Complete the dioxin cleanup in Da Nang in 2016

The Vietnam-US Joint Advisory Council on Agent Orange announces the project of remedying and treating the environment at Da Nang Airport will be completed within the next 4 years.

The seventh annual press conference of the Vietnam-US Joint Advisory Council (JAC) on Agent Orange / dioxin took place in Hanoi on September 21.

Speaking at the press conference, Dr. Jennifer Orme Zalaveta, director of the US National Exposure Research Department and co-chair of the JAC press conference, announced that the US had contracted the project of remedying and treating the environment. at Danang airport. The project will be implemented after the 2013 rainy season and will be completed in 2016. Ms. Zalaveta affirmed that the dioxin recovery efforts in Da Nang, Bien Hoa and Phu Cat district (Binh Duong) have achieved some results. Significant results.

Jennifer Orme Zalaveta, co-chair of the seventh annual press conference
Vietnam-US Joint Advisory Council on Agent Orange on September 21. (Photo: Minh Long)

"One of the most important achievements in the past years is the project to clean up dioxin in the soil at the Da Nang Airport of the US Agency for International Development," Ms. Zalaveta commented.

Representatives of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said they would provide $ 9 million over the next three years to support and treat people with disabilities for all causes. The US will also directly provide treatment, job creation, training and vocational skills training for people with disabilities or Agent Orange.

Dr. Le Ke Son, General Director of the 33 National Steering Committee Office of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, said that in the meeting on September 20 and 21 of the JAC, the two sides stressed the importance of cooperation between the US and Vietnam in the effort to eradicate Agent Orange at Da Nang airport. According to Mr. Son, the JAC has affirmed that they will fulfill their responsibilities and the Ministry of Defense is carrying out the commitments.

Since 1980, the Vietnamese government has devised specific plans to deal with the remnants of Agent Orange / dioxin, such as the establishment of a Committee under the Ministry of Health conducting the assessment of the impact of this poison. for people and the natural environment. Then in 1999, the Steering Committee 33 was established to direct the remedy of this poison. The government has invested US $ 6.25 million to clean up dioxin and each year grants US $ 50 million to people with disabilities caused by Agent Orange / dioxin.

To strive to basically treat Agent Orange / dioxin consequences by 2020, the National Steering Committee 33 has developed a National Action Plan to submit to the Government for approval, the reporter said. The plan includes 5 contents: Decontamination of dioxin hot spots; prevent people from being exposed to dioxin; support people living near dioxin hotspots; upgrade services for people with disabilities and conduct long-term research.