Welcome to Chemistry Connections, my name is Zoey and I am your host for episode #14 called The History & Chemistry of Agent Orange. Today I will be discussing The notorious herbicides used during the Vietnam War, its composition, and its impact.

We’ll first start by introducing the herbicide, agent orange and its history and use during the Vietnam War.

• Agent Orange was a mix of two herbicides which was sprayed in high concentrations during the Vietnam War by the U.S. Military. The name came from the orange stripe that was found on the containers of this chemical.
• Agent Orange, and other herbicides known as the “rainbow herbicides,” were part of a large operation, operation Ranch Hand, which aimed to defoliate lots of land through spraying chemical herbicides from aircrafts. Agent Orange was the most used herbicide during the Vietnam War.
• The chemical was sprayed in up to 20 times higher concentration than suggested for killing plants normally by manufacturers. This caused severe damage to millions of acres of forest, affected three million Vietnamese people with disease and defects, including children who were not alive during the war, and remained in soil for decades and disturbing the food sources.
• Agent Orange was the most commonly used chemical during the war to defoliate the forests and farmland of Vietnam and its neighboring countries Laos and Cambodia. This was for many reasons.
• One, this took away cover from the Viet Cong, who were guerilla fighters dependent on the cover provided by Vietnam’s thick forests.
• The destruction of farmland also caused many of the viet cong to be unable to sustain themselves rurally, which starved them or forced them to move closer to sustain themselves. This would take away rural nourishment support for the Viet Cong during the war, which were their main food sources.
• Agent Orange was eventually banned in 1971 by the United States, and remaining stocks were destroyed on a remote island.

Now we’re going to talk about the chemistry behind Agent Orange, and how it impacted the environment and people involved in the Vietnam War. We will first talk about the composition of Agent Orange, then why this chemical mixture caused so much damage to the environment and people.

• Agent Orange is a 1:1 mixture of two herbicides which are (2,4-dichlorophenoxy)acetic acid, or 2,4-D and 2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic acid, or 2,4,5-T.
• The herbicides were originally developed in the 1940s, but only used domestically until after WWII,...