The American Connection
These were the components of Agent Orange, mixed 50/50.
2,4-D and 2,4,5-T are scientific abbreviations for two types of phenoxyl herbicides, 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and 2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic acid.
2,4-D
The Cl atom is the only difference
2,4-D is the most commonly used herbicide in the world today. It can be found in over 1,500 weed killers. 2,4-D continues to be used, where legal, for its low cost. However, where municipal lawn pesticide bylaws exist, such as in Quebec and Ontario, alternatives such as corn gluten meal and vinegar based products are increasingly being used to combat weeds.
It has been said that phenoxyl herbicides like 2,4-D cause a plant to “grow itself to death.”
Ironically, they were originally developed during the 1940’s in an attempt to increase, not decrease crop yields.
They mimic the plant hormone auxin(1) and set off a complex series of events that eventually lead to the death of susceptible plants. That’s why it will kill the dandelions on your lawn, but not the grass; grasses are less sensitive to auxin fluctuation. Broad leafed plants are most affected by phenoxy herbicides.
Due to the overwhelming health threat, 2,4,5-T was banned in the United States and in most countries around the world in 1985. The international trade of 2,4,5-T is restricted by the Rotterdam Convention.
An accident(2) occurred in 1976 at a chemical factory producing 2,4,5-T in Seveso, Italy. It provided a stark example of the dangers of these chemicals, showing a sharp increase in spontaneous abortions during the first trimester of 1977 and significant increases in the risk of birth defects. There was a 100% increase in the rate of spina bifida, a 71% increase in the rate of neural tube defects, an eleven fold increase in hypospadias (a birth defect where the urethra opens along the bottom of the penis), and a 110% increase in polydactylism (extra fingers).
Agent Orange was composed of two chemicals. When the compound came under scrutiny for its toxic effects, one chemical took the blame, while the other was assumed to be safe. The source of contamination was believed to be the TCDD present in 2,4,5-T.
Research suggests that 2,4-D can be persuasively linked to cancers, neurological impairment and reproductive problems, and has become increasingly controversial in recent years. Which is amazing, considering the chemical was invented sixty years ago, and demonstrates the overall lack of knowledge and the immense need for better independent pesticide research.
A 2008 study(2) published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology detected 2,4-D in the urine of 85% of children and adults selected randomly from twelve counties in North Carolina and Ohio.
Concern over 2,4-D is such that it is currently not approved for use on lawns and gardens in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Kuwait, Belize and the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, with New Brunswick not far behind. 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T were contaminated with dioxins, the most toxic chemicals known to man.
Footnotes
(1) http://www.howplantswork.net/?p=197
(2) http://www.getipm.com/articles/seveso-italy.htm
(3) http://www.epa.gov/nerl/news/isea2006/posters/2,4-D_posterrev.pdf