Carol Van Strum (née Scott; born 1940) is an American environmental activist who since 1975 has fought against the spraying of herbicides, including Agent Orange, in the Siuslaw National Forest in Oregon.
[1] Concerned by the apparent resultant negative effects on their family, animals and plants, Van Strum, her husband Steve and their neighbours co-founded Citizens Against Toxic Sprays (CATS).
[3][4] Although the ban was rescinded two years later, the work by Van Strum and others contributed to final cancellation of all 2,4,5-T registrations by EPA and a new national forest policy that favors selective harvests without herbicides.
[1] The book details widespread fraud in the safety testing of all pesticides used in forestry and a decade long struggle to end use of dioxin-contaminated and all other herbicides on the forests of Oregon, by taking on the chemical and timber companies as well as government agencies.
[1][5] In 1987 Van Strum and Paul Merrell wrote No Margin of Safety: a preliminary report on dioxin pollution and the need for emergency action in the pulp and paper industry.
[11] The two have been involved in attempting to stop companies from producing, spraying, burning and dumping toxic defoliants such as those contained in Agent Orange and to force accountability for the harmful effects of these.
[14] The Lincoln County Community Rights group asked Van Strum to be the spokesperson for the Siletz River ecosystem at the Oregon Court of Appeal in a challenge to the rescinding of the ban.