Essays on Agent Orange

Abstract

The Bhopal disaster is the most damaging industrial disaster in the global history. The event that led to the death of about 7,000 and 10,000 people within a few days and subsequent deaths of about 25,000 people has raised ethical debates of the person who should assume the responsibilities of cleaning up the toxins from the environment and compensating the victims, who continue to experience devastating effects of the tragic event. Union Carbide was the Indian company responsible for the disaster when it occurred and has since compensated a few victims. However, Dow Company acquired the Union Carbide ...

Introduction

The Vietnamese War, fought from December 1956 up to April 1975, is one of the Cold War-era proxy wars fought in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Although, on paper, the war was fought between North and South Vietnam, allies of the two antagonists were also involved in the war. For example, North Vietnam was supported by its communist allies (such as China), while South Vietnam was supported by anti-communist allies (such as the United States and France). Up to date, there is no consensus about whether the war itself was necessary, and whether objectives of the war were achieved.

Background

In ...

BBB functions and physiology: The central nervous system (CNS) necessitates a highly controlled environment for its proper functioning. Blood brain barrier is the system which maintains the homeostasis of the CNS. It works by separating and shielding the brain from the constant changes in the nutrient and chemical composition of systemic blood. It protects the brain tissue from harmful chemicals that might be present in the blood. The key functions of the BBB are transport of nutrients from the blood to brain and metabolites in opposite direction to systemic circulation. Only a small number of molecules are allowed access through the ...

Forty years before the their immersion in Afghanistan, America had faced a similar problem in the Vietnam jungles. They urgently needed to find a way of counteracting the enemy’s capacity to hide from weapons while living off the land. They decided to use Agent Orange, a herbicide designed to kill the forests that were sheltering the enemy. However, this decision was arguably one of the worst that were made throughout the course of the war. The herbicide proved to be a cause of cancer (cancer). Moreover, even today, children are being born with defects and illnesses as effect of the use of ...