Statistics

Vietnam War, Herbicide Use

 

By Year
  Volume (l.)
1962 64,990
1963 280,695
1964 1,065,880
1965 2,515,730
1966 9,597,960
1967 19,391,890
1968 19,261,900
1969 17,255,120
1970 2,872,120
1971 38,000
Unknown Year 1,064,345
   
Total 73,409,200

 

By Type
  Use Years Volume (l.)
Agent Pink Defoliation 1961, 1965 50,312
Agent Green Crop destruction 1962-64 31,026
Agent Purple General defoliation 1962-65 1,892,773
Agent Orange General defoliation 1965-70 45,677,937
Agent Orange II General defoliation 1968-69 3,591,000
Agent White Forest defoliation, long-term control 1966-71 20,556,525
Agent Blue (Powder) Rapid defoliation, grassy plant control, rice destruction 1962-64 25,650
Agent Blue (H2O solution) Rapid defoliation, grassy plant control, rice destruction 1964-71 4,715,731

 

By Area
Times Sprayed (1961-71) Km2
affected
1 3,585.56
2 3,698.44
3 3,618.62
4 3,410.37
5 2,727.09
6 2,167.24
7 1,533.91
8 1,386.10
9 1,151.03
10+ 2,934.61
   
Total 26,212.97

 

By Percent of Total Forest
  Area Sprayed Annually ('000 ha.) % of Total Forest
  D.O.D. F.N.L. D.O.D. F.N.L.
1961 <10 <10 - -
1962 <10 10 - -
1963 10 320 - 3
1964 30 500 - 5
1965 60 700 1 7
1966 300 880 3 9
1967 600 900 6 9
1968 620 990 6 10
1969 570 1,090 6 11
1970 ? >420 ? >4
         
Total (1961-69) 2,200 5,200 22 52
         
Estimated Total Area Sprayed 1,800 2,500 18 25

 

Note:

(1) All agents except Agent White and Blue contained dioxene, a toxic compound.

(2) D.O.D. is U.S. Department of Defense estimates; F.N.L. is the National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) estimates.

Source: Françoise Pirot et al., "Guerre et défoliation dans le Sud Viêt-Nam, 1961-1971" [Link]; Arthur H. Westing, "Ecological Effects of Military Defoliation on the Forests of South Vietnam".

Last modified: 10 December 2022