On Jan. 1, 2020, the Blue Water Navy (BWN) Vietnam Veterans Act went into law, supporting Veterans who may be eligible for benefits based on presumption of herbicide exposure. One year later, VA reflects on its progress.
VA BenefitsVietnam Veterans may be eligible for a wide-variety of benefits available to all U.S. military Veterans. VA benefits include disability compensation, pension, education and training, health care, home loans, insurance, vocational rehabilitation and employment, and burial.
The “Brown Water Navy” or Coastal Riverine Force was established during the Vietnam War and the primary mission is to conduct maritime security operations by securing and defending the Navy's high-value assets, critical maritime-infrastructure, ports and harbors both inland and on coastal waterways.
During its operation, the Settlement Fund distributed a total of $197 million in cash payments to members of the class in the United States. Of the 105,000 claims received by the Payment Program, approximately 52,000 Vietnam Veterans or their survivors received cash payments which averaged about $3,800 each.
An estimated 90,000 Blue Water veterans were ineligible for Agent Orange related benefits until January 2020, after the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 was signed into law. “The Acts extended benefits to all those military personnel who had served within 'the Republic of Vietnam.
Veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam while on active duty are eligible for disability compensation through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as long as they were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.
There are three ways to apply for VA disability benefits based on Agent Orange exposure:
- Online, using the VA.gov website.
- Over the phone, with the help of a VA representative or agent.
- In person at a regional VA office.
Starting in 2020, the fee will rise slightly to 2.30%. Subsequent use funding fees will increase from 3.3% to 3.6%.
Try to remove your brown water by running the cold water from your tap for about 20 minutes. If your water is still brown, you should call the town or city to ask whether the brown water is from the city's pipes.
Run the cold and hold water to establish whether the brown water is coming from hot or cold water. If the brown tap water is from hot water, your water heater may need to be flushed out or replaced.
Disturbance in MineralsOne of the most common reasons why the water in your home has turned brown is that there has been a disturbance in the minerals or sediment in your water. Minerals and sediment are naturally occurring in water and in pipes.
Brown water coming out of your shower or any other plumbing fixture in your house will probably cause alarm. While the water looks disgusting, the cause of the brown water may be simple to correct, thereby restoring clear water in your house. Brown water poses no threat to your health.
Most instances of brown shower water are caused by iron and sediment deposits. of iron, you may notice that your toilets, sinks and clothes develop brown, rust-like stains.
Iron in the water is the main reason for brown discoloration. It could be a sign that your old galvanized pipes are rusting, or it could mean that your water supply is rich in iron compounds. By itself, iron isn't a health problem, but it stains the sides of the tank as well as discolors the water.
In general, though the discoloration is unsightly, it is still safe to drink or to use in cooking. If there had been a threat to your health from drinking the water, your water utility would have contacted local media outlets to issue a "boil water" warning for part of its service area.
As of March 2021, hypertension and MGUS are the only illnesses linked to Agent Orange exposure by the National Academies that have not been added to VA's list of conditions presumed to be caused by such exposure.
Classification and naval hierarchy
| Rank | Navies |
|---|
| Blue-water | 1 | United States |
| 2 | France, United Kingdom |
| 3 | China, India, Italy, Russia |
| 4 | Australia, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Turkey |
Here are the 14 health conditions associated with Agent Orange exposure as of 2020:
- Chronic B-Cell Leukemia.
- Hodgkin's disease.
- Multiple Myeloma.
- Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
- Prostate cancer.
- Respiratory Cancers.
- Soft tissue sarcomas.
- Ischemic heart disease.
A combat veteran is a former military member that served while in a war zone and meets the requirements of being a Veteran. A veteran is anyone who has served in the military.
(1) Veteran of the Vietnam era means an eligible veteran any part of whose active military, naval, or air service was during the Vietnam era. (ii) A person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.
The U.S. Navy performed a wide array of missions in the Vietnam War. The U.S. Navy also supported the war effort with a massive sea and riverine logistics operation, built and managed shore facilities throughout South Vietnam, and provided extensive medical support for the allied military operation.
Green water is the water transpired by the plant that comes from rain water stored in soil. Blue water is the water in our surface and groundwater reservoirs. Grey water is the water that becomes polluted during production, say in agriculture because of the leaching of nutrients and pesticides.
