Agent Blue is a herbicide used by the United States during the Vietnam War. It was sprayed on rice paddies and other crops, in an attempt to starve the Vietnamese of valuable crops. Agent Blue is a mixture of Na-dimethyl arsenate (Na cacodylate) and dimethyl arsinic acid(cacodylic acid), arsenic-like compounds. Although it has a similar-sounding name, Agent Blue is chemically unrelated to the more infamous Agent Orange and other herbicides used during the war. Image:Http://www. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) United States of America South Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand the Philippines Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) Commanders Strength ~1,200,000 (1968) ~420,000 (1968) Casualties South Vietnamese dead: 1,250,000+ US dead: 58,226 US... Dimethylarsinic Acid - (CH3)2AsO2H ... General Name, Symbol, Number arsenic, As, 33 Chemical series metalloids Group, Period, Block 15, 4, p Appearance metallic gray Atomic mass 74. ... Agent Orange is the code name for a powerful herbicide and defoliant used by the U.S. military in its Herbicidal Warfare program during the Vietnam War. ...

As rice is incredibly durable, and difficult to destroy with conventional explosives, and does not burn, the weapon of choice was herbicides. Agent Blue affects plants by causing them to dry out. As rice is highly dependant on water to live, using Agent Blue on these paddies can destroy an entire field and leave it unsuitable for further planting. Species Oryza glaberrima Oryza sativa Rice refers to two species (Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima) of grass, native to tropical and subtropical southeastern Asia and to Africa. ...

Today, large quantities of the chemical named Agent Blue are still used on lawns and crops throughout the country. Taken from ZNet Ecology:

"Arsenical herbicides containing cacodylic acid as an active ingredient are still used today as weed-killers. In the US they are used extensively, from golf courses to backyards. They are also sprayed on cotton fields, drying out the cotton plants before harvesting. So common -- and so profitable -- is the original commercial form of Agent Blue that it was among 10 toxic insecticides, fungicides and herbicides partially deregulated by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in February 2004. Specific limits on toxic residues in meat, milk, poultry, and eggs were removed." Dimethylarsinic Acid - (CH3)2AsO2H ... Weed control, a botanical component of pest control, stops weeds from reaching a mature stage of growth when they could be harmful to domesticated plants, sometimes livestocks, by using manual techniques including soil cultivation, mulching and herbicides. ... Golf (gowf in Scots) is a game where individual players or teams hit a ball into a hole using various clubs, and is one of the few ball games that does not use a fixed standard playing area. ... Cotton From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. ... Species See text The cotton plant (Gossypium) is a genus of about 40 species of shrubs in the family Malvaceae, native to the tropical and subtropical regions of both the Old World and the New World. ... An insecticide is a pesticide whose purpose is to kill or to prevent the multiplication of insects. ... Fungicides are pesticides for destruction or development prevention of fungi. ... EPA redirects here. ...

See also

• Agent Orange