Health Information Summary for CF Members
Archived Content
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Resources And References
Calculation
(See discussion in " Is Agent Orange the only source of TCDD? ")
- average daily TCDD intake estimates: 47 pg/day (ATSDR, 1998); 39-147 pg/day (Health Canada, 1994; Gilman et al., 1991): assume 50 pg/day daily intake
- 1 pg = 10 -12 g
- molecular weight of TCDD = 321.96 g/mol
- Avagadro's number = 6.022 x 10 23
50 pg/day) x (10 -12 g/pg) x (1 mol/321.96 g) x (6.022 x 10 23 molecules/mol
= 9.35 x 10 10 molecules/day (93 500 000 000 molecules per day)
Agent Orange, TCDD ("dioxin"), and Herbicide Resources
U.S. Institute of Medicine
- Veterans and Agent Orange 2004 Update: http://www.iom.edu/report.asp?id=25476
U.S. Air Force Health Study
- http://www.brooks.af.mil/AFRL/HED/hedb/default.html (click on "Articles" in the left margin for a summary of all published scientific studies of Operation Ranch Hand veterans; click on "Reports" in the left margin, and then select "2002 Follow-up Examination Results: May 2002 to March 2005" to access the most recent report )
U.S. National Agricultural Library special collection on Agent Orange:
Health Canada
- " It's Your Health": http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/iyh-vsv/environ/dioxin_e.html
Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency
- Information on 2,4-D and other herbicides: http://www.pmra-arla.gc.ca/
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
- Public Health Statement: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/phs104.html
World Health Organization
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA)
- Questions and answers: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/dioxinqa.html
European Union
- Dioxin exposure and health: http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/dioxin/
References
AD 843989 Technical Memorandum 141: Defoliation Tests in 1966 at Base Gagetown, NB, Canada" authored by Kenneth D. Demaree and Richard A Creagar, October 1968. Department of the Army, Fort Detrick, Frederick, Maryland.
AD 842825 Technical Memorandum 145: "Chemical Defoliation of Northern Tree Species" authored by Kenneth D. Demaree and Richard A Creagar, October 1968. Department of the Army, Fort Detrick, Frederick, Maryland.
Akhtar, F.Z., Garabrant, D.H., Kethcum, N.S., et al. Cancer in US Air Force veterans of the Vietnam War. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2004; 46: 123-136.
ATSDR (Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry) Toxicological profile for Chlorinated dibenzo- p -dioxins (CDDs) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Atlanta, Ga. 1998.
Birmingham, B., Gilman, A., Grant, D., et al. PCDD/PCDF multimedia exposure analysis for the Canadian population: detailed exposure estimation. Chemosphere 1989; 19: 637-642.
Boehmer, T.K.C., Flanders, D., McGeehin, M.A., et al. Postservice mortality in Vietnam veterans: 30-year follow-up. Archives of Internal Medicine 2004; 164: 1908-1916.
CDC (Centers for Disease Control). Serum 2,3,7,8-t etrachlorodibenzo- p -dioxin levels in US Army Vietnam era veterans. JAMA 1988; 260: 1249-1254.
Crosby, D.G., Wong, A.S. Environmental degradation of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo- p -dioxin (TCDD). Science 1977; 195: 1337-1338.
Dalager, N.A., Kang, H.K. Mortality among army chemical corps Vietnam veterans. American Journal of Industrial Medicine 1997; 31: 719-726.
Frumkin, H. Agent orange and cancer: an overview for clinicians. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians 2003; 53(4): 245-255.
Gilman, A., Newhook, R., Birmingham, B. An updated assessment of the exposure of Canadians to dioxins and furans. Chemosphere 1991; 23: 1661-1667.
Greene, J.F., Hays, S., Paustenbach, D. Basis for a proposed reference dose (RfD) for dioxin of 1-10 pg/kg-day: a weight of evidence evaluation of the human and animal studies. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B 2003; 6(2): 115-159.
Hays, S.M., Aylward, L.L. Dioxin risks in perspective: past, present, and future. Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 2003; 37: 202-217.
Health Canada. Canadian health based soil quality criteria for contaminated sites: polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans - supporting documentation. Prepared for the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment. May 1994.
Huwe, J.K. Dioxins in food: a modern agricultural perspective. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 2002; 50: 1739-1750.
Institute of Medicine (2005). Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2004. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Kearney, P.C., Woolson, E.A., Isensee, A.R., et al. Tetrachlorodibenzodioxin in the environment: sources, fate, and decontamination. Environmental Health Perspectives 1973; 5: 273-277.
Ketchum, N.S., Michalek, J.E. Postservice mortality of Air Force veterans occupationally exposed to herbicides during the Vietnam War: 20-year follow-up results. Military Medicine 2005; 170: 406-413.
MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report). Serum 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo- p -dioxin levels in Air Force Health Study participants - preliminary results. MMWR 1988; 37(20); 309-311.
Muto, H., Takizawa, Y. Dioxins in cigarette smoke. Archives of Environmental Health 1989; 44(3): 171-174.
Pohl, H.R., Hicks, H.E., Jones, D.E., et al. Public health perspectives on dioxin risks: two decades of evaluations. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment 2002; 8: 233-250.
Steenland, K., Piacitelli, L., Deddens, J., et al. Cancer, heart disease, and diabetes in workers exposed to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo- p -dioxin. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 1999; 91(9): 779-786.
Steenland, K., Deddens, J., Piacitelli, L. Risk assessment for 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo- p -dioxin (TCDD) based on an epidemiologic study. American Journal of Epidemiology 2001; 154: 451-458.
Stellman, J.M., Stellman, S.D., Christian, S.D., et al. The extent and patterns of usage of agent orange and other herbicides in Vietnam. Nature 2003; 422: 681-687.
Sullivan, J.B., Kreiger, G.R. Clinical Environmental Health and Toxic Exposures. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2001.
Travis, C.C., Hattemer-Frey, H.A. Human exposure to dioxin. The Science of the Total Environment 1991; 104: 97-127.
Wigle, D.T., Mao, Y. Investigation of potential health effects due to defoliant spraying at Camp Gagetown, New Brunswick. Laboratory Centre for Disease Control, Health Protection Branch, Health and Welfare Canada. June, 1981.
Young, A.L., Giesy, J.P., Jones, P.D., et al. Environmental fate and bioavailability of Agent Orange and its associated dioxin during the Vietnam War. Environmental Science & Pollution Research 2004a; 11(6): 359-370.
Young, A.L., Newton, M. Long overlooked historical information on Agent Orange and TCDD following massive applications of 2,4,5-T-containing herbicides, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Environmental Science & Pollution Research 2004b; 11(4): 209-221.
Young, A.L., Cecil, P.F., Guilmartin, J.F. Assessing possible exposures of ground troops to agent orange during the Vietnam War: the use of contemporary military records. Environmental Science & Pollution Research 2004c; 11(6): 349-358.
Young, A.L., Regens, J.L. Serum TCDD levels and health effects from elevated exposure: medical and scientific evidence. Environmental Science & Pollution Research 2005; 12(1): 1-4.
