Construction of a 5,400 cu.m. secure landfill site began at Phu Catairbase in the central province of Binh Dinh on Dec. 16, in aproject to isolate dioxin contamination at the airbase.
The landfill site is part of a 4.9 million USD project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the UNDP.
With the landfill, which is expected to be completed in 2012, Phu Catairport will be fully compliant with national regulations and will meetinternational standards. Proper containment and regular monitoring willeliminate the current risks of dioxin outflow.
Phu Cat is one ofthree military airbases that are still highly contaminated by AgentOrange/dioxin, due to large quantities of herbicides stored or handledthere during the war. The other two hotspots are Da Nang and BienHoa airports. The three airports were used by US troops for aerialspraying of defoliant during the war.
UN Resident Coordinator inVietnam Pratibha Mehta described the ongoing presence of dioxin inVietnam as a sad after-effect of war. About 200,000 cu.m. ofcontaminated land still exists at Phu Cat, Da Nang and Bien Hoaairports, posing serious health risks to people.
The GEF-fundedproject, begun in 2010, aims to minimise disruption to ecosystems andminimise health risks for people from the release of dioxin frompolluted hotspots.
It is expected that areas contaminated with high dioxin levels will be treated before 2016./.