10,000 People in Central Vietnam Province Live in Dioxin-contaminated Areas

Authorities in Vietnam’s central province of Khanh Hoa said that more than 10,000 people in the locality are living in areas which are contaminated with Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin left from the Vietnam War. The affected areas were used as military bases of American troops, including Khanh Son, and Khanh Vinh districts, Ninh Hoa town and Dong Bo town in Nha Trang city. With an aim to deal with the situation, the local authorities have launched a program against AO/dioxin for the 2016-20120 period. Under the program, all areas at high risk of being contaminated by dioxin will be zoned to be treated while local people who face disabilities or diseases caused by the toxic chemical but are not given monthly allowances will receive financial assistance per month in accordance with Law on the Disabled. As of end-June, Khanh Hoa had more than 1,800 affected by AO/dioxin in the war receiving monthly allowances. Apart from Khanh Hoa, many other localities in Vietnam have been found to be seriously polluted with AO/dioxin, including Danang airport in the central city of Danang, Bien Hoa airport in the southern province of Dong Nai, Phu Cat airport in the central province of Binh Dinh. Since 2006, the Ministry of Defense has worked on plans to treat AO/dioxin pollution across the nation. Vietnam is planning to complete the treatment and processing of the dioxin-contaminated soil at Bien Hoa airport by 2020. Concerning war consequence solving, the U.S. has financed Vietnam more than $80 million to carry out a dioxin cleanup project at Danang airport which was formerly used as military base of American troops, marking Washington’s first aid on solving war aftermaths in the former foe. According to a preliminary survey in 2002, nearly 9,300 communes with 6.6 million hectares of land across Vietnam were contaminated with UXOs, accounting for 21.12% of the country’s land area; the central region is the most contaminated. Mines claim average 1,535 lives and cause injury to 2,272 others annually. Vietnam spends over VND1 trillion ($44 million) annually on demining and hundreds of billions of dong for treatment, rehabilitation, vocational training and resettlement for the victims of UXOs, according to government website. (Dantri.com.vn July 29)