Public Law 102-4
Vietnam veterans and their families had many questions involving their exposure to Agent Orange and sought assistance from Congress to investigate their health concerns. Due to the vast numbers of military veterans exposed to Agent Orange, Congress passed Public Law 102-4, which was signed on February 6, 1991 (IOM, 1994). This law mandated the National Academy of Sciences to review scientific evidence on the possible health effects of exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides.
The National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine (IOM) was established in 1970 to examine policy matters that pertain to the health of the public. The IOM convened a 16-member committee in 1992. Members were chosen because they were experts in their fields, had no conflicts of interest in the matter to be studied, and had not taken a public position on the potential health effects of herbicide exposure. The IOM committee published their first report, titled "Veterans and Agent Orange," in 1994 and by law was required to perform biennial review for 10 years after the first report (IOM, 1994). Their most recent report, "Veterans and Agent Orange Update 2010," was published in 2011 and is available to the public.