US starts Agent Orange clean-up in Vietnam

[88m3]

9 August 2012 Last updated at 05:47 ET
US starts Agent Orange clean-up in Vietnam

The US has begun a project to help clean up Agent Orange contamination at one area in Vietnam - the first such move since the war ended in 1975.

The work is taking place at the airport in the central city of Danang.

The US sprayed millions of gallons of the toxic defoliant over jungle areas to destroy enemy cover.

Vietnam says several million people have been affected by Agent Orange, including 150,000 children born with severe birth defects.
'Injustice'

Agent Orange Victims Association Vice Chairman Tran Xuan Thu told the BBC that although the clean-up activities were "a little late", they were "greatly appreciated".

"They show that the US government now is taking the responsibility to assist us. I hope these efforts will be multiplied in future," he said.

"However we consider that the clean-up is separate from the issue of compensating Vietnamese Agent Orange victims, who are still suffering from injustice. These victims will carry on with their lawsuits, no matter what."

A lawsuit brought by a group of Vietnamese nationals against US manufacturers was dismissed in 2007.

On Thursday, a ceremony was held at the Danang airport where the defoliant was stored before being sprayed over forests hiding fighters from the Viet Cong, guerrillas backed by the Communist government of North Vietnam.

The US government is providing $41m (£26m) to the clean-up project, which is being carried out by two American companies in co-operation with the Vietnamese defence ministry.

The US has in the past helped fund some social services in Vietnam, but this is its first direct involvement in clean-up work.

The contaminated soil and sediment is to be excavated and then heated to a high temperature to destroy the dioxins, a US embassy statement said.

Frank Donovan of USAID told Radio Australia the project would last until 2016.

"We expect it will be cleaned up to rid the contaminated areas of dioxins down to harmless levels that are accepted both by the government of the US and the government of Vietnam, and so safe for industrial, commercial or residential use," he said.

There are dozens of other contamination hotspots where the defoliant was stored, including two more airports.

The US and Vietnam resumed full diplomatic ties in 1995 and have grown closer in recent years amid concerns over China's assertiveness over disputed territories in the South China Sea.

The US compensates its veterans exposed to the defoliant, but does not compensate Vietnamese nationals.

Nga Pham, of the BBC's Vietnamese service, says Agent Orange is a very bitter legacy of the war, and most Vietnamese think the US should do more to help.

Are you in Vietnam? Have you been affected by this story? Send us your comments and experiences using the form below.

BBC News - US starts Agent Orange clean-up in Vietnam

USA! USA! USA!

 

[Mowgli]

I guess its another 30 years before they work on the depleted uranium in iraq. Its so demonic, friends.

 

[Orbital-Fetus]

I guess its another 30 years before they work on the depleted uranium in iraq. Its so demonic, friends.

yeah, i've hear about this as well.
apparently they use depleted uranium in armor piercing rounds in hand held weapons, tanks, choppers, etc. but what i want to know is how much armor are Iraqi insurgents employing that actually need to be pierced?

i don't think i've seen any tanks being used against the US military and i'm pretty sure that body armor is not standard issue for these dudes rocking rags and turbans.

 

[Mowgli]

yeah, i've hear about this as well.
apparently they use depleted uranium in armor piercing rounds in hand held weapons, tanks, choppers, etc. but what i want to know is how much armor are Iraqi insurgents employing that actually need to be pierced?

i don't think i've seen any tanks being used against the US military and i'm pretty sure that body armor is not standard issue for these dudes rocking rags and turbans.

They just needed to reduce the numbers in Iraq. If you know ur using r@d!0@ctive rounds and know there will be collateral damage to the civilian population, why would you use those kind of weapons.

 

[Orbital-Fetus]

They just needed to reduce the numbers in Iraq. If you know ur using r@d!0@ctive rounds and know there will be collateral damage to the civilian population, why would you use those kind of weapons.

to reduce the population long term. that shyt is gonna be doing damage until it's half life expires...but consider the fact that US and UK troops are exposed to it as well.

this is part of a plan to reduce the global population all around.

give Western soldiers radioactive rounds
pollute Arab soil and poison locals
poison Western soldiers who use said rounds....

allot of sick people who will die and at least a generation of unborn who will be poisoned as well.

the war is being played out on both sides by the same people.



wake up yall.

 

[Poppa_Dock]

orbital you act like lowering the population is a bad thing

 

[Mowgli]

to reduce the population long term. that shyt is gonna be doing damage until it's half life expires...but consider the fact that US and UK troops are exposed to it as well.

this is part of a plan to reduce the global population all around.

give Western soldiers radioactive rounds
pollute Arab soil and poison locals
poison Western soldiers who use said rounds....

allot of sick people who will die and at least a generation of unborn who will be poisoned as well.

the war is being played out on both sides by the same people.



wake up yall.

Soldiers have to be crippled because when they come home disillusioned you dont want them starting some kind of movement that revolves around anything military.

 

[sm0ke]

orbital you act like lowering the population is a bad thing

You act like deliberately causing radiation poison to affect soldiers and civilians alike is a good thing.

 

[Poppa_Dock]

You act like deliberately causing radiation poison to affect soldiers and civilians alike is a good thing.

when did i act like that

 

[Orbital-Fetus]

orbital you act like lowering the population is a bad thing

do you want a serious response to this?

 

[Poppa_Dock]

do you want a serious response to this?

*Looks at your avi and location*

is that possible from you?

 

[Orbital-Fetus]

*Looks at your avi and location*

is that possible from you?

It turns out that if you wanted every person in the world to move to Texas, finding room for everyone wouldn't be your biggest problem. A series of maps produced by denisty blog Per Square Mile shows that if the entire world's population- 6.9 billion people- lived at the same density level as New York City, we could all fit within the borders of the Lone Star State.

At NYC's Density, the World's Population Could Live in Texas : TreeHugger



http://overpopulationisamyth.com/overpopulation-the-making-of-a-myth/

















my location?

deep in your anus.