Item ID Number 01436

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RODOrt/ArtlOlO TltlO ^ress Release: A National Association of State AgentOrange Programs was founded today in Boston,February 22, 1987

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DOSCrhjton NotOS Attachments to press release include program forNational Conference on State Agent Orange Programsand a New York Times article on the association

Tuesday, May 15, 2001 Page 1436 of 1514

Contact: Joe Bangert February 22, 1987ffrl.

Director, Massachusetts Agent Orange Program(617) 727-wW

A national association of state Agent Orange Programs was founded today in

Boston at the concluding meeting of a national conference at the University of

Massachusetts at Boston.

A majority of state's attending the two-day conference of state Agent Orange• v,

Programs agreed today to establish the national association to coordinate efforts,

to conduct joint health studies in new areas, to avoid duplication of studies and

efforts and to take a pivotal role in initiating a concerted, coordinated national

effort to provide the necessary legal, administrative, medical and social services to

Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange.

The immediate goal is to pressure the federal government to recognize the

significance of the medical evidence and the effects Agent Orange has had and is, • • _ . ' • ' ' »still having on Vietnam veterans and their offspring.

Both program administrators and scientists attending the conference believe there

is a danger that the federal government will terminate the congresekmally

mandated health studies in July of this year.

"We are here to serve notice on the federal government that their days of

footdragging are over," said Joe Bangert, director of the Massachusetts Agent

Orange Program and member of the Steering Committee of the newly formed

organization.

The association plans to brings the issue of Agent Orange before the upcoming

national conference of Vietnam veteran state legislators to be held in Boston

March 27-29.

The conference was sponsored by the William Joiner Center for the Study of War

and Social Consequences and the Commonwelath's Office of the Commissioner of

Veterans' Services.

Conference Participants\r. David Weisbaum, Illinois House of Representatives;r. James Harbison, Delaware Commission of Veterans' AffairsLs. Jane Dziedzic, Vietnam Veterans Agent Orange Victims, Inc.r. Daniel Williams, Michigan Department of Health;r. John W. Moulton, Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs: r. Jack Mordente, Connecticut Vietnam Herbicides Information Commissionr. Jeffrey Olson, Deputy Commissioner, State of Minnesota, Department of

Veterans' Affairsr. Wayne Wilson, New Jersey State Commission on Agent Oranger. Douglas Taylor, New York State Division of Veterans' Affairsr. David Foehr, Rhode Island Veterans' Homer. Samuel M. Black, Veterans' Administration, Division of War Claims,

Virginiar. Chuck Conroy, Director, Agent Orange Program, West Virginia

Department of Healthr. Terry Hertzler, Vietnam Herbicide Information Center, Harrisburg, PAilonel John P. Siemer, Director, Governor's Office of Veterans' Affairs,

Columbus, OHr. Jack G. Devine, Michigan Veterans' Trust Fundr. Daniel E. Karnes, Commission on Veterans Affairs, Commonwealth of

Virginiar. David Bradley, Vietnam Veterans of America, Columbus, OHr. Craig Close, Agent Orange Commission of Rhode Islandr. Sam Asseyo, Oklahoma Department of Veterans' Affairsr. Al lenJ . Lynch, Chief ofVeterans' Advocacy, Illinois Attorney General's

Officer. Michael Hahn, Executive Director, Commissioner of Veterans' Affairs,

Florida

Conference Coordinatorsr. Paul Atwood, The William Joiner Center for the Study of War and Social

Consequences, University of Massachusetts at Boston

r.Joe Bangert, Agent Orange Program Director, Office of the Commissionerfor Veterans' Services, Commonwealth of Massachusetts

ition by! S»'';i'it>

National Conference of StateAgent Orange Programs

0? '

Hosts and SponsorsThe William Joiner Center for the Study of War

and Social ConsequencesUniversity of Massachusetts at Boston

andThe Office of the Commissioner of Veterans' Services

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

February 20-22, 1987

University of MassachusettsBoston, Massachusetts

Conference Presenters

ir. TheodorSterling

• Ir. Joseph Bangert

Ir. Tod Ensign

Ir. Robert Diefenbach

"IT. Maureen Hatch

>r. LennartHardoll

>r . Mikeal Ericson

'r. Peter Kahn

>r. Arnold Schecter

^r. Peter Schuck

>r. Barclay Shepard

Ir. Keith Snyder

Ir. Wayne Wilson

)r. Sheila Hoar Zahm*

)r. John Constable

)r. Seymour Leventman

~>T. Matthew Meselson

)r. Robert Baughman

Ir. AlanGoosetray

tr. BartStichman

Ir. Dermot Duggan

Ir. Dick Christian

Is. Man'Stout

enator Francis D. Doris

Ir. Allen Falk

Ir. Chuck Conrovk

Ir. Tern' Hertzler

Simon Frazier University

Agent Orange Program

"Citizen Soldier"

Center for Disease Control

Columbia University

Umea University Hospital

Umea University

Agent Orange Commission

Fat Biopsy Study

Georgetown University

Veterans' Administration

Vietnam Veterans of America

Agent Orange Commission

National Cancer Institute

Massachusetts General Hospital

Boston College

Harvard University

Harvard Medical School

Massachusetts General Hospital

Vietnam Veterans of America

OCVS

Pentagon

Vietnam Veterans of America

Massachusetts General Court

Agent Orange Commission

Agent Orange Program

Vietnam Herbicide Info Ctr.

British Columbia

Massachusetts

New York, NY

Atlanta, GA

New York, NY

Umea, Sweden

Umea, Sweden

New Jersey

Massachusetts

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

New Jersey

Bethesda, MD

Boston, MA

Boston, MA

Cambridge, MA

Cambridge, MA

Boston, MA

Washington, D.C.

Boston, MA

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Boston, MA

New Jersey

West Virginia

Harrisburg, PA

Program of Events

FridayFebruary 20

SaturdayFebruary 21

6-8 pm

8:30 am

9:00 am

Reception, hosted by Mayor of Boston Raymond L.Flynn, Parkman House '

Shuttle Transportation from 250 Stuart Street,Boston to Harbor Campus, University ofMassachusetts at BostonContinental Breakfast, Faculty Club, l l th Floor,Healey Library

9:15 am Opening Remarks: John Halachis, CommissionerofVeterans' Services, Commonwealth ofMassachusetts; Kevin Bowen, Co-Director,William Joiner Center

"Scientific and Medical Aspects of Agent Orange and Other Chemicals UsedDuring the Vietnam War"Comvner: Dr. John Constable

9:30 am A Historical Overview of the Issue of AgentOrange

10:00 am Dioxin, Reproductive Illness, and Cancer —The Evidence from Vietnam and the United States

10:30 am Dioxin Animal Studies11:00 am Phenoxv Herbicides and Human Cancer11:50 am Recent Human Dioxin Studies12:30 pm Agent Orange and the Government's Response12:50 pm Luncheon with Guest Speaker Senator John F. Kerry

"Legal and Bureaucratic Aspects of Agent Orange"Cotiivtier:- Dr. Seymour Leventman

2:00 pm Federal Responsibility — Status Report from theVeterans' Administration

2:30 pm Agent Orange Lawsuit — Status of Appeal3:30 pm Agent Orange and Advocacy4:30 pm State Initiatives on Agent Orange6:00 pm Conference Banquet

Remarks: Charles Desmond, Vice Chancellor forStudent Affairs, UMass/BostonKeynote Speaker: Elmo Zumwalt III

8:30 pm Shuttle to Park Plaza Hotel, Boston

Sunday 8:30 am Continental Breakfast, Downtown CampusFebruary22 9:30am Open Discussion: Future Course of Action and

Collaboration12:30 pm Press Conference

ct i.

-3393

THE WILLIAM JOINER CENTERFOR THE STUDY OF WAR AND SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES

March 10, 1987

Major Max TcnbergU.S. Army and Joint Services Environmental Studies Group1730 K Street, N.W., Room 210Washington, D.C. 20007

Dear Major Tenberg:

On behalf of the William Joiner Center for the Study of War and SocialConsequences, I extend thanks and appreciation for your participation in theNational Conference of State Agent Orange Programs. The success of theconference and future initiatives which grow out of the national organizationare attributable to your commitment and that of the other participants.

< Enclosed are a list of all conference presenters and participants and aquestionnaire regarding the organization of the conference. We wouldappreciate your taking the time to fill out the questionnaire and return it tothe Joiner Center as well as checking the addresses and phone numbers foraccuracy and completeness. Please forward any corrections or additions to thelist to us.

As you might have been aware during the conference, the local mediacoverage was significant. Also, enclosed please find a copy of the piece whichsubsequently appeared in The New York Times of March 1, 1987. A longer,analytical piece is expected to be published in The Nation in the near fu tu re .

Finally, just to remind you. the National Conference of Vietnam EraVeterans in State Legislatures is Starch 27-29. 1987 here at the Univers i ty .We would appreciate it if you could insure that your state has representation.

Be assured that the Joiner Center is committed to and w i l l i n g to work forthe joint efforts of various programs and the national association whichemerged from the conference. Fee! free to contact us if we can be ofassistance to you or your program.

Again, thanks for your pa r t i c ipa t ion .

.„..... BowcnCo-DirectorV/i l l inm Joiner Ccater

enclosures

THE WILLIAM JOINER CENTERAGENT ORANGE PROGRAMS

CONFERENCEPARTICIPANTS LIST

Ann AshengrauHarvard School of Public Health677 Huntington Ave.Boston,Ma02115617-732-1000

Sam AsseoOklahoma Dept. of Veterans AffairsP.O. Box 53067Oklahoma City.OK73152'405-521-3684

Paul AtwoodJoiner CenterUMass/BostonBoston.MA02125617-^929-7864

Joseph BangertMassachusetts Agent Orange Program100 Cambridge St., 10th FirBoston.MA02202617--727-3570

Dr. Robert BaughmanHarvard Medical SchoolB-2 507825 Shattuck St.Boston.Ma02115617-732-1663

•Steve BentleyVVA, Casco Bay Chapter 298P.O. Box 8474Portland,ME04104

Samuel BlackState of VirginiaP.O. Box 806Roanokc,VA24004(703)982-6396

Barbara Boardman MD.Harvard School of Public Health677 Huntington Ave.Boston.Ma02115617-732-1000

Geoff BoehmScnatqr John Kerry's Office10 Park Plaza 3rd floorBoston,Ma02116(617) 565-8519

Kevin BowcnCo-DirectorWilliajn .Joiner Center , kUMass/BostonHarbor CampusBoston, MA 02125

David BradleyVVA65 South Front StreetColumbus.OH43215614-228-0188

Paul R. CamachoAssociate DirectorWilliam Joiner CenterUMass/BostonHarbor CampusBoston, MA 02125

David CarterOklahoma Agent Orange FoundationP.O. Box 849Lexington.Ok73051405-527-6064

Bill ChiodoVietnam Herbicides Info Commission501 Crescent StreetNew Havcn.CT06515203-397-4329

Craig CloseAgent Orange Commission of R.I.c/o VEVA250 Prairie Ave.Providence.RI02907401-521-6710

Charles Conroy Jr.West Virginia Department of Health1800 Washington St.Charleston, WV25305304-348-3210

Dr. John ConstableMassachusetts General HospitalWACC, Level 3-A, rm 353 kBostonJMa02114

Charles DesmondVice-ChancellorUMass/BostonHarbor CampusBpston,MA02125617-929-7700

Jack G. DevineMichigan Veterans Trust FundNorth Ottawa Bldg.,3rd FirLansing.MI48909(517)373-3130

Robert DiefenbachCenter For Disease ControlAgent Orange ProgramAtlanta.GA30333

Frank DufnerWMFOP.O. Box 65Mcdford.Ma02153

Dermot DugganOCVS100 Cambridge St.,10th FirBoston.MA02202617-727-3570

Tod EnsignCitizen Soldier175 Fifth AvenueNew York,NY10010

Mikeal Ericson . ,Umca University HospitalOncology DepartmentUmea,SW90185

i* ;«' . - • ' i

Allen FalkNew Jersey Agent Orange Commission143 East State StreetTrenton.NJ08608

Leslie FeldsteinVVA State Council1136 Walnut St.Newton Highlands.Ma02176

David FoehrRhode Island Veterans HomeMetacom AvenueBristol.RI02809(401)253-8000

Dan Fraley\*etnam Herbicide Info CenterP.O. Box 8380Harrisburg.PA17105717-787-1708

Janet GardnerNew York TimesP.O. Box 166Rocky Hill.NJ08553609-921-8325

Harold GennariaVietnam Herbicides Info CenterP.O. Box 8380Harrisburg.PA17105717-787-1708

Alan Goosetray RNMass General HospitalWACC.Level 3-A,Room 353Boston.MA02114

Christopher Gregory% Manilla and Kiley84 State St.Boston,Ma02115.' • ' • ii

Michael HahnCommission on Veterans AffairsThe Capitol - S-207WTallahasec.FL32399

Commissioner John HalachisOCVS100 Cambridge St., 10th FirBoston.MA02202617-727-3570

James HarbisonDelaware Commission of Vets AffairsP.O. Box 1401Dover.DE19903302-736-4111

Dr. Lennart HardellUmea University HospitalOncology DepartmentUmea,SW90185

Dr. Maureen HatchColumbia University600 West 168th StreetNew York,NY10032

Bill HerodChurch World Service2427 Valley WayCheverly.MD20785

Terry HcrtzlcrVietnam Herbicide Information CenterP.O. Box 8380Harrisburg.PA17105 .(7.17)7*7-1708

Robert HollisVietnam Herbicides Info CenterP.O. Box 8380Harrisburg,PA17105717-787-1708

1 i " •' ' ' I

David W. Houlc359 Lincoln StreetManchcstcr.NH03103(603)625-8122

Dr. Peter KahnNew Jersey Agent Orange Commission143 East State StreetTrenton.NJ08608

Daniel KarnesCommission on Veterans Affairs3422 Windsor RoadRoanoke,VA24018

Clay KeelingVVA65 South Front StreetColumbus.OH43215614-228-0188

Michael KingOCVS100 Cambridge St.,10th FirBoston,MA02202617-727-3570

Frank LattanziP.O. Box 3127Hoboken.NJ07030

Seymour LeventmanBoston CollegeDepartment of SociologyChestnut Hill,MA02167552-4130

Charles LightGreen Mountain Post FilmsP.O. Box 229Turners Falls.Ma01376

i •" • • • • • ' *

Allen J. LynchIllinois Attorney General's Office100 West RandolphChicago.IL60601312-793-6787

John McAuliffU.S. Indochina Reconciliation Project5808 Greene StreetPhiladelphia.PA19144215-848-4100

Mary McDonnellSocial Science Research Council605 3rd AvenueNew York,NY10158212-661-0280

Dr. Sonja McKinlayN.E. Research Institute42 Pleasant St.Watertown,MA02172617-923-7747

Dr. Matthew McsclsonHarvard UniversityDepartment of BiochemistryCambridge,Ma02139

Dr. Feme MooreVietnam Herbicides Info CenterP.O. Box 8380Harrisburg.PA17105717-787-1708

Jack MordenteCT. Herbicides Info Commission501 Crescent St.New Havcn.CT06515203-397-4329

John W. MoultonIllinois Dept. of Veterans Affairs208 West Cook St.Springfield.il627Q5,, ' • • i

Betty NaylorVietnam Herbicide info Commission501 Crescent StreetNew Haven.CT06515203-397-4329

David PassamanekAMVETS4647 Forbes Blvd.Lanham,Md20706301-459-9600

Johnnie PearsonN.Carolina Division of Vets Affairs251 N. Main St., Room 543Winston-Salem,NC27155

Jaime RodriguezOCVS100 Cambridge SL,10th FirBoston.MA02202617-727-3570

Fred Rush, Jr.Vietnam Herbicides Info CenterP.O. box 8380Harrisburg.PA17105717-787-1708

Dr. Arnold SchecterSUNY Binghampton88 Aldridge Ave.Binghampton,NY

Dr. Peter SchuckYale University600 New Jersey AvenueWashington.DC20001

« i" •' ' ' ''

Leslie SheehanJoiner CenterUMass/BostonBoston.MA02125617-929-7864

Dr. Barclay ShepardVeterans Administration Central810 Vermont AvenueWashington.DC20420

Colonel John Siemer (Ret.)Governor's Office of Vets AffairsRm 11 State House AnnexColumbus,OH43215614-466-5453

Keith SnyderVietnam Veterans of America2001 S. StreetWashington.bC20009

10

Sheila SpiccrVET Center480 Trcmont St.Boston,Ma617-451-0171

Dr. Theodor SterlingSimon Frascr UniversityDept. of Computing ScienceBurnaby.BCV5A156

Bart StichmanVietnam Veterans of America20001 S St., N.W., Rm 700Washington,DC20009

Mary StoutVietnam Veterans of America20001 S St.,NW,Suite 700Washington,DC20009

Douglas; TaylorN.Y. State Division of Vets Affairs194 Washington Ave.Albany,NY12210518-474-6784

Major Max TenbergU.S. Army & Joint Services1730 K. St. NW Rm 210Washington,DC20007

Ralph TimperiMass. Dept. of Public Health305 South St.Jamaica Plain,Ma"02130617-522-3700

Victor VasquezNew York State Veterans Affairs194 Washington AvenueAlbany.NY12210518-474-6784

11

Jim WalshCongressman Joseph Kennedy's OfficeRm 2007J.F.K. Federal BuildingBoston.Ma02203617-367-0288

David WcisbaumIllinois House of RepresentativesRoom 1107Stratum Bldg.Springfield.IL62706217-782-6373

Daniel WilliamsMichigan Department of Health3500 N.LoganP.O.BOX 30035Lansing,MI48909

Wayne WilsonNew Jersey Agent Orange Commission143' East; State St. 'Trenton.NJ08608609-984-7396

Dr. Shelia Hoar ZahmNational Cancer InstituteLandlow Building, Rm 4C16Bethcsda.MD20892

State's Agent Orange AidesJoin Others to Unify Efforts

By JANET GARDNER

BOSTONI EMBERS of New Jersey's Agent Orange

Commission have joined their counterpartsin 10 other states 10 form a national associa-tion designed to coordinate efforts to pro-

vide medical, social and legal services to Vietnam vet-erans exposed to the .herbicide.

"We need to have a united force to let the FederalGovernment know what is taking place at the state level,"said Wayne P. Wifsdrt. executive director of the New Jer-sey Slate Commission on Ajjent Orange, at a meeting lastweekend at the William Joiner Center for the Study ofWar and Social Consequences at the University of Massa-chusetts.

About 70 scientists and medic.il and legal experts, aswell us administrators of veterans' programs, shared theresults of their research and discussed collaborating onother studies in the face of what they called "Federal foot-dripping."

") personally don't need an association of states tocriticize the Veterans Administration," said Mr. Wilson.

He is a member of the steering committee of the neworganization, which, he said, would monitor the activitiesof the V.A., a task, Mr. Wilson said, "no state can take onby itself."

Joseph Bangert. director of Agent Orange programsin Massachussets. added:

"The action will come from Washington, The ground-swell has to come from the stales."

It became known during the session that Dr. BarclaySnepard, director of the V.A.'s Agent Orange Projects Of-fice, had been told that his contract would not be renewedwhen it expired July 1. •

Dr. Peter C. Kahn, a principal investigator in NewJersey's study of dioxin in blood and adipose tissue and di-rector of research of the-ftate's Agent Orange Commis-

sion, called this "a downgrading of Agent Orange re-search by the Veterans Administration."

In a subsequent telephone interview. Dr. Snepard,who spoke at the conference, said he did not believe hisbeing let go was "a signal of anything in particular, ex-cept that I have to move on."

Dr. Ahrin Young, senior policy analyst for life sci-ences at the White House Office of Science and Technolo-gy, said that "replacing Dr. Snepard shouldn't impact thestudies." . . . . • ' •

The Federal Government, through the Centers forDisease Control in Atlanta, has completed about eightmajor epidemtological studies at a cost of more than $100million, but not all have been published.

With an appropriation of $350,000. Massachussets isconducting several research projects, including a newstudy of veterans that confirms New Jersey's findings.

In fat biopsies of 25 veterans 15 to 20 years after theyleft Vietnam, researchers at Massachusetts General Hos-pital found levels of dioxin as high as 10 times the averageamount. The research team, headed by Dr. Arnold Schect-er, a professor at the State University of New .York inBinghamton, plans to te$t 25 more men.

"It's a very sophisticated test, and a test we didn'thave five years ago," Dr. Schecter said. "We still don'tknow how extensive the health effects are in humans, butthis new test should allow us to find out with time."

Time is critical because dioxin has a half life of aboutfive years, Dr. Schecter said, adding: "The longer wewait, the less chance we'll have of finding Agent Orange inthe bodies of these veterans."

In 1984, before the $180 million settlement for the245,000 veterans who were party to a class-action suitagainst manufacturers of Agent Orange, Federal JudgeJack B. Weinstein of the Eastern District of New Yorksaid that there was no evidence that the herbicide had anyeffect on humans other than causing the skin disease clo- •

Continued on Pag* 10

PI YORK- TIMES, SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 1997

i

Agent Orange Panels UniteContinued From Page /

rachne, and that it thus would be diffi-cult to compensate individuals. Thesettlement has been appealed by theVietnam Veterans of America.

Scientists now cite a study by Dr.Shelia Hoar Zahra of the NationalCancer Institute in Bethesda, Md..snowing that 2.4.D, a major compo-nent of Agent Orange, caused canceramong fanners in Kansas. She pre-sented her evidence, published in1986, at the conference here.

Last fall. Dr. Kahn. associate pro-fessor of biochemistry at RutgersUniversity, and Dr. Michael Goch-feld. a professor of preventive medi-cine at the Robert Wood Johnson Uni-versity Medical School in Piscat-away, announced the findings of apilot study sponsored by the New Jer-sey Agent Orange Commission and fi-nanced by the State Legislature.

It included a total of 27 veterans: 10who had been heavily exposed, a con-trol group of 10 who served in Viet-nam, but were minimally exposed,and 7 who did not go to Vietnam. ,Mity-tary records were used to confirmclaims of exposure.

The mean level of dioxin in bloodfor Vietnam-era veterans was 4-3parts per trillion, the highest being7.3. For the minimally exposed, themean was 6.6 parts per trillion. Themean for those exposed to AgentOrange in Vietnam was 41 pans pertrillion in fat and 46 in blood.

This was considered compel'ingevidence by the researchers becausethe body burden of there exposed tothe herbicide, which contains 2,3,7,9Tetrachlorodibnnzoparadioxin. was;ft times higher than for the two othergroups.

Tht N*w Vert TiiMfrF.N Kfcmty

Dr. Peter C. Kahn, a principal investigator in the state'sstudy of dioxin, in his Cook College laboratory.

The blood samples were coded bynumber and analyzed in a laboratoryat the University of Umea in Sweden.

New Jersey has spent about$400,000 on the study since it wasbegun in 1985. Governor Kean has in-cluded an appropriation of J225.000 inhis proposed 1988 budget.

Staie Senator Richard Van Wag-ner, Democrat of the 13th District(Monmouih and parts of MiddlesexCounties), has introduced a bill to ap-propriate $675,000 to complete thestudy.

Researchers plan to test a largernumber of veterans and are now com-pleting a scudy of the physiologicaland psychological effects of dioxin onthe men already tested

A second bill would appropriate $2million to set up a laboratory at eitherRutgers University or the New Jer-sey Institute of Technology in New-ark to apply the research on dicxin toa civilian population.

Dr Kahn said that his study was ti-tled "The Poimman Project" be-cause Vietnam veteran* were the ad-vanct men for other citizens in the in-dustrialized world who carried intheir body fat an average of 5 to 10parts per trillion of dioxin.

Dioxin is a known animal carcino-gen, he said, and there Is increasingevidence it Is a human carcinogen.

"If what we are seeing, by way ofhealth problems in Vietnam veterans,does prove to be,'related to theirAgent Orange exposure," Dr. Kahn

said, "then the Vietnam veteran maybe acting as point man for us all."

Some critics, -including Dr. Shep-ard, would like more veterans testedbecause of the possibility of variablesin a small sample.

The long-awaited study by the Cen-ters for Disease Control containsthree components: the 'Vietnam Experience" study published lastmonth, a study of four types of cancerand the Agent Orange exposurestudy.

The last involved sorting throughthe military records of 18.000 vet-erans to compare 9,000 who served :nVietnam with 9,000 who served else-where. Military records are used tomatch times and places the herbicidewas sprayed.

"There were not accurate recordson who was in the sub-units, whichwere widely dispersed," Dr. Shepardsaid. "So in every instance, it was im-possible to determine who was ex-posed."

Because of this uncertainly, the re-searchers are conducting what theycall an "exposure validation study"to see if the dioxin in blood correlateswith military records.

"If a soldier was within half a kilo-meter on the day qf the spraying, wecail that a wet hit," Dr. Shepard said.

If 20 such incidents can be docu-mented, he said, "we'd consider thesoldier highly likely to be exposed."

Because military officials issuedorders for troops not to be that close

to an area being sprayed, "it's goingto be hard to find enough subjectsclose to spraying missions," Or.Shepard said.

Dr. Kahn said that he had confi-dence in the Centers for Disease Con-trol's reasearchers but felt that theFederal exposure study was bound tofail because of the way militaryrecords were being used

Other scientists believe it is notaccessary to know where a veteranwas in Vietnam for such a study ofdioxin because the toxic chemical hasentered the food chain.

Dr. Matthew Meselson, professor ofbiochemistry and molecular biologyat Harvard University and the firstscientist to raise the question of•health concerns surrounding vet-erans' exposure to Phenoxy herbi-cides, said:

"A man with a desk job who ate fishfrom the Dong Nai River could get atot ol dioxin in his system. The so-called exposed and control groupmay nc: be different

"Whether or not there are serioushealth effects from human exposureto Agent Orange we still don't know,but finally we're on the track to find-ing out."

"All that money from the start wasmisdirected:" Dr. Meselson added.

Dr Schechter said, "the studies arecoming 'ogether now," citing an addi-tion;i! study of dioxin in Vietnam vet-eran--- •.•onptoted by Dr. MichaelGrcs.- of :he University of Nebraska,a s'udy that confirmed his and Dr.Kahn's conclusions.

"I think the new evidence in the lastfive years shows that Agent Orangeand thus, dioxin, did get into thebodies of some Vietnam veterans,and there's new evidence, based onthe Kansas study, showing that thecomponents of Agent Orange docause, cancer in humans," Dr.Schec.hier said.

The nswly formed associationplans to write its by-laws next monthand hold a second conference withinsix months. It also expects to attractmore members from a pool of 26states that once had Agent Orangecommissions.

In addition to New Jersey, statesrepresented in the new associationare Connecticut, Pennsylvania,Michigan. Florida, Rhode Island,Massachusetts, Virginia, Delaware,Ohio and Oklahoma. Other states areexpected to join. •