WSU to Study Iraq Toxins' Effect
Spokesman-Review
by Bert Caldwell
Research to examine how exposure might damage offspring of soldiers
Washington State University scientists will use a $1.7 million grant to study what multi-generation genetic damage might be done by toxins U.S. troops could encounter in Iraq.
The research using laboratory rats, not humans, will be the first for the military to examine the epigenetic effects of pesticides, herbicides and other compounds, said lead scientist Michael Skinner, director of the university's Center for Reproductive Biology.
Previous studies have looked at the health effects of other substances, notably the Agent Orange used to defoliate jungles in Vietnam, on the soldiers directly exposed, he said, not on their children or grandchildren.
"The science really had not caught up with the trans-generational stuff," said Skinner, one of several WSU pioneers in the field of epigenetic, or multi-generational, inheritance.
Besides herbicides and pesticides – which and in what combinations has not been determined – the study also will look at the effects of explosives residues, he said.
The four-year study will allow researchers to see how any changes in genetic chemistry that develop are passed along through two subsequent generations of rats, he said, noting that only the first two years of research have been funded.
Among the problems that might develop are kidney disease, or changes in the male and female reproductive organs, he said.
If any genetic markers are identified in rats, Skinner said, follow-up research could look at whether they might show up among members of the military as well.
That would be of particular interest to Dave Holmes, interim chief operating officer of the Institute for Systems Medicine, which was awarded the U.S. Department of Defense grant passed through to Skinner.
Holmes' son, Tim Hammond, did two tours in Iraq with the U.S. Marine Corps.
"They sprayed all kinds of stuff on them," Holmes said.
Although the grant money, the first awarded ISM, will fund work in Pullman, he said the organization's supporters hope any subsequent clinical studies will be done in Spokane.
"There's a lot of excitement about making it happen," he said.
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VA's Agent Orange policy changes met with skepticism by Vietnam vets
Skepticism was apparent among some 150 Vietnam veterans Friday as Department of Veterans Affairs officials explained how benefit claims for Agent Orange illnesses would be streamlined and the list of related ailments is being expanded.
The meeting, hosted by Tulsa’s American Legion Post 1, drew veterans from across the region, many of whom also came to meet with V.A. representatives to discuss their cases.
Sam Jarvis, director of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ regional office in Muskogee, spent nearly an hour outlining how the agency is changing to be proactive in addressing claims, which is why holding community meetings is important, he said.
Veterans told Jarvis about their decades-long frustration with the agency’s bureaucracy. One wept as he explained the troubles he has encountered in trying to get benefits.
Jarvis viewed their doubts as an opportunity to show how the department is serious about helping them.
“This anger, frustration, it’s part of our work,” he said.
The consensus among veterans after the meeting: Talk is cheap.
Bob Cox, a retired Army colonel, has peripheral neuropathy and said the arm of the agency handling his claims has not been veteran-friendly.
Cox, 67, of Stillwater, says he will wait and see whether the V.A. will improve its claims processes.
“The proof is in the pudding,” he said.
Kenneth Howell, 64, of Collinsville said all he got from the meeting was “lip service.”
He has chloracne as a result of his service in Vietnam and said he has tried for years to get the V.A. to pay attention to his condition.
“What they say and do are two different things,” he said.
Bob Allen, 60, said that while he hopes the agency is changing, it “has reached the point where it has to prove it to me.”
Allen said he has a number of Agent Orange-related illnesses, among them heart, back and ear problems.
Jarvis said Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Ken Shinseki is firmly committed to helping Vietnam veterans who are suffering from Agent Orange-related ailments.
Jarvis said the agency has a goal of processing claims in 125 days or less and that it is striving to be more “customer-friendly than it’s ever been.”
If veterans have been denied claims in the past, their claims will be re-examined automatically without the veterans' having to refile forms, he said.
However, the appeals process will not change. Veterans can shorten that process by 180 days by using a video-conference, Jarvis said.
The expanded list of ailments from Agent Orange includes B-cell leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, ischemic heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, Hodgkin’s disease, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, chloracne, multiple melanomas and sarcomas, and prostate cancer, he said.
Agent Orange, an herbicide and defoliant, was used heavily during the Vietnam War to eliminate the dense jungles that offered the enemy protection. But the chemical contained dioxin, which led to a number of illnesses, including cancer.
More than 2 million U.S. military personnel may have been exposed to the chemical from 1961 through 1970.
