Twenty-four people from the central city of Danang, who have high dioxin concentrations in their blood, were discharged from Military Hospital 103 in Hanoi on October 11 after a month-long detoxification course. During the treatment course, they were given special therapeutic methods such as, saunas and massages and exercised to eliminate the dioxin. They were also given vitamins and nutritious food rations every day. The victims were discovered to be contaminated with dioxin as part of a project to survey and control dioxin contamination at Danang airbase. The airbase is one of the three of their kind where U.S. troops used to store Agent Orange buckets used to drop the defoliant on Vietnam’s forests. More than 5,000 people in Danang city are confirmed to have been contaminated with dioxin, of whom 1,400 are children. According to Phan Thanh Tien, Vice Chairman of the Danang Agent Orange/dioxin Victims Association, the association plans to organize a similar treatment phase for 16 others later this month. The Danang AO/dioxin Victims Association plans to build a dioxin detoxification centre in Thanh Khe district. (vietnamplus.vn Oct 12)
