'Living Downstream' Exposes Agent Orange Plight in Florida

Last year we brought you the story of civilian workers at Eglin
Air Force Base in Florida, who tested the defoliant Agent
Orange during the Vietnam War. Today these workers are in
their 70s and 80s and suffer from the same diseases that
Vietnam veterans have shown were caused by their exposure to
the herbicide. 


While surviving veterans receive disability benefits as a
result of their exposure, these civilian workers do not.


Earlier this year NPR’s mid-day show, Here & Now,
featured our story of the civilian workers at Eglin. That
broadcast has prompted more individuals to come forward who say
they too are suffering medical problems caused by exposure to
Agent Orange at Eglin. The story also sparked interest by
law firms in a potential class action on behalf of those
affected. 


Jon Kalish reports…


 


Read more about the class action lawsuit and Agent Orange.


[Photo: Penny Davidson. At 82 she has fibromyalgia, peripheral
neuropathy, rheumatoid arthritis and a host of other ills she
traces back to her time in the lab at Eglin working with Agent
Orange. Credit: Jon Kalish]



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