Veterans Affairs Official Downplays Agent Orange Risks, Questions Critics

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Veterans Affairs Official Downplays Agent Orange Risks, Questions Critics
Matt Rota, special to ProPublica

This story was co-published with Stars and Stripes and The Virginian-Pilot


A key federal official who helps adjudicate claims by veterans who say they were exposed to Agent Orange has downplayed the risks of the chemical herbicide and questioned the findings of scientists, journalists and even a federal administrative tribunal that conflict with his views.

Jim Sampsel, a lead analyst within the Department of Veterans Affairs’ compensation service, told a VA advisory committee in March that he believes much of the renewed attention to Agent Orange — used during the Vietnam War to kill brush and deny cover to enemy troops — is the result of media “hype” and “hysteria,” according to a transcript of the meeting released to ProPublica.

“When it comes to Agent Orange, the facts don’t always matter,” said Sampsel, himself a Vietnam veteran who also handles Gulf War-related illness questions. “So we have to deal with the law as written.”

Part of Sampsel’s job entails reviewing evidence to determine whether a veteran or group of veterans came in contact with Agent Orange outside of Vietnam. By law, veterans are presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange if they served or stepped foot in Vietnam; they have to prove exposure if they served at sea or in another country during the war. They also must have a disease that the VA ties to exposure to the herbicide.

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https://www.propublica.org/article/veterans-affairs-official-downplays-agent-orange-risks-questions-critics

[atreides1]

1. Think about it

If they can debunk the affects of Agent Orange and Gulf War Syndrome...the money can be funneled elsewhere...and don't think it'll be going to the VA for veterans services, something that Shulkin, the current director is trying to tamper down, too!!!