Cooperation in dioxin remediation

For the first time, the Vietnam Air Force and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are collaborating on a project to address dioxin contamination at Da Nang Airport.

At the scientific workshop on dioxin contamination remediation at Da Nang Airport, organized by the Vietnam Air Force Command - Ministry of National Defence in collaboration with USAID on August 8th in Da Nang, Major General Le Huy Vinh, Deputy Commander of the Vietnam Air Force Command and Head of the Project Management Board for dioxin contamination remediation at Da Nang Airport, emphasized: "This is a good starting point towards the goal of completely remediating dioxin contamination at hotspots in Vietnam."

Diagram of the dioxin remediation process at Da Nang Airport.

Previously, Da Nang Airport was a military base of the US Army, a storage site for herbicides containing dioxin used to "reclaim" forests in Central and Western Vietnam. Fifty-one years have passed, but the results of numerous scientific studies show that the environment around Da Nang Airport has dioxin levels 35-40 times higher than the permissible limit for non-agricultural land in the US, and hundreds of times higher than the safe level for humans according to international standards. Yet, to this day, people living near Da Nang Airport still freely grow vegetables and lotus in the area for their own use.

According to Nguyen Thi Hien, Chairwoman of the Da Nang Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (DAVA), Da Nang has over 5,000 people affected by dioxin, including more than 1,400 children, most of whom suffer from severe birth defects and are unable to care for themselves. Particularly noteworthy is an unpublished study that found 64 residents living in the area to have dangerously high levels of dioxin in their blood and are suffering from serious illnesses.

Ms. Kyung Choe, a representative from USAID, stated that the extent of pollution outside the Da Nang airport area is being assessed by other agencies, and therefore she is not authorized to disclose that information. For now, the focus is on successfully implementing the dioxin remediation project within the airport area, and then funding will be sought to continue addressing other dioxin hotspots in Vietnam.

Major General Le Huy Vinh stated that after many efforts by the Vietnamese and US governments, the project to address dioxin contamination at Da Nang Airport has been approved by the competent authorities of the Vietnamese State. The project is funded by USAID with $41 million and the Vietnamese government's counterpart funding is 35 billion VND. The project was implemented from 2011 to 2016. Immediately after the project's launch, the mine and explosive ordnance clearance work in the project area has been completed. The main component, of particular interest to the public, the method for treating dioxin contamination at Da Nang Airport, will officially commence today (August 9th).

The method chosen for dioxin remediation at Da Nang Airport is thermal desorption technology, undertaken by the contractor CDM Smith. According to USAID's assessment, thermal desorption (IPTD) is the most effective and economical method for treating dioxin contamination. It is expected that Da Nang Airport will be dioxin-free by the end of 2016.

No impact on the community.
According to Colonel Pham Dinh Chien, representing the Air Defense and Air Force Command, the Ministry of Defense has given very strict instructions regarding flight safety, so there will be no impact on the project's implementation. Meanwhile, Ms. Randa Chichakli, representing the contractor CDM Smith, stated that safety measures will be implemented to eliminate any harmful impacts on the surrounding community.

According to (nld.com.vn)-LT