Experts take soil samples at A Sho airport (Source: vacne.org.vn) Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment VoTuan Nhan has agreed to expand the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s microbiologicalmethod to detoxify soil contaminated with Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin in A Luoidistrict in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue.
The method isbeing piloted at the district’s A Sho airport and helps reduce dioxinconcentration in contaminated land by 35 percent, according to a report of theVietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment (VACNE).
Speaking at aworking session in Hanoi on February 28 with representatives from the RoK’s BJCCompany, Nhan assigned the Vietnam Environment Administration and VACNE todiscuss an expansion plan with the company to improve the soil environment inthe locality.
Participants atthe session lauded the capacity and efforts of Korean experts. They expressedtheir hope that the method will be carried out on a larger scale to boost thedistrict’s socio-economic development.
From 1961 to 1971,American troops sprayed more than 80 million litres of herbicides — 44 millionlitres of which were AO, containing nearly 370kg of dioxin — over southernVietnam.
The mountainousdistrict was sprayed with 432,812 litres of grass-killing chemicals during the10-year period.
A Sho, a temporaryairport during the war, was used for parking and washing of airplanes afterspraying was completed, resulting in serious contamination of the area withdioxin.-VNA
VNA
