A detoxification centre for Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin victims was inaugurated on September 17 at Hospital 103 in Hanoi. The center’s facilities, including a sauna, gym, exercise machines and specific medicine, will accommodate 24 AO victims from dioxin “hot spots,” said Major General, Associate Professor Dr. Hoang Manh An, the director of Hospital 103. The victims will receive free treatment for one month following the Hubbard detoxification method, courtesy of the Association for Better Living and Education. The treatment involves steam baths in the sauna, strenuous exercise and taking vitamins to purge the dioxin from their bodies through natural sweating and digestion. Around 4.5 million Vietnamese people have been affected by Agent Orange as a result of the American war, during which the U.S. military sprayed nearly 20 million gallons of the highly toxic chemical in Vietnam, eastern Laos and Cambodia. Dioxin is not very soluble in water and it has remained in the soil, contaminating fish, vegetables and well water, which has affected many generations since the war. (www.nhandan.org.vn [1] Sept 18)
