Noteboom The Law Firm

DoD & VA Docs Confirm Using Agent Orange At Fort Ritchie

February 28, 2011 - Recently discovered Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) documents confirmed an unfortunate past circumstance in the Army's history. Apparently the Army tested and studied Agent Orange at Fort Ritchie in 1963. Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT) is already involved in a 2005 lawsuit, and this information is expected to cause even more delays in that suit. In November 2009, a federal judge stopped all redevelopment on the land where Fort Ritchie once stood.

Many people associated with the land had no idea the testing ever happened. At this point everyone, including the Army, is attempting to figure out how much testing was done, and where it was applied. The property itself is 591 acres, and was closed in 1998. Both a community center and a restaurant are currently operating on the property.

The Army released two reports to COPT last week. One was written by the DoD and one was written by a private research company, both speaking to what herbicides were used on what bases, when, and where. Up until last week, COPT had no idea these reports existed, one of which was published in 1956, and one was published in 2006. The 2006 report was the product of a VA request to the DoD asking for places and dates where DoD personnel would have been exposed to Agent Orange; outside of Vietnam.

The VA has developed a list of diseases presumed to have been caused by exposure to Agent Orange. This means many veterans may be entitled to disability compensation and health-care benefits. Both reports detail just how much of a chance these veterans were exposed to Agent Orange. If you are a veteran suffering from specific diseases related to Agent Orange exposure, even if you were not aware of your exposure, you should contact a disability claims attorney to discuss your legal options.