A seminar to start a dioxin treatment project in hot spots across Vietnam took place in Hanoi on December 15.

The seminar was jointly held by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, the Global Environmental Fund and the United Nations Development Programme.

The five-year project, starting from 2010, will deal with and minimise the devastating consequences of the chemicals at and around Da Nang , Bien Hoa (Dong Nai) and Phu Cat (Binh Dinh) airports.

According to statistics released by the Office of the national steering committee for overcoming the consequences of chemicals used by the US during the Vietnam war (called the Office of National Steering Committee 33), from 1961 to 1971 the US military dropped nearly 80 million litres of herbicides on southern Vietnam, of which the majority of the chemicals sprayed were Agent Orange that contained dioxin.

The dioxin levels in the sprayed areas have reduced remarkably, however, the airports where the chemicals were stored are still hot spots.

At the seminar, the participants discussed dioxin treatment plans in the hot spots and the possibility of other sponsors becoming involved in the project.

They spent a lot of time identifying the scale and level of contamination in the three targeted areas, discussing new technologies to treat the areas as well as environmental and human issues during the project.

Richard J. Cooke, an international advisor from the Office of National Steering Committee 33, pointed out that the project needs to place more importance to the technological and environmental requirements of both Vietnam and the rest of the world.

Priority should be given to technologies that can directly be implemented in Vietnam through trade clauses and those with suitable prices for both experiment and application, he said.

The project needs close cooperation and coordination between the Office of National Steering Committee No. 33 and relevant ministries and agencies, especially the Ministry of National Defence, he added.

The project’s steering committee should pay attention to the necessary financial resources to prevent the pollution in the south-western area of Bien Hoa airport and pollution treatment in Phu Cat airport, the expert said.

Source: VNA