Vietnam Releases Action Plan to Settle Dioxin Issues by 2020

Vietnam’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has issued an action plan from now until 2020 to cope with issues relating to Agent Orange/dioxin residue left from the Vietnam War. The ministry will focus on seven tasks to settle the thorny issues which threaten lives of million residents and ecological system in many parts across the country, the government said on its website. It will conduct a consensus on the dioxin contamination, monitor dioxin concentration in land, water, and air in affecting areas, study impacts on the environment, natural resources, and human beings. The move will enable the ministry to build national data on dioxin to have proper cleaning-up methods. Since 2006, the Ministry of Defense has worked on plans to treat AO/dioxin pollution across the nation. U.S. forces sprayed 21 million gallons of defoliants on southern Vietnam from 1961 to 1971, including 12 million gallons of AO, to deny its enemies cover and kill food crops. Though service members and the public were told the chemicals were harmless to humans, AO was contaminated with dioxin, a highly toxic chemical. Scientific proof of physical impairments linked to the American spraying – which could lead to legal liability – would be difficult and expensive to come by in a developing nation where other environmental factors could contribute to dioxin poisoning. 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 country. (Baodientu.chinhphu.vn Sept 26)