A seminar to warm
up a project for cleaning up hotspots of dioxin contamination in Vietnam was
held in Hanoi on December 15.

The event was co-organised by the Ministry of
Natural Resources and Environment in collaboration with the Global Environment
Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The project, which will be implemented from 2010
to 2014, aims to overcome wartime dioxin aftermaths, reduce the devastation of
dioxin on the environment and health risks for people living and working in
three main hot spots including Da Nang and Phu Cat airports in central Vietnam
and Bien Hoa airport in the southern province of Dong Nai.

Delegates focused on discussions on devising
plans to treat dioxin contamination and the funding for the project.

Especially,
they debated issues related to concentration of dioxin at the three hotspots.

Richard J.Cooke, an international consultant for
the Office of The National Steering Committee on overcoming toxic
chemicals used by US during the war in Vietnam (Office 33) said the project
should pay attention to the basic requirements of technologies for treating
dioxin to meet both international and Vietnam’s technical and environmental
safety standards.

“Priorities should also be given to technologies
which are likely to be implemented in Vietnam immediately through commercial
provisions as well as the practical application of these technologies for dioxin
contamination in Vietnam”, he said.

Delegates said there should be strict
co-ordination between Office 33 and relevant ministries and agencies, especially
the Ministry of Defence. They stated the steering committee should also pay more
attention to necessary funding sources for the full remediation of all dioxin
hot spots.

According to Office 33, US troops sprayed about
80 million litres of herbicides in southern Vietnam during the wartime from 1961
to 1971.

VietNamNet/VOV