VA Publishes Final Regualation To Aid Korean Veterans Exposed to Agent Orange

 New Regulations Will Provide Easier Path To Health Care and Benefits to those exposed to
 illnesses for those exposed to herbicides.

WASHINGTON - Veterans exposed to herbicides while serving along the

demilitarized zone (DMZ) in Korea will have an easier path to access

quality health care and benefits under a Department of Veterans Affairs

(VA) final regulation that will expand the dates when illnesses caused

by herbicide exposure can be presumed to be related to Agent Orange.

"VA's primary mission is to be an advocate for Veterans," said Secretary

of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki "With this new regulation VA has

cleared a path for more Veterans who served in the demilitarized zone in

Korea to receive access to our quality health care and disability

benefits for exposure to Agent Orange." 

Under the final regulation published today in the Federal Register, VA

will presume herbicide exposure for any Veteran who served between April

1, 1968, and Aug. 31, 1971, in a unit determined by VA and the

Department of Defense (DoD) to have operated in an area in or near the

Korean DMZ in which herbicides were applied.  

Previously, VA recognized that Agent Orange exposure could only be

conceded to Veterans who served in certain units along the Korean DMZ

between April 1968 and July 1969.  

In practical terms, eligible Veterans who have specific illnesses VA

presumes to be associated with herbicide exposure do not have to prove

an association between their illness and their military service.  This

"presumption" simplifies and speeds up the application process for

benefits and ensures that Veterans receive the benefits they deserve.

Click on these links to learn about Veterans' diseases associated with

Agent Orange exposure

<http://www.publichealth.va.gov/PUBLICHEALTH/exposures/agentorange/disea

ses.asp>  at

http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/diseases.asp and

birth defects in children of Vietnam-era Veterans

<http://www.publichealth.va.gov/PUBLICHEALTH/exposures/agentorange/birth

_defects.asp>  at

http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/birth_defects.asp.

VA encourages Veterans with covered service in Korea who have medical

conditions that may be related to Agent Orange to submit their

applications for access to VA health care and compensation as soon as

possible so the agency can begin processing their claims.

Individuals can go to website

http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/AO/claimherbicide.htm

<http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/AO/claimherbicide.htm>  to get a more

complete understanding of how to file a claim for presumptive conditions

related to herbicide exposure, as well as what evidence is needed by VA

to make a decision about disability compensation or survivors benefits.

Additional information about Agent Orange and VA's services for Veterans

exposed to the chemical is available at

www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange

<http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/> .

The regulation is available on the Office of the Federal Register

website at http://www.ofr.gov/.

---------------- "And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." -- Robert M. Gates, 1996