Panelists Recommend New Directions for Exploring Health Effects from Dioxin, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Hepatitis C

Congressman Lane Evans (D-IL), House co-chairman of the 20-year old Vietnam-era Veterans in Congress Caucus, hosted a meeting focused on long-standing and emerging health issues affecting veterans who served in or during the Vietnam War. "The average Vietnam-era veteran is now 53 years old. It has been 25 years since the fall of Saigon, but veterans are still feeling the aftershocks from this War," said Evans.

Asked what compelled him to re-visit Vietnam-era veterans’ health issues, Evans, the Ranking Democrat on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, said, "Unfortunately, much is unchanged since the war. Veterans are still suspicious about the effects of exposure to dioxin and other chemicals used in Vietnam, and new research findings confirm their suspicions. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is still a problem for many who served. Now Hepatitis C is an emerging epidemic, disproportionately affecting veterans who use the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers. We needed to take a fresh look at how we should be responding to these old and new problems."

Among the speakers Evans invited to address the Caucus were officials from the VA, the Air Force, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the General Accounting Office (GAO), and major veterans’ organizations. Congressman Vic Snyder (D-AR), a Vietnam veteran member of the Caucus and of the Committee on Veterans Affairs, also discussed his legislation that would compensate certain Vietnam veterans who have contracted the Hepatitis C virus and have evidence of transfusions or repeated exposure to blood during service. Snyder said his bill gives veterans the benefit of the doubt. "Veterans may never know exactly what risk factor exposed them to the Hepatitis C virus. It’s unfair to make them prove it was one or the other."

Evans, who authored the first legislation to compensate veterans for certain conditions related to dioxin exposure, explored the continuing controversy of its effects on veterans’ health. Dioxin, recently deemed a human carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency, was a component of Agent Orange, which was widely used as a defoliant in Vietnam until 1970.

Last year, Evans called for a GAO study to explore criticisms of the "gold-standard" Ranch Hand Study conducted by the Air Force that has investigated the long-term effects of human exposure to dioxin. The GAO report emphasized the need to clarify communications, to share more information about the study with veterans and to involve them in Advisory Panels and in other venues. The Air Force responded to pressure from Evans by releasing a complete set of data on CD-ROM from their 1997 clinical examination of Operation Ranch Hand veterans. The Air Force has not yet released other data sets, but Dr. Joel Michalek, the study’s principal investigator, reiterated an earlier commitment to do so.

Dr. Linda Schwartz, a professor at Yale University and consultant to Vietnam Veterans of America, discussed the need for additional research to examine the "in-country" effect. Schwartz called for further research into less-explored exposures such as stress, tropical diseases, and other chemicals. She emphasized that the increased risk of birth defects VA has found among women who served in Vietnam was not attributed to Agent Orange, but simply to in-country service. In addition, Schwartz called for research to be conducted in Vietnam. Panelists such as Mark Brown, VA’s Director of Occupational and Environmental Health, indicated support for such research.

A panel exploring the long-term problem of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder indicated that veterans could benefit from an update of the landmark National Veterans Readjustment Survey. "The purpose of such a study," said Evans, "would be to explore the readjustment problems among Vietnam veterans today. This survey update would provide VA, and others, important information on the consequences veterans continue to face today as a result of their service and which problems are most pressing for these veterans. I encourage VA to undertake this study as soon as possible and I will strongly support efforts to ensure this study is undertaken."

Finally, Evans concluded that the forum had provided some new directions for Congress. "We heard a lot of new ideas today that can be used to re-focus our efforts in responding to health care problems of Vietnam-era veterans," he said. "Clearly, efforts to date have not been completely successful in addressing our generation’s needs. We still have much to do to address the legacy of this War."

SOURCE:

House Committee on Veterans Affairs
June 28, 2000