The Nation : 1st Agent Orange Payments Set to Begin

Some Vietnam veterans who were exposed to the defoliant Agent Orange will begin to receive their share of a $240-million settlement in about six months, a federal judge ruled. Judge Jack B. Weinstein, in issuing the distribution plan in Brooklyn Federal Court, also ruled that other veterans who have not yet laid claim to their share of the May, 1984, settlement with seven chemical companies must do so by Jan. 1. Appeals blocked the distribution of the $180-million settlement, which grew to $240 million through interest. The Supreme Court last week declined to hear two remaining appeals. The plan includes $170 million to be paid to long-term disabled Vietnam veterans and the survivors of deceased veterans. Another $52 million will be distributed to social service programs designed for veterans and their families.