Definition of Agent Orange

Agent Orange: An herbicide and defoliant containing 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T and trace amounts of dioxin. Agent Orange was used as a defoliant in the Vietnam War. Agent Orange is a carcinogen and teratogen (cause cancer and birth defects).

The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies in the US has found "sufficient evidence" of an association between exposure to Agent Orange and the risk of developing chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), Hodgkin disease, soft tissue sarcoma and diabetes.