A class action has been filed against the U.S. companies that produced the herbicide Agent Orange which was used by American forces during the Vietnam War on behalf of Vietnamese people who were indiscriminately exposed to it. The action alleges that it was used as a weapon of mass destruction in violation of the Geneva Convention; that the main ingredient in Agent Orange, dioxin, has caused three million Vietnamese people to suffer from cancer and birth defects; and that large areas of the Vietnamese landscape are still contaminated by dioxin. The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensation for health problems caused by the defoliant.

Between 1962 and 1971, U.S. planes sprayed an estimated 21 million gallons of defoliant, mostly Agent Orange, over Vietnamese forests where they believed Communist troops might be hiding. Many American veterans and Vietnamese have long blamed Agent Orange, which contains the deadly component dioxin, for a variety of illnesses, including cancer, diabetes and spina bifida. The U.S. government claims there is no direct evidence linking dioxin with the illnesses.

About 10,000 Vietnam War veterans in the United States currently receive disability benefits related to Agent Orange exposure. The three Vietnamese plaintiffs in the case, Nguyen Van Quy and two women, Nguyen Thi Phi Phi and Duong Quynh Hoa all allegedly worked in areas sprayed with Agent Orange. Phi suffered four miscarriages, and Hoa has breast cancer and her blood tests show high levels of dioxin. Quy also has cancer, and has two children with birth defects.

Vietnam has said that the United States has a moral and spiritual responsibility to heal the wounds of war. Even so, Hanoi has never formally asked for compensation for the victims of Agent Orange. In 2000, the Vietnamese government began paying monthly stipends to government workers, soldiers, and civilians who helped fight for the Communist side in sprayed areas during the war. Vietnam has said an estimated 1 million people were affected by the defoliant during the war. In 2002, Vietnam and the United States held their first ever joint scientific conference on Agent Orange and its effects since the war ended in 1975.

A new study released in 2003 found that very high levels of dioxin continue to be found in food samples in Vietnam, decades after the defoliant was sprayed over the country.

The flowing companies are named as defendants in the suit:

Dow Chemical Company
Monsanto Company
Monsanto Chemical Company
Pharmacia Corporation
Hercules Incorporated
Occidental Chemical Corporation
Ultramar Diamond Shamrock Corporation
Maxus Energy Corporation
Thompson Hayward Chemical Company
Harcros Chemicals Inc.
Uniroyal Chemical, Inc.
Uniroyal, Inc.
Uniroyal Chemical Holding Company
Uniroyal Chemical Acquisition Corporation
C.D.U. Holding, Inc.
Diamond Shamrock Agricultural Chemicals, Inc.
Diamond Shamrock Chemicals
Diamond Shamrock Chemicals Company
Diamond Shamrock Corporation
Diamond Shamrock Refining and Marketing Company
Occidental Electrochemicals Corporation
Diamond Alkali Company
Ansul, Inc.
Hooker Chemical Corporation
Hooker Chemical Far East Corporation
Hooker Chemicals & Plastics Corporation
American Home Products Corporation
Wyeth
Hoffman-Taff Chemicals, Inc.
Chemical Land Holdings, Inc.
T-H Agriculture & Nutrition Company, Inc.
Thompson Chemical Corporation
Riverdale Chemical Company
Elementis Chemicals, Inc.
United States Rubber Company, Inc.
Syntex Agribusiness, Inc.