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Lan Phuong, a four-year old girl suffering deformities suspected from Agent Orange plays in her crib in the Peace Village ward of Tu Du Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Friday 25 February 2005. Last year Vietnamese claiming to be victims of Agent Orange launched a lawsuit against 37 US chemical firms that produced the herbicide for the US military during the Vietnam War. After hearing arguments from both sides on Monday, 28 February, 2005, a New York district court will decide whether to proceed to trial. Although no link has ever been proven between Agent Orange and any illness, there are consistently high rates of cancer and congenital birth defects in areas heavily sprayed by the defoliant during the war. In 1985, a settlement of $180 million was agreed between the chemical companies and US veterans who had developed diseases linked to Agent Orange exposure. EPA/JULIAN ABRAM WAINWRIGHT