Agent Orange and Herbicide Exposure Claims
Agent Orange claims may receive presumptions of exposure and service connection when the veteran’s location, dates, and diagnosed disease meet current VA rules.
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Quick answer
VA presumes certain veterans were exposed to tactical herbicides based on service in defined locations and periods. VA also lists cancers and other diseases presumed caused by that exposure. The PACT Act added locations plus hypertension and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance.
Current disease categories includeDetails
- Specified cancers, including bladder, prostate, respiratory, chronic B-cell leukemias, Hodgkin disease, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and certain soft-tissue sarcomas.
- AL amyloidosis, type 2 diabetes, ischemic heart disease, Parkinson disease and parkinsonism, hypothyroidism, hypertension, and MGUS.
- Chloracne, early-onset peripheral neuropathy, and porphyria cutanea tarda have timing and degree requirements.
- The official list includes definitions and exclusions; similar names are not automatically covered.
Service evidence to checkDetails
- Vietnam land, inland-waterway, and qualifying offshore service.
- Specified service in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Guam, American Samoa, and Johnston Atoll during defined periods.
- Qualifying Korean DMZ or C-123 duties.
- Direct evidence of transporting, testing, storing, or using herbicides.
- Personnel and ship or unit records supporting location and dates.
If the condition is not presumptiveDetails
A veteran can still pursue direct service connection with evidence of actual exposure, a current disability, and competent evidence connecting them. The fact that one disease is presumptive does not establish that every disease is caused by herbicide exposure.
Common questionsDetails
- Is an Agent Orange Registry exam required? — No. It is a health exam, not a C&P exam or claim requirement.
- What is “Blue Water Navy” service? — The governing law defines qualifying offshore waters; use VA’s current ship-location tools and rules.
- Does hypertension qualify now? — VA lists it as a PACT Act Agent Orange presumptive condition.
- What if VA denied years ago? — File the proper review request; Nehmer and liberalizing-law effective-date issues can be complex.
Bring the exact diagnosisDetails
Do not submit “Agent Orange exposure” as though it is the disability. Identify the diagnosed condition and the service or exposure basis.