Experts take soil samples at A Sho airport (Source: vacne.org.vn) Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan has agreed to expand the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s microbiological method to detoxify soil contaminated with Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin in A Luoi district in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue.
The method is being piloted at the district’s A Sho airport and helps reduce dioxin concentration in contaminated land by 35 percent, according to a report of the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment (VACNE).
Speaking at a working session in Hanoi on February 28 with representatives from the RoK’s BJC Company, Nhan assigned the Vietnam Environment Administration and VACNE to discuss an expansion plan with the company to improve the soil environment in the locality.
Participants at the session lauded the capacity and efforts of Korean experts. They expressed their hope that the method will be carried out on a larger scale to boost the district’s socio-economic development.
From 1961 to 1971, American troops sprayed more than 80 million litres of herbicides — 44 million litres of which were AO, containing nearly 370kg of dioxin — over southern Vietnam.
The mountainous district was sprayed with 432,812 litres of grass-killing chemicals during the 10-year period.
A Sho, a temporary airport during the war, was used for parking and washing of airplanes after spraying was completed, resulting in serious contamination of the area with dioxin.-VNA
VNA
