Dioxin treatment at A Sho Airport

PANO – In wartime, the U.S. armed forces used A Sho valley in A Luon district, Thua Thien Hue province as a field airport. It became a place to store toxic chemicals and served as a transit station for the U.S. Air Force to spray toxic chemicals in areas.

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Seminar spotlights outcomes of dioxin treatment technology

Dioxin treatment technology to be piloted at Bien Hoa airbase

From 1961 to 1971, the U.S. military sprayed some 80 million liters of toxic chemicals, 61 percent of which was Agent Orange containing 366 kilograms of dioxin, over nearly one quarter of the total area of South Vietnam.

Preliminary statistics showed that 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange/dioxin, and about 3 million people have become victims. Many of them have died or have suffered from cancer and other incurable diseases as a result. Many of their offspring have also suffered from birth deformities.

Results of surveys in A Sho airport showed that 5 hectares in the airport is dioxin-polluted with a depth of 0.7m on average, and the total volume of contaminated soil needing treating is 35,000 m³.

To protect people’s health and serve local socio-economic development, the Chemical Corps is accelerating the progress of treatment of dioxin-contaminated land at A Sho Airport.

Below are photos of chemical troops’ efforts in treating dioxin-contaminated land at A Sho Airport.