2,4-D is not the agent orange

Agent orange

The chemical weapon "Agent Orange" or 2,4,5-T (Acid 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic) is commonly mistaken for the herbicide 2.4-D, widely used in Brazil and worldwide. The "Agent Orange" was used by the armed forces of the United States of America for the defoliation of the rainforests where the Vietcong were sheltered, using the forest as a refuge, transportation route of supplies and etc... Became known as the agent orange, because one of the symptoms of a plant treated with this product is the change of its coloration from dark green 🍃 to bleached orange 🍂. In a simplistic analogy, the 2,4,5-T and the 2,4-D are practically siblings and the 2,4-D, the MCPA, and the pentachlorophenol, which are also growth stimulants in plants could be part of the "Agent Orange". But the great controversy involved the "Agent Orange" are the side effects of its use during the war. The very name "chemical weapon" associated to this compound already causes certain fear and repulsion after all many may be questioned with the following phrase "You use a chemical weapon used in the Vietnam war in your farming...".

Demystify

To demystify this confusion we will make it clear that what caused all health problems in the Vietnamese villages near the areas of use of the "Agent Orange" was a contaminant of 2,4,5-T of the dioxin group (2, 3, 7, 8-tetraclorodibenzene-P-dioxin) This chemical group is known for its carcinogenic and teratogenic characteristic and is contaminant of several other products such as disinfectants, throat pain medications and are by-products of the incineration of most organic products, such as coal Vegetable, wood and etc. But the risk of contamination is minimal due to the low quantities produced and the dispersion in the environment, the big problem associated with 2,4,5-T was precisely the large amount of this contaminant that was applied along with the product under the air canopy for defoliation of the same, due to the conditions of the war and the haste to produce this product in large quantity, some safety parameters were not verified and many liters of the 2,4,5-T were applied together with high amounts of this contaminant. The 2,4-D and the like may have been part of the "Agent Orange", but it is not the "agent orange" and are also not exempt from the contamination by dioxins, but today are known several techniques capable of reducing the amount of this contaminant at levels extremely low and safe for use in agriculture.

But if the problem was dioxin, why is no longer used 2, 4, 5-T?

For many years the 2,4,5-T was used as herbicide, ensuring the non-contamination of the same by dioxins, but the popular pressure mainly in the US, EU and Canada discouraged its commercialization and was gradually replaced by the 2.4-D that has Lower risk attributed due to lower DL 50 oral 699mg/kg ± 750mg/kg and dermal > 2000mg/kg ± 6500mg/kg against 2, 4, 5-T 389mg/kg and dermal 500mg/kg. After years of controversy and attempts to withdraw 2.4-D from the market the European Union through the European Food Safety authority, it concluded that the limits of dioxin contamination in 2,4-D should not be of concern to European consumers. Other regulatory agencies in other countries also attest to the safety of using 2,4-D.

References:

The Dark Shadow of Agent Orange (EN): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzvTB0mOS0w

The orange effect (PT-BR): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEkeeXrOKIo

FOLONI, Luiz Lonardoni, the herbicide 2.4-D An Overview, labcom Total communication. Ribeirão Preto. 2016. Ed. 1.256p.