RHODE ISLAND : $1.2 Million Award in Agent Orange Suit

A man who said he got cancer from using Agent Orange to remove trees from around power lines was awarded $1.2 million by a jury. The verdict, described as the first of its kind, could affect cases involving Vietnam veterans. Terry DiPetrillo, 47, of Warwick, R.I., said he used Agent Orange, which contains a herbicide daily from 1968 to 1972 during the summers he cleared trees from high-tension wires for the Narragansett Electric Co. The herbicide’s manufacturer, Dow Chemical Co., said it would appeal. Many veterans blame the defoliant, widely used in the Vietnam War, for a variety of health problems.