Danang International Airport’s efforts to clean up 80,000m3 of dioxin-contaminated soil and sediments by 2016, with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), are running according to schedule. The four-year project is part of a range of measures implemented to address the toxic remains of chemicals dispersed during the Vietnam War. The project’s first stage has been underway, during which USAID contractors dug up 45,000 m3 of soil tainted with dioxin, using 1,254 heating wells and other remediation structures, Director of Danang City’s Department of Natural Resources and the Environment Nguyen Dieu told visiting Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Bui Cach Tuyen on October 2. Tuyen hailed the department for its part in the project, and called for the second stage to be started soon. The U.S. government has also committed to increasing Vietnam’s capacity to clean-up other locations outside Danang airport. Using an In-Pile Thermal Desorption (IPTD) system, batches of contaminated soil and sediment will be placed in a container and heated to a temperature of 335 degrees Celsius, which will destroy approximately 95% of dioxins. The soil is later removed from the container and tested for traces of contaminants before being put back. Danang’s former US air base is considered a dioxin “hot spot” due to its high levels of dioxin. Other dioxin polluted spots include Bien Hoa in the southwestern province of Dong Nai. (VietNamNet Oct 2)
