Vietnamese citizens sue US chemical companies over Agent Orange

Vietnamese citizens who say they have suffered a life time of health problems after being poisoned by Agent Orange during the Vietnam war are suing the US chemical companies that provided the Pentagon with the toxic defoliant.

The case has huge implications. If successful it could open the way for claims against companies that produce weapons such as depleted uranium-tipped munitions which have been linked to cancer.

In the lawsuit filed this week, it was alleged that up to four million Vietnamese people suffered persistent respiratory and reproductive problems as a result of being contaminated by Agent Orange. They are seeking compensation that could run to billions of dollars from 30 companies such as Dow Chemical and Monsanto.

One of the plaintiffs, Dr Phan Thi Phi Phi, told the court in New York that she had worked in an area that was heavily sprayed with the defoliant and suffered four miscarriages during the early 1970s. "We did not know what happened to us, what was the cause of it, so we were very sad because we had so many miscarriages and we could not have children," she said.

US forces routinely sprayed the defoliant to clear areas of jungle where they believed Communist forces were hiding and to destroy their crops.

Although US$300m (NZ$412m) in compensation has been paid to US troops who fought in Vietnam, there has never been any compensation paid to those Vietnamese who suffered. Scientists have stated that the defoliant can cause cancer, diabetes, birth defects and other problems.

Jonathan Moore, one the plaintiffs' US lawyers said: "the companies that produced Agent Orange knew it contained high levels of dioxin and did not care because "they ignored it because they figured the only people getting sprayed were the enemy."

The companies being sued have sought to dismiss the claim. This week lawyers for the corporations argued that the US courts had no power to penalise companies for executing the orders of a president exercising his powers as commander in chief. Lawyers also stated that companies normally enjoyed exemption from criminal and civil liability for alleged war crimes.

The US Justice Department also sought dismissal of the lawsuit, arguing that opening the US courts to former wartime enemies could threaten presidential power to wage war. The US government has argued that the effects of Agent Orange are not supported by direct evidence.

District Judge Jack Weinstein questioned whether presidential orders exempted the firms, citing the actions of German corporations during World War II.

"The fact that all power was centralised under Hitler did not permit all people operating under his orders to violate international law," he said.

Dave Cline, of the veterans group, Vietnam Veterans against the War, supported the action. He said US veterans had fought for years to receive compensation for 11 separate conditions and illnesses linked to Agent Orange.

"In Vietnam they say three million people still suffer," he said.

No-one from Dow Chemical was yesterday available to comment.

- INDEPENDENT