Huge volume of dioxin-contaminated soil not buried

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/environment/72501/huge-volume-of-dioxin-contaminated-soil-not-buried.html
VietNamNet Bridge – There are still 240,000 cubic meters of soil and sludge contaminated with dioxin in Dong Nai Province’s Bien Hoa Airport area not buried, posing high risks to people’s health and the environment, said an environment official.
Speaking at a recent seminar on agent orange and dioxin held in Hanoi, Le Ke Son, deputy director of the Vietnam Environment Administration, said that consequences were very serious, but remedial measures have yet to be studied carefully.
Even the number of people inflicted by dioxin in Vietnam has not been established, Son said.
According to previously announced statistics, Vietnam has an estimated 4.8 million people with dioxin contamination.
Between 1961 and 1971, with the defoliation campaign Ranch Hand, the U.S. army sprayed over 800 million liters of herbicides in southern Vietnam. After over 40 years, the dioxin concentration in some areas has declined, but the consequences are still grave.
Vietnam has three dioxin hotspots, which are Phu Cat, Danang and Bien Hoa airbases. With supports from the U.S. government and the United Nations Development Program, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is working hard on removing dioxin at Danang and Bien Hoa airbases.
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