Talk:Agent Orange

NPOV question about NZ section

The NZ section appears to have been written by someone doing reputation laundering. It is not an NVOV summary of the many available sources in news media alone, almost none of which are referenced in it.

The wording implies that both IWD involvement in Agent Orange, and pollution-related chronic health problems in Paritutu, are empty claims. One of the few sources referenced for that, although hosted at a govt. nz domain, is not an official document. Rather it's part of a set of memoirs collected by an oral history project. The author of this memoir, like the editor of the NZ section of this article (possibly the same person?) seems very motivated to pour cold water on both the Agent Orange connection and the ongoing pollution effects.

But even that memoir acknowledges that the company that produced Agent Orange for the US military was the US parent of IWD. Also that the chemicals manufactured at the Paritutu plant were chemically related to the active ingredients of Agent Orange. Finally, that whether or not they actually exported chemicals from the Paritutu plant for that purpose, both IWD and the government investigated the logistics of doing so. So although chemical exports for military purposes have not been conclusively proven, there is plenty of evidence pointing in that direction. The dismissive summary in this article does not reflect even the POV source it references, let alone all the editor-supervised journalism on the subject.

The ongoing health effects in Paritutu are a similar story. True, a causal link between those and pollution from the former IWD plant has never been established beyond reasonable doubt. But there is well-documented evidence of disproportionate rates of chronic health problems - including MND and various cancers - in the residential area around the site. So again, implying that there is no merit in these claims is far from NVPOV.

I don't know if I should edit this myself. I'm not sure I'm capable of NPOV on it either.

I once investigated this story as a citizen journalist writing for the local Indymedia website. I met people born and raised in Paritutu who had multiple chronic health problems in one family alone. The struggles they'd gone through made me furious. I'm inclined to believe that pollution from the IWD plant is responsible, and that it continues to be covered up. Which also makes me furious. Danylstrype (talk) 12:06, 31 August 2024 (UTC)