Agent Orange is an herbicide that was made for military use. It is a mixture of two herbicides, fifty percent 2, 4, -D ( 2, 4, dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) and fifty percent 2, 4, 5-t (trichlorophenoxyacetic acid). Both of these herbicides were made in the 1940’s as weed killers. They were useful for killing broad leaf plants and crops. Agent Orange contains dioxin, which makes it very deadly. Dioxin is the man made byproduct of the process for making Phenoxy herbicides like Agent Orange. When 2, 4, 5-t is manufactured, TCDD (2, 3, 7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin) is the byproduct and it cannot be removed. ( L. Vancil, 1994) 

      In the Vietnam War, Agent Orange’s purpose was to get rid of the dense jungle-like terrain of South Asia in which the enemy would hide. Agent Orange was greatly effective with killing broad-leaf plants. The theory behind this was that the enemy would be easier to kill if they had no where to hide. Agent Orange was spread by aircraft, vehicle, and hand spraying over Vietnam after being mixed with either kerosene or diesel fuel. During the war, about 19 million gallons of Agent Orange were used in South Vietnam. It was used widely in 1967-1968; however its use was discontinued in 1971. The name, “Agent Orange,” comes from the orange bands used to identify the drums that it was shipped in.