ABSTRACT
These three vignettes are but a handful from similar stories told around the world. In Vietnam, Iran, Australia, New Zealand, the United States of America. Legacies of poisoning; exposure
to chemical weapons. The most widespread use of chemical weapons occurred during the Vietnam War. But weapons were produced, developed, stored, and tested in many other countries, creating a global network of health problems. Consider Innisfail, a small town located in the northern state of Queensland, Australia. In 1966 Australian military scientists test-sprayed chemical weapons on a patch of rainforest 20 kilometers southwest of Innisfail and 100 meters above the Johnstone River, which supplies water for the town. Forty years later, this section of the rainforest remains bare-a desolate landscape covered only with tough Guinea grass. Researchers and activists claim that cancer deaths in the region are ten times higher than the state average.4
