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Apr 20, 2019 / 15:48

US, Vietnam launch dioxin remediation project at largest hotspot in Vietnam

Anh Minh

"The work that the United States and Vietnam accomplished at Danang and will accomplish here at Bien Hoa serves as an example to the world, of how two former enemies can work together, with mutual respect, towards cooperation and peace,” said the US Ambassador to Vietnam.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Vietnam’s Air Defense Airforce Command on April 20 launched the dioxin remediation project at Bien Hoa Airbase, the largest remaining hotspot of dioxin contamination in Vietnam, in a move to deepen the bilateral comprehensive partnership by addressing legacies of war.
 
The project launch in Bien Hoa Airbase. Photo: USAID
The project launch in Bien Hoa Airbase. Photo: USAID
The project will remediate high-risk areas over an estimated ten-year period using treatment and isolation methods similar to those used at Danang Airport, the US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City said in a statement.

Addressing the event, Senators Patrick Leahy, who is leading a delegation of nine US senators from both political parties to Vietnam, said: “The ground beneath and around us is the largest remaining hotspot of contamination in Vietnam.  This will be a far larger project than Da Nang, and one of the largest environmental remediation projects in the world.” 
“Every one of us can be proud of the way our two countries are working to overcome the past, and the commitment we have made to leave a better legacy to the next generation. A legacy of peace, of opportunity, and of friendship,” said Leahy, who is now in Vietnam for a third visit.

Sharing the same view, US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink said: “The fact that two former foes are now partnering on such a complex task is nothing short of historic. The work that the United States and Vietnam accomplished at Danang and will accomplish here at Bien Hoa serves as an example to the world, of how two former enemies can work together, with mutual respect, towards cooperation and peace.”
 
US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink speaks at the project launch. Photo: USAID
US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink speaks at the project launch. Photo: USAID
In partnership with the government of Vietnam, USAID completed an assessment in 2016 of dioxin contamination at Bien Hoa Airbase, the primary dioxin storage and handling site during the Vietnam War. The assessment identified almost 500,000 cubic meters of dioxin contaminated soil and sediment in need of remediation – almost four times the volume that was remediated at Danang Airport.

Following the assessment, USAID signed agreements with Vietnam’s Ministry of National Defense in early 2018 for an initial five-year $183 million commitment to the Dioxin Remediation at Bien Hoa Airbase Area project.

In November 2018, USAID completed the six-year $110 million project to clean up dioxin at Danang Airport.

To resolve wartime legacy issues, the United States and Vietnam continue to cooperate on the humanitarian mission of accounting for personnel still missing from the war, the removal of unexploded ordnance, support for persons with disabilities, and the remediation of dioxin.

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