Tuổi Trẻ Online
September 23, 2005

Michael W Marine,
US Ambassador to Vietnam

We have found no evidence to the following story.

Excerpts from Tuối Trẻ Online, September 23, 2005

Ambassador Michael Marine said theU.S. Environment Protection Agency is collecting samples of soil in the Da Nang airport, a dioxin warehouse during the war, and will ascertain the dioxin level there. He added that ithis will help set scientific standards on where dioxin was contaminated and the level of contamination. He said the American experts had previously set up a communication channel to exchange experience in dioxin destruction.

Liên quan việc khắc phục tác hại của dioxin, đại sứ Marine cho biết hiện phía Mỹ đang phối hợp với VN tiến hành lấy mẫu đất tại vùng sân bay Đà Nẵng là kho chứa dioxin trong thời kỳ chiến tranh.
Các chuyên gia Cục Bảo vệ môi trường của Mỹ sẽ phân tích mẫu và tìm ra các bằng chứng khoa học về nồng độ dioxin tại khu vực này.

Theo đại sứ, dự án này rất quan trọng vì sẽ đề ra các chuẩn mực khoa học về việc xác định các khu vực nhiễm dioxin và mức độ nhiễm. Trước đó, các chuyên gia của hai bên đã thiết lập kênh liên lạc về việc trao đổi kinh nghiệm tiêu hủy dioxin.

Ambassador Michael Marine said theU.S. Environment Protection Agency is collecting samples of soil in the Da Nang airport, a dioxin storage during the war, and will ascertain the dioxin level there. He added that it will help to set scientific standards on where dioxin was contaminated and the level of contamination. He said the American experts had previously set up a communication channel to exchange experience in dioxin destruction.

by Cam Ha

ON FILE

The U.S. unilaterally suspended the following Agreement on February 25, 2005... See link to the EPA site.

EPA Science
U.S.–Vietnam Joint Study of Agent Orange

Though the Vietnam War ended over 25 years ago, there are still places in Vietnam so contaminated with the U.S. Military’s chemical defoliant Agent Orange that even weeds won't grow. And the extremely toxic dioxin that was a contaminant in Agent Orange may be a continuing cause of health problems there. In July 2001, Vance S. Fong, P.E., Quality Assurance Manager for EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region, traveled to Vietnam as part of a U.S. negotiating team, and came back with a U.S.–Vietnam Agent Orange Research Agreement that commits both countries to cooperate in scientific research on monitoring technologies and the health effects of Agent Orange.

Under the Agreement, the two countries will collaborate on research to find the fastest, most economical ways to find dioxin hot spots, and evaluate various cleanup, containment, and risk management methods, to reduce human exposure to the toxins and improve public health.