VA disability benefits for exposure to Agent Orange (2023)

FAQs

Which health condition is associated with Agent Orange exposure? ›

Peripheral Neuropathy, Early-Onset

A nervous system condition that causes numbness, tingling, and motor weakness. Under VA's rating regulations, it must be at least 10 percent disabling within one year of herbicide exposure.

Of the 105,000 claims received by the Payment Program, approximately 52,000 Vietnam Veterans or their survivors received cash payments which averaged about $3,800 each.

The VA rating for Adult fibrosarcoma due to Agent Orange is 100 percent. What is the VA rating for Adult fibrosarcoma cancer due to Agent Orange exposure? Adult fibrosarcoma, soft tissue cancer (muscle, fat, or fibrous connective tissue) rate at 100%.

As a result of the FY21 National Defense Authorization Act, VA added three new conditions that are related to exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides: bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, and Parkinsonism (also known as Parkinson-like conditions).

Unfortunately, there's no medical test or biological feature that can show that someone was exposed to Agent Orange or other herbicides, so the health exam cannot confirm that you were (or were not) exposed.

New PACT Act-related presumptive conditions and locations. We've added 2 new Agent Orange presumptive conditions based on the PACT Act: High blood pressure (also called hypertension) Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS)

The VA typically only pays disability compensation going back to the date of discharge to veterans who apply for their VA disability benefits within one year of being discharged.

Blue Water Back Pay Errors. VA has been awarding benefits to Vietnam veterans for any conditions related to Agent Orange for decades. When Congress passed new legislation that expanded coverage to the veterans who served on offshore ships, VA did not award retroactive benefits beyond the passage of that law.

Find your local VA Environmental Health Coordinator and contact them about getting an Agent Orange Registry health exam today! For more information about the Agent Orange Registry health exam, visit www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/benefits/registry-exam.asp.

Veterans can be service-connected for peripheral neuropathy as secondary to their already service-connected diabetes mellitus type II that is due to Agent Orange exposure. Other conditions that are commonly secondary to diabetes include diabetic retinopathy, erectile dysfunction, and kidney disease.

Is high blood pressure related to Agent Orange? ›

The VA study, “Herbicide Exposure, Vietnam Service, and Hypertension Risk in Army Chemical Corps Veterans,” found that exposure to herbicides is “significantly associated” with the risk of hypertension, or high blood pressure, in members of the Army Chemical Corps.

Agent Orange was sprayed at up to 20 times the concentration the manufacturers recommended for killing plants. It defoliated millions of acres of forests and farmland. Large tracts of that land remain degraded and unproductive to this day. The chemical dioxin in Agent Orange can remain toxic in the soil for decades.

Surviving spouses, dependent children and dependent parents of Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange or other herbicides during service and died as the result of diseases related to the exposure may be eligible for health care, compensation, education, and home loan benefits.

Elevated blood TCDD levels, probably related to Agent Orange exposure, can be detected between two and three decades after potential exposure in some American veterans. Original levels were estimated to be 35-1,500-fold greater that that of the general population (4 ppt, lipid) at the time of exposure.

VA presumes Veterans' early-onset peripheral neuropathy is related to their exposure to Agent Orange or other herbicides during service when the disease appears within one year of exposure to a degree of at least 10 percent disabling by VA's rating regulations.

The most common ways of measuring potential exposure to a chemical or a physical agent are attempting to quantify it in the air or near a person's breathing zone (industrial hygiene testing) or measuring it in some bodily fluid, like blood or urine, or in tissue, like fat.

Unfortunately, Agent Orange exposure has led to long-term health effects in many Vietnam era veterans, including multiple myeloma, Parkinson's Disease, and various types of cancer.

Agent Orange has a short half-life of days and weeks after application to vegetation, and has not been found to persist, after 50 years, in the water or soils of southern Vietnam.

The VA estimates that it takes them 94 days to review a VA disability application. However, many cases take much longer than that. Here are some factors that can shorten or extend the time it takes to reach a decision: Type of claim filed.

What is the VA presumptive list? ›

What is “Presumptive” Service Connection? VA automatically presumes that certain disabilities were caused by military service. This is because of the unique circumstances of a specific Veteran's military service.

What is the VA 55-year-old rule? Veterans who receive VA disability benefits for service-connected conditions are exempt from periodic future examinations once they turn 55 years old. This includes veterans who will be 55 by the date of a future examination, according to the VA Adjudication Procedures Manual.

Disability severance pay from the military is granted for a disability received or acquired while in the military and is usually paid in a lump sum. VA compensation is unlike severance pay because it is not paid in a single lump sum, but is paid out over time.

Your VA benefits will last for your whole life. Even if your disability is classified as less than total and not permanent, if you've been collecting benefits for 20 years or more, the amount of your benefit won't go down.

You can file a claim up to 180 days before leaving the service: If you have 180-90 days left on active duty, you may be able to file a pre-discharge claim through the Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) program.

Answer and Explanation: The dioxin TCDD, the harmful contaminant of Agent Orange, can stay in the human body for decades. It is believed to have a chemical half-life of seven to 11 years.

The VA calculates VA disability back pay based on your disability effective date, not on your application or approval date. You may also receive back pay if the VA approves your previously denied claim after a review or an appeal.

The constituents of Agent Orange are capable of producing gene mutations and chromosomal aberrations, at least in some experimental circumstances. TCDD and 2,4,5-T are teratogenic in mice and perhaps in other mammals, but the teratogenicity of these chemicals has not been convincingly demonstrated in humans.

Neurobehavioral difficulties involve two primary categories: cognitive decline, including memory problems and dementia; and neuropsychiatric disorders, including neurasthenia (a collection of symptoms including difficulty concentrating, headache, insomnia, and fatigue), depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), ...

Bladder Cancer. Chronic B-cell Leukemias. Chloracne. Diabetes Mellitus Type 2.

Can the VA deny a presumptive disability? ›

Any disabilities must have a clear in-service connection, or else the VA will deny the claim. However, there is an exception: the VA's presumptive conditions list. If you suffer from a condition on this list, you don't have to prove an in-service link, and it doesn't have to appear on your service medical records.

A 20 percent rating is assigned for diastolic pressure that is predominantly 110 or more, or systolic pressure predominantly 200 or more. A 40 percent rating is assigned where diastolic pressure is predominantly 120 or more. A 60 percent rating is assigned where diastolic pressure is predominantly 130 or more.

Passed into law in August of 2022, the Honoring our PACT Act piece of VA legislation added hypertension to its list of diagnoses presumed to be caused by exposure to the tactical herbicide known as Agent Orange (AO), making eligibility for disability benefits much easier.

Rheumatoid arthritis is not recognized by VA as etiologically related to exposure to herbicides, such as Agent Orange, which were used in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam Era.

Surviving spouses, dependent children and dependent parents of Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange and died as the result of diseases related to Agent Orange exposure may be eligible for a monthly payment called Dependency and Indemnity Compensation.

According to military estimates of herbicide use, 90 percent of Agent Orange was used in Ranch Hand forest defoliation missions; 8 percent was used in Ranch Hand crop destruction missions; and 2 percent was sprayed from the ground around base perimeters and cache sites, waterways, and communication lines (NAS, 1974).

Thousands of barrels of Agent Orange are stored on Johnston Island, an atoll in the South Pacific, for six years until the last barrel is destroyed on a Dutch incineration ship in 1977.

Service Connection for Peripheral Neuropathy

A grant of VA disability benefits typically requires proof of three things: An in-service event, injury, or illness; A current diagnosis by a medical professional; and. A medical nexus, or link, between your in-service event, injury, or illness and your current diagnosis.

Peripheral neuropathy is an illness often linked to Agent Orange and herbicide exposure. It is associated with pain, burning, and numbness in the upper and lower extremities such as the hands and feet.

All VA ratings for peripheral neuropathy range from between 10% and 40% maximum. Ratings are determined based on the severity of the Veteran's displayed and recorded symptoms. However, a Veteran may be entitled to a maximum rating of 40% disability benefits for each extremity affected.

What does exposure to Agent Orange cause? ›

United States military personnel used Agent Orange to clear trees and vegetation in fields known to hide enemies. Unfortunately, Agent Orange exposure has led to long-term health effects in many Vietnam era veterans, including multiple myeloma, Parkinson's Disease, and various types of cancer.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is not associated with Agent Orange exposure. However, VA has recognized ALS diagnosed in Veterans with 90 days or more of continuously active service in the military was caused by their military service.

Exposure to Agent Orange and TCDD has been linked to a wide range of health problems, including many different cancers. However, its association with the basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma-the two most common types of skin cancer-has been unclear.

Answer and Explanation: The dioxin TCDD, the harmful contaminant of Agent Orange, can stay in the human body for decades. It is believed to have a chemical half-life of seven to 11 years.

Agent Orange was sprayed at up to 20 times the concentration the manufacturers recommended for killing plants. It defoliated millions of acres of forests and farmland. Large tracts of that land remain degraded and unproductive to this day. The chemical dioxin in Agent Orange can remain toxic in the soil for decades.

The harmful ingredient in Agent Orange is dioxin. Dioxin can remain in adipose tissue for decades after exposure. Dioxin could have a direct toxic effect on the brain or could act indirectly by impairing blood circulation or increasing the risk of other diseases that, in turn, increase dementia risk.”

Passed into law in August of 2022, the Honoring our PACT Act piece of VA legislation added hypertension to its list of diagnoses presumed to be caused by exposure to the tactical herbicide known as Agent Orange (AO), making eligibility for disability benefits much easier.

The Department of Veteran's Affairs (VA) will also consider disability caused by exposure to Agent Orange, chemical exposure in the Gulf, and other hazards as combat-related for the purposes of this program.

Exposure to Agent Orange may cause nerve damage. In fact, one of the conditions for which the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) presumes service connection due to Agent Orange exposure is peripheral neuropathy. Peripheral neuropathy results from damage to the peripheral nerves.

VA presumes Veterans' early-onset peripheral neuropathy is related to their exposure to Agent Orange or other herbicides during service when the disease appears within one year of exposure to a degree of at least 10 percent disabling by VA's rating regulations.

How many deaths has Agent Orange caused? ›

Over almost five decades since its use in Vietnam, exposure to Agent Orange has killed or maimed approximately 400,000 US soldiers and affected an estimated 4 million Vietnamese. The chemical's reputation has permeated throughout Western and Vietnamese history.

Here are the 14 health conditions associated with Agent Orange exposure as of 2020: Chronic B-Cell Leukemia. Hodgkin's disease. Multiple Myeloma.

Agent Orange exposure was significantly dosage-related to history of benign fatty tumors, adult acne, skin rash with blisters, and increased sensitivity of eyes to light.