Test for herbicide makers

Press, 1 March 1982, Page 8

Test for herbicide makers

NZPA-Reuter New York Manufacturers can avoid liability for any ill effects of Agent Orange’s use in Vietnam if they prove that the United States Government ordered the chemical and knew as much as they did about its possible hazards, a Federal judge has ruled. ■ The ruling by Judge George Pratt clears the way for a three-year-old suit to go to trial. His opinion was on a class-action suit brought by thousands of Vietnam ■War veterans against companies that produced. Agent Orange. Judge Pratt said that to avoid liability the companies must show that the United States Government ordered the herbicide, prescribed the basic materials, and had full knowledge of any hazards. The veterans say that their exposure to the chemical defoliant in Vietnam has caused birth defects in their children, and cancer.

Agent Orange contains the toxic chemical, dioxin, and was sprayed on Vietnam jungles ' to clear brush and undercover.

Liability should not be imposed upon a' contractor who merely supplied the Govern; ment with a weapon it required, Judge Pratt said.

He reaffirmed an earlier ruling that the companies could not sue the Federal Government. He has also ruled that no-one may sue the Federal Government for injuries sustained while serving in the Armed Forces. The -case began with the death from cancer in 1978 of a Vietnam War veteran.