USFK verified toxins in 2004, investigation reveals

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/484854.html
The revelation may be controversial, as the USFK did not notify S.Korea or take appropriate countermeasures




USFK verified toxins in 2004, investigation reveals
The revelation may be controversial, as the USFK did not notify S.Korea or take appropriate countermeasures

By Nam Jong-young　

Amid an ongoing examination by a joint South Korean-U.S. investigation team into allegations that Agent Orange was buried at the U.S. base of Camp Carroll in the Waegwan Township of North Gyeongsang’s Chilgok County, it emerged Monday that United States Forces Korea (USFK) previously verified the presence of a pit containing buried chemicals within the camp during a 2004 investigation. Analysts say the revelation is likely to cause controversy, as USFK did not previously notify the South Korean government of its findings.

According to a draft report obtained by the Hankyoreh on Monday for a preliminary study for treatment of environmental pollution in Camp Carroll, the U.S. military discovered indications of a burial site within the camp measuring 25 meters in length, 14 meters in width, and six meters in depth in 2004. Following a subsequent soil study, the U.S. military confirmed contamination with high concentrations of highly carcinogenic perchloroethylene (PCE). Also detected were pesticides, heavy metals, and components of dioxin, which is connected to Agent Orange.

The report, which contains details on environmental pollution in the area of the Bachelor Enlisted Quarters (BEQ) Hill to the northeast of the camp, was drafted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Far East Command in February and submitted to the command of the U.S. Army garrison in Daegu. The burial site is located approximately one kilometer to the north of a heliport and nearby Zone D, which were named by U.S. veteran Steve House and others as defoliant burial sites in a U.S. broadcast. Because of the small size of the site, analysts are speculating that it was a third chemical burial site within Camp Carroll.

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