Vietnam Needs $270M to Clean up Dioxin in Most-contaminated Site

Vietnam needs an estimated $270 million to clean up dioxin residue at Bien Hoa airport in the southern province of Dong Nai, the most contaminated dioxin hotspot in the Southeast Asian country, an official said. The money is required to treat roughly 240,000 cubic meters of soil at the airport, which was used to store dioxin for the U.S. army in its Ranch Hand operation during 1961-1971 and Pacer Ivy operation in 1971-1972 during the Vietnam War. The size of the dioxin contaminated soil at Bien Hoa airport triples that at Danang airport where a cleanup project funded by the U.S. government is taking place. Bien Hoa airport is one of three places in Vietnam having the highest dioxin residue left from the Vietnam War. During the years between 1961 and 1971, the U.S. troops sprayed roughly 80 million liters of defoliants including the highly toxic Agent Orange on over 10% of total areas in Vietnam’s southern region. But Washington has supported only one dioxin cleanup project in Vietnam so far. (Vnexpress.net April 11)