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US to clean herbicide from Vietnam 37 years after war
The United States has committed almost $50 million for the clean-up of herbicide used during the Vietnam War almost four decades ago to strengthen ties with Vietnamese government.
US soldiers wear protective gear to detect Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) and defoliant Agent Orange in the project to clean-up Vietnam
Vietnam War sites contaminated with an Agent Orange by-product will be cleaned by the United States 37 years after the fighting ended.
This act is expected to boost ties between the US and Vietnam which has blamed the herbicide for poisoning millions.
Danand International Airport, previously a war-era air base, was the first polluted area to be treated by US-funded workers.
After decades of trying to rid the country of the dioxin, the chemical which was derived from Agent Orange, has been linked by the US government to diseases found in war veterans but has never admitted legal liability.
A director at the Washington-based Aspen Institute said that the event will mark a significant milestone for both governments and signals a new era of collaboration.
The herbicide had been sprayed by US troops over about 10,000 square miles in central and south Vietnam between 1962 and 1971 during the Vietnam War which killed 58,000 Americans and more than a million Vietnamese.
The spray was intended to clear the jungles and kill crops used by Viet Cong guerrillas and although the land sprayed is not contaminated, there is a possibility that more than 24 former US military bases may still contain high levels of dioxin which may risk the health of locals.
Around $49 million has been committed by the US to clean the dioxin but a further $107 million would be required to clear all remaining sites.
