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Presented with Ridenhour's charge. Army spokesmen in Washington were at first incredulous. But later they announced: "It appears that the Americal Division may have used some Orange herbicide since the suspension was put into effect. An investigation is under way to determine all facts related to this apparent violation." Last week the Army went further. A terse statement released by the U.S. Command in Viet Nam said that "a preliminary investigation . . . has determined that Agent Orange was used on several occasions in May, July and August by elements of the Americal Division in violation of existing instructions. During this period, a total of approximately 100 drums of 55 gallons each was dispensed by helicopter and ground-pump methods."
According to the statement, the defoliant was used in both Quang Ngai and Quang Tin provinces, which supports information given to Ridenhour that the spraying was carried out by more than one unit in the division. Thus, Ridenhour believes that the spraying must have been authorized on the divisional level.
*Agent Blue, whose use has not been suspended, is a solution of cacodylic acid containing 54% arsenic. In Viet Nam, where it sometimes gets into drinking water, Blue spray is used to kill rice and garden crops at a much greater strength than is considered safe for killing weeds in the U.S.