By 2020, basically overcome the consequences of Agent Orange/dioxin

The goal by 2020 is to fundamentally overcome the consequences of toxic chemicals on the environment, human health, and social security.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen The Luc, Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA), affirmed: During the war of aggression against Vietnam, the US military used a huge amount of toxic chemicals.

In terms of purpose, nature, method, and scale, the toxic chemicals used by the US are weapons of war. Therefore, it is the largest-scale, longest-lasting, and most catastrophic chemical warfare in human history.

Fifty-five years after the Agent Orange disaster (August 10, 1961 – August 10, 2016), environmental detoxification at hotspots with high levels of dioxin remains very difficult; overcoming the consequences of Agent Orange/dioxin in Vietnam still faces many major problems.

From 1961 to 1971, the US military sprayed nearly 80 million liters of toxic chemicals over Vietnam (Photo: TL)

What are the consequences of chemical poisoning?

According to research results in Vietnam and around the world, from 1961 to 1971, the US military sprayed nearly 80 million liters of toxic chemicals, including Agent Orange, Agent Pink, Agent White, Agent Purple, Agent Blue, Agent CS...; 61% of which was Agent Orange, containing 366kg of dioxin, on more than 25,500 villages, with an area of ​​about 3 million hectares. The average spraying density was 17 times higher than the density allowed for use in US agriculture, of which most of the area was sprayed twice, 11% was sprayed 10 times.

According to VAVA, Agent Orange has had a strong, long-term impact on the environment and ecosystems. According to the investigation of the 10-80 Committee and some foreign studies, the environment throughout the South is heavily polluted; ecosystems are devastated and disrupted; the mangrove forest system and headwater forests of 28 major rivers are severely damaged; some rare species of flora and fauna have become extinct.

At bases previously used by the US military to store, mix, and destroy defoliants, dioxin concentrations were thousands of times higher than permitted levels. In September 2009, Hetfield Environmental Consulting Company – Canada identified 28 hotspots, of which the three most serious were Bien Hoa airport, Da Nang airport, and Phu Cat airport. The sites with high levels of dioxin residue always pose a risk of exposure to nearby residents.

In particular, Agent Orange has had a strong and long-term impact on human health. Studies show that Agent Orange/dioxin has the ability to cause diverse and complex damage to all physiological systems of the body, causing skin cancer, skin damage, thyroid, diabetes; damage to the respiratory, circulatory, and digestive systems; causing gene and chromosome mutations, causing birth defects, reproductive complications, etc.

In particular, Agent Orange can be passed down through many generations. In Vietnam, the consequences of Agent Orange have been passed down to the fourth generation. The number of victims who are children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and those infected during the war in Vietnam can reach millions. Not only Vietnamese people but also American, Korean, Australian, New Zealand soldiers... who fought in Vietnam also suffered from many diseases due to exposure to Agent Orange.

How to overcome the consequences?

Mr. Vu Chien Thang, Deputy Chief of Office of the Steering Committee for Overcoming the Consequences of Toxic Chemicals Used by the US in the War in Vietnam (Steering Committee 33) said that immediately after liberation, Vietnam paid attention to the consequences of toxic chemicals. Committee 10-80 was formed to investigate the consequences of toxic chemicals in Vietnam. Then, Steering Committee 33 was also formed in 1999 to overcome the consequences of toxic chemicals.

We have investigated and overcome many problems with the cooperation and assistance of some countries in the world. However, it is only at a certain level. Regarding the environmental issue, a long time has passed, but in hot spots, there are still very high levels of toxic residue. Many areas have been washed away by floods and then deposited, and may not have been discovered yet.

Besides, the choice of technology to treat contaminated soil is also very complicated. The number of victims of toxic chemicals is not yet unified, but it is very large - up to millions of people. Issues related to human health are also very complicated such as the mechanism of dioxin causing disease, types of diseases...

“With our country's financial resources and conditions, we have not been able to solve much of this problem,” Mr. Vu Chien Thang emphasized.

Regarding the solution, Mr. Vu Chien Thang said: The first issue is to quickly handle all remaining heavily contaminated dioxin sites, so that no new exposure occurs. For those living in areas sprayed or contaminated with dioxin, all pregnant mothers must undergo prenatal screening for early detection. Cases at risk of malformations need to be counseled and intervention measures taken to reduce the number of people with malformations.

In addition, in recent years, we have repeatedly changed legal documents to increase the level of support for victims so that they can gradually integrate into the community.

“The goal by 2020 is to fundamentally overcome the consequences of toxic chemicals on the environment, human health, social security and other related issues,” Mr. Vu Chien Thang emphasized./.

According to VOV