What is "agent orange"

powerful defoliant used by U.S. military in the Vietnam War, attested from 1971, said to have been used from 1961; so called from the color strip on the side of the container, which distinguished it from Agent Blue, Agent White, etc., other herbicides used by the U.S. military. Banned from April 1970.

n. A potent herbicide and defoliant used by US forces in the Vietnam War.

Agent Orange—or Herbicide Orange (HO)—is one of the herbicides and defoliants used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. It was a mixture of equal parts of two herbicides, 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D.

During the late 1940s and 1950s, the US and Britain collaborated on development of herbicides with potential applications in warfare. Some of those products were brought to market as herbicides. The British were the first to employ herbicides and defoliants to destroy the crops, bushes, and trees of communist insurgents in Malaya during the Malayan Emergency. These operations laid the groundwork for the subsequent use of Agent Orange and other defoliant formulations by the US.

In mid-1961, President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam asked the United States to conduct aerial herbicide spraying in his country. In August of that year, the South Vietnamese Air Force conducted herbicide operations with American help. But Diem's request launched a policy debate in the White House and the State and Defense Departments. However, U.S. officials considered using it, pointing out that the British had already used herbicides and defoliants during the Malayan Emergency in the 1950s. In November 1961, President John F. Kennedy authorized the start of Operation Ranch Hand, the codename for the U.S. Air Force's herbicide program in Vietnam.

Agent Orange was manufactured for the U.S. Department of Defense primarily by Monsanto Corporation and Dow Chemical. It was given its name from the color of the orange-striped barrels in which it was shipped, and was by far the most widely used of the so-called " Rainbow Herbicides". The 2,4,5-T used to produce Agent Orange was contaminated with 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzodioxin (TCDD), an extremely toxic dioxin compound. In some areas, TCDD concentrations in soil and water were hundreds of times greater than the levels considered safe by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

In the absence of specific customary or positive international humanitarian law regarding herbicidal warfare, a draft convention, prepared by a Working Group set up within the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament (CCD), was submitted to the UN General Assembly in 1976. In that same year, the First Committee of the General Assembly decided to send the text of the draft convention to the General Assembly, which adopted Resolution 31/72 on December 10, 1976, with the text of the Convention attached as an annex thereto. The convention, namely the Environmental Modification Convention, was opened for signature and ratification on May 18, 1977, and entered into force in October 5, 1978. The convention prohibits the military or other hostile use of environmental modification techniques having widespread, long-lasting or severe effects. Many states do not regard this as a complete ban on the use of herbicides and defoliants in warfare but it does require case-by-case consideration.

Although in the Geneva Disarmament Convention of 1978, Article 2(4) Protocol III to the weaponry convention has "The Jungle Exception", which prohibits states from attacking forests or jungles "except if such natural elements are used to cover, conceal or camouflage combatants or military objectives or are military objectives themselves" this voids any protection of any military or civilians from a napalm attack or something like agent Orange and is clear that it was designed to cover situations like U.S. tactics in Vietnam. This clause has yet to be revised.

Following the conclusion of the War in Southeast Asia, contention over the Agent Orange topic has not subsided. Two primary threads of the controversy now relate to toxicity of the agent or potential long-term health effects and to additional potential exposure locations outside of the war-zone.

Agent Orange is an American short silent film directed by Tony Scott. The film is about a psychedelic love story taking place in a "shadowy dreamscape". In 2004, the film was created with a hand cranked camera, noticeably altering motion. It was produced by Amazon.com's Amazon Theater.

The Orange Boy was played by Christopher Carley, and Orange Girl played by supermodel Jessica Stam. Troy Cephers played the janitor.

It was filmed on a Panavision Hollywood camera, with Eastman Kodak film.

Agent Orange is an American punk rock band formed in Orange County, California in 1979. The band were one of the first to mix punk rock with surf music.

Agent Orange is a fictional character in comics published by Wildstorm. He was created by Joe Casey and Steve Dillon. He first appeared in Wildcats #20 (2001).

Agent Orange, in comics, may refer to:

• Larfleeze, a DC Comics supervillain from the Green Lantern series who uses the codename Agent Orange
• Agent Orange (Wildstorm), a character from Wildcats
• Agent Orange, a DC Comics villain who appeared in Batman and the Outsiders #3
• Agent Orange, a DC Comics character who first appeared in Swamp Thing (vol. 3) #6

Agent Orange is an action computer game released by A&F Software in January 1987 for multiple home computer formats.

Agent Orange is an herbicide and defoliant used by military forces.

Agent Orange may also refer to:

• Agent Orange (cocktail), a mixed alcoholic drink
• Agent Orange (comics), a list of comic book characters with the name
• Agent Orange (film), a 2004 silent film
• Agent Orange (video game), a 1987 shoot 'em up game for the Commodore 64
• Agent Orange, a character in the Rogue Trip: Vacation 2012 PlayStation video game

• Agent Orange (album), an album by the German thrash metal band Sodom
• Agent Orange (band), a punk rock band from Orange County, California
• "Agent Orange", a song by rapper Cage Kennylz
• "Agent Orange", a song by the producer Limewax
• "Agent Orange", a song by rapper Pharoahe Monch
• "Agent Orange", a song by the group Slapshock
• "Agent Orange", a song by singer-songwriter Tori Amos, from the album Boys for Pele
• "Agent Orange", a B-side on Depeche Mode's 1987 single Strangelove

Agent Orange is the third studio album by German thrash metal band Sodom, released on 1 June 1989 by Steamhammer/ SPV. It was their last album with guitarist Frank Blackfire before he left the band and joined Kreator. The lyrical content delves deeply into Tom Angelripper's fascination with the Vietnam War, with a song dedicated to the ground assault aircraft AC-47 as well as the Agent orange defoliant-inspired title-track. It was the first thrash metal album to enter the German album charts where it reached number 36. Agent Orange sold 100,000 copies in Germany alone and marked the commercial break through for the band. The song "Ausgebombt" was released on the EP Ausgebombt with German lyrics.

In March 2010, Agent Orange was re-released in a digipak with bonus tracks and liner notes containing lyrics and rare photos.

An Agent Orange is a highball drink made with carrot juice, vodka, and rum. Consisting of only two ingredients, Agent Orange was first recorded as a drink at the 2007 San Mateo County Fair's cocktail competition held in San Mateo, California. It won "Best New Cocktail of Fair" award. Since 2007 it has become somewhat of a local favorite being offered in many hotels throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Because it generally uses organic carrot juice and Svedka Vodka as its prime components, it is usually only available in hotels serving organic juices.

This drink is also known as a Bugs Bunny, after the famous Warner Brothers cartoon character of the same name.