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In the course of 1961 and 1971, during the Vietnam War, the United States of America used massive amounts of herbicides to clear forests and clear Vietnamese military perimeters.

They were named, military missions with agents white, pink, green, purple, blue and the well-known agent orange depending on the identification label used on the drums. Many of its components contained endocrine disrupting substances61.

Herbicides amount used in these operations were between five to ten times higher than those usually adopted in agriculture, and the same areas were also sprayed several times in a short period of time. The researchers named it “ecocides”, as the spried land has suffered irreversible damage to both flora and fauna, and subsequent planting attempts have been unsuccessful even after more than a decade62.

Dr. Roser Martínez and Dr. Joaquín Rodríguez, in their work “Artificial intelligence and autonomous lethal weapons”, explain to us how “the deadly effects of Agent Orange used in Vietnam even reached the descendants of the military involved” as well as It is considered that “this type of military weapons is due in large part to a relaxation in the intervention by the regulation”, which is exactly what is happening with the substances that alter the endocrine system63.

Since 1974 studies already determined that these herbicides affected soil, waters, fauna, flora, and even up to six years later “broad-leaved plants” continued to grow with difficulty and with malformations. It had been necessary to carry out studies to find out what types of plants could biologically withstand soil contamination to revitalize agriculture in Vietnam. The most resistant crops were rice, corn, sorghum, and later peanut and some tropical fruits.

Among all the herbicides that were used, the so-called “agent orange” stands out as an endocrine disruptor. Between 1965 and 1970 were spread a total of 45 677 937 liters64.

The so-called Agent Orange was a 50% combination of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid, which contained 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) fractions65.

TCDD is one of the substances that is part of the so-called group of polychlorinated dioxins. Currently, we still find them present in the combustion of fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas or wood), therefore also with the use of vehicles, whether they are diesel or leaded or unleaded gasoline. Although in a lower concentration, they are also present in cigarettes, in the plastics incineration practices, in the house heating systems, in recycled paper bleaching treatments, they are also still present in pesticides and other polychlorides, such as biphenols (extensively discussed in the previous section of this book, BPA)66.

A 22-year period studies have been conducted over a populations of different ages to determine the consequences related to exposure to TCDD. Again, studies have found that they are substances that can cause damage at low levels of exposure, causing poor seminal quality and mobility.

It has been determined as well that exposure at any age produces a reduction in the production of estradiol and an increase in the hormone (FSH) which, among other functions, stimulates the secretion of estrogens67.

State of Vietnam is well aware of what exposure to endocrine disrupting substances means for its population. It has a direct experience. Vietnam knows well, the investment in terms of time, effort and money that must be made to recover not only a healthy population, but also, that the fields return to provide a solid and productive agriculture.

33. European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). “Guidance for the identification of endocrine disruptors in biocides and pesticides”. June 7, 2018.

34. Eva, Azucena Núñez, “Endocrine disruptors, a possible toxic risk…” op. cit.

35. Elisabete Silva, Nissanka Rajapakse and Andreas Kortenkamp. “Something from” Nothing “-Eight weak estrogenic chemicals combined at concentrations below NOECs Produce Significant Mixture Effects”. Environmental, Science & technology. American Chemical Society. March 2002.

36. Rivas A., Granada A., Jiménez M., Olea F. and Olea N. (2004). “Human exposure to endocrine disruptors”. Ecosystems, 13 (3), 7-12.

37. REACH recognizes phthalates in their forms: dibutyl phthalate (DBP), bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate; di- (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), n-pentyl-isopentyl phthalate, dipentyl phthalate, diisopentyl phthalate (DIBP). However, a total of 26 different forms of phthalate, present in the consumer market, are currently registered in the databases of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).

38. Kumar Pramod, “Role of plastics in human health”, The Indian journal of pediatrics, 2018, vol 85 (5), p. 384-389.

39. Elizabeth Atalay, Laura Parker and Heidi Schultz, National Geographic, “Plastics explained from A to Z”. May 17, 2020. https://www.nationalgeographic.es/medio-ambiente/2018/05/los-plasticos-explicados-de-la-la-z.

40. Helmunt Reinecke, Rodrigo Navarro and Mónica Pérez, on June 21, 2010 published the application for a patent registration that stated “The present invention describes a procedure for the internal plasticization of chlorinated polymers with dialkyl phthalate or dialkyl isophthalate chemically modified so that are covalently anchored to the polymer chain and thus prevent its migration”. In turn, they cite other patents registered in 1978 in the United States and 1985 in France, which were attempts to plasticize without releasing toxic agents into the environment, which did not work. However, it demonstrates the concern of chemical scientists in creating new, more sustainable substances, as well as the concern for EDC. http://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/28549/1/2341524_A1.pdf.

41. Cristina Pérez Feás, 2012. “Study of the determination of phthalates in samples of clinical and food interest”. Doctoral thesis University of Santiago de Compostela. http://hdl.handle.net/10347/3710.

42. The Danish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). “Phthalate Strategy”. Copenhagen, 2013. ISBN: 978-87-93026-22-3.

43. Carlos De Prada, “Phthalates. A public health problem that must be urgently addressed to protect pregnant women and children”. Vivo Sano Foundation. 2016. (Study published by the “Home without toxics” campaign in March 2016, which aims to prevent the multiple health problems that can be caused by the most diverse toxic chemicals present in everyday life, basically in the domestic environment).

44. Nicolas Olea, Real M., Molina-Molina JM., Et al. “Screening of hormone-like activities in bottled waters available in Southern Spain using receptor-specific bioassays”. Environment International 74 (2015): 125-135.

45. Vid: the website entitled “Food Additives and Contaminants” in which its authors Taylor & Francis compile an extensive and rigorous compilation of those research publications that contain fundamentals related to food and additives. https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tfac20.

46. Octavio Angel, Fenollar Gimeno, 2011, “Use of natural plasticizers to obtain flexible PVC with low environmental impact”, Doctoral thesis, Polytechnic University of Valencia.

47. Ana Juan-García, Guillermina Font, et. alt. “Bisphenol A Toxicity: Review”. Toxicol Magazine 32, no. 2 (2015): 144-160.

48. Wilfred Lawson, et. Alt. 1936. “Synthetic estrogenic agents without the phenanthrene nucleus”. Nature 137: 996.

49. European Chemicals Agency. Bisphenol A. https://echa.europa.eu/es/hot-topics/bisphenol-a.

50. ECHA info-letters are a dissemination tool for the general public that refer to the technical information available on chemicals.

51. European Chemicals Agency. “Isopropylidenediphenol”. Bisphenol A. published on August 15, 2018. https://echa.europa.eu/es/substance-information/-/substanceinfo/100.001.133.

52. Sophie Ndaw, Alan Robert, Aurélie Rémy, et. alt 2016. “Expositions professionnelles au bisphénol A lors de la manipulation de papier thermique”. INRS, p. 51-64.

53. Lidia Casas, et al. “Urinary concentrations of phthalates and phenols in a population of Spanish pregnant women and children”. Environment International 37, no. 5 (2011): 858-866.

54. Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council. “History and Use of Per- and Polyfluoroalkylated Substances”. 2017. https://pfas-1.itrcweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/PFAS-History-and-Use-Fact-Sheet-SPANISH-11-15-17.pdf.

55. United States Environmental Protection Agency. 2019, “Basic Information on PFAS”. https://www.epa.gov/pfas/basic-information-pfas.

56. A. Schecter. Dioxins and Health, Including other persistent organic pollutants… op. cit …

57. Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council. 2017, “History and Use of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances”. https://pfas-1.itrcweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/PFAS-History-and-Use-Fact-Sheet-SPANISH-11-15-17.pdf.

58. Thorhallur Ingi Halldorsson, et al. “Prenatal Exposure to Perfluorooctanoate and Risk of Overweight at 20 Years of Age: A Prospective Cohort Study”. Environmental Health Perspectives 120, no. 5 (2012).

59. Monica Bononi, Fernando Tateo. “Identification of Perfluorooctanoic Acid Release from Commercial Coated Cooking Pans by Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry”. Science Publications 2, no. 3 (2007): 191-194.

60. www.health.govt.nz. Check September 1, 2020.

61. Jeanne Mager, Steven D. Stellman, “Agent orange data warehouse: a research repository for agent orange and other military herbicides”, Columbia University, 2011. http://www.workerveteranhealth.org/milherbs/new/index.php.

62. Geoffrey E. Blackman, John D. Fryer, Anton Lang, et. alt., “The effects of Herbicides in South Vietnam”, National Academy of Sciences, 1974.

63. Roser Martínez, Joaquim Rodríguez. Towards a new AI race. The challenge of lethal autonomous weapons systems (laws) for the United Nations. Madrid. Aranzadi, Thomson Reuters. 2019.

64. Jeanne Mager Stellman, Steven D. Stellman, Richard Christian, et. Al. “The extent and patterns of usage of Agent Orange and other herbicides in Vietnam”. Nature 422 (04 2003), 681-687. http://stellman.com/jms/Stellman1537.pdf.

65. Website: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. “Public Health - Agent Orange active ingredients and characteristics”. https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/basics.asp.

66. Studies and effects of endocrine disruptors of the group of Polychlorinated Dioxins, present in the “agent orange” and still present today in countless routines of the world population. Division of Toxicology and Environmental Medicine ToxFAQs. “Chlorinated dibenzo-p-Dioxins”. https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/tfacts104.pdf.

67. P. Mocarelli, P.M Gerthoux, G. Limonta, et. altr. “Dioxin exposure, from infancy through puberty, produces endocrine disruption and affects human semen quality”, Environ health perspectives, 2008, 116 (1) 70-7. See also: J. Gnecco, T. Din, V. Pensabene, et. altr., “Exposure to the environmental endocrine disruptor TCDD and human reproductive dysfunction: translating lessons from murine models”, Reprod. Toxicol. 2017, (68) 59-71. See also in the same line of research: Merja Korkalinen, “Structure and Expression of Principal Proteins Involved in Dioxin Signal Transduction and Potentially in Dioxin Sensitivity”, National Public Health Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland, 2015.