanto Know Agent Orange Was Dangerous? Yes. Here’s the Proof.
Both Dow Chemical and Monsanto knew that Agent Orange — specifically its dioxin contaminant TCDD — was highly toxic. They knew it caused birth defects, cancer, and reproductive harm. But instead of alerting the public or regulators, they covered it up.
Here’s a plain-English breakdown of the key documents and whistleblower evidence:
1. Early Warnings Ignored
In 1949, an explosion at Monsanto’s Nitro, West Virginia plant exposed workers to dioxin. Many developed serious health problems. This was one of the first red flags.
https://chej.org/wp-content/uploads/The-Monsanto-Company-Investigation-PUB-24.pdf
In 1970, Dow Chemical warned the U.S. Department of Defense that dioxin levels in Agent Orange were dangerously high and suggested lowering the allowable limit. The government ignored it.
https://time.com/archive/6884038/no-longer-so-secret-an-agent/
2. Suppression of Evidence
EPA toxicologist Dr. Cate Jenkins exposed that Monsanto’s studies on dioxin effects were possibly falsified. Internal EPA memos from the 1990s detail this.
Monsanto tried to discredit scientific findings linking Agent Orange to health problems — especially congenital harm. They attacked credible reports to avoid liability.
https://www.toxicdocs.org/blog/confidential-history-agent-orange-and-monsanto/
3. Dirty Batches Shipped to Vietnam
While typical domestic herbicides had 0.05 ppm of TCDD, the Agent Orange shipped to Vietnam had up to 50 ppm — 1,000 times higher. They knew this and did it anyway.
https://chemicalreactionnotebook.blogspot.com/2011/08/agent-orange-dioxins.html
4. Legal Evasion Tactics
When sued by U.S. Vietnam veterans, Dow and Monsanto settled for $180 million in 1984 but didn’t admit guilt. This avoided a full trial.
Their defense? “We were just fulfilling a government contract.” That strategy — the “government contractor defense” — shielded them in court.
https://time.com/archive/6884038/no-longer-so-secret-an-agent/
5. Environmental Denial
Even decades later, Dow denied polluting Michigan’s Tittabawassee River with dioxins, blaming “natural causes” despite overwhelming evidence.
6. What This Means Now
These companies didn’t just make a mistake — they made a choice. They knew, they hid it, and millions of people have paid the price, including second-generation children like me.
My ICC case exposes this cover-up as a crime against humanity. And it’s all backed by evidence — including the documents they never wanted the public to see.
More info and documentation:
If you’re reading this, you’re now on record too.
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