The U.S. government has approved to grant $17 million to rid Vietnam’s central airport of Danang of Agent Orange, state media reported, citing an official. This is under the $70 million funding project which the U.S. government approved for Vietnam in the fiscal year 2011, Nguyen Van Rinh, head of Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) said. The grant will be used for contaminating earth at the airport next summer, the Tuoi Tre newspaper reported Dec 10. However, it is estimated to cost around $35 million to clear Agent Orange in the area, Rinh said. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. army sprayed about 80 million liters of defoliants including the highly toxic Agent Orange over the country’s forests, the Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said. Danang airport together with Bien Hoa and Phu Cat airports in the southern provinces of Dong Nai and Binh Dinh, respectively are home to the highest dioxin concentrations in
Vietnam. Agent Orange was once stored in Danang Airport for defoliation missions during the war. Spillage caused contamination to surrounding environment. Currently, dioxin levels at the airport are 400 times higher than internationally accepted levels. The affected zone has been sealed off from the public. (VNS Nov 19)
