DOW – Sort Deadly Legacy Now
Greenpeace today said DOW needs to be held accountable and accept full responsibility for the health effects it has
caused to the Vietnam veterans and their children.
(1) The Dow-manufactured chemicals 2,4,5 T and 2,4 D were used as a chemical defoliant and hormonal spray throughout
both Vietnam and New Zealand. New Zealand was the last place in the world to stop manufacturing 2,4,5-T – at the DOW
plant in New Plymouth in 1987.
The report released today by the health select committee shows more evidence that DOW has created toxic disasters that
not only plague the New Zealand public but have occurred on a global scale.
The company responsible for the manufacturing of the chemical Agent Orange, Dow Chemicals, has already paid out US$180
million to Vietnam veterans in the USA. It is currently under litigation by the Vietnamese who say that their land and
people were so poisoned by Agent Orange that supplying it to the military amounted to war crimes by the chemical
companies.
“DOW has caused irreversible damage by the use of the Agent Orange. The recent Paritutu scandal shows that more and more
toxic disasters are coming to light in New Zealand. It’s time the companies responsible - and government - stop burying
their heads in the sand and sort the problems out,” (1) said Greenpeace Toxics Campaigner Mere Takoko.
Greenpeace welcomes an investigation into our current health regime, which in its current state provides little
acknowledgement that chemicals such as Agent Orange are the cause of many severe health effects.
“It’s abhorrent that it’s been over 30 years and still the Vietnam Vets and the residents of Paritutu are waiting for
the Government and DOW to act. What’s it going to take for these polluting corporates to be held to account? The
Government needs to stop down playing these toxic disasters and sort them out – now – not another 30 years down the
track.” Said Ms Takoko.