Hanoi (VNA) – It has been more than 30 years since the Vietnam War ended, but the lingering consequences of US Army defoliant weapon Agent Orange (AO) remain, having caused serious effects on the health of millions of people and the environment in the Southeast Asian country.
Vietnamese and foreign scientists have publicly presented their studies on the adverse impacts of AO/dioxin and there has been worldwide support for the US government to address the issue of AO consequences in Vietnam . However, the US side has not yet acknowledged their responsibility.
According to statistics released by the Vietnam Association of Victims of AO/dioxin (VAVA), the US Army sprayed 80 million litres of defoliants in Vietnam from 1961 to 1971, including nearly 400 kilos of dioxin. Around 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to dioxin, with 3 million suffering health problems related to the exposure.
The fact that the level of dioxin in the environment, people and animals in some areas of Vietnam remains high or very high according to the permitted level set by the US Environmental Protection Agency proves the lingering consequences of the AO/dioxin in the country.
Research conducted by Vietnamese and foreign scientists has affirmed the rate of diseases, particularly cancers, birth defects and c ongenital malformation among offspring of people exposed to AO/dioxin is higher than that among offspring of people not exposed to the toxicants.
Vietnam has shown consistent commitment to assisting AO victims. The Government has provided around 50 million USD a year as monthly allowance for more than 200,000 victims. They have facilitated and financed non-governmental organisations, such as the Fund for AO Victim Support and VAVA, to offer medical treatment, improve living standards and provide vocational training and jobs for another one million affected people.
Thousands of victims, particularly children with congenital deformities , have been receiving care and medical treatment at the Hoa Binh and Huu Nghi villages and other child protection centres nationwide.
However, the assistance has only met part of the huge, complicated and long term demands of AO/dioxin victims.
In an effort to remove AO impacts on the environment, Vietnam ’s Ministry of Defence is carrying out a project to isolate and bury a polluted area at the Bien Hoa Airport , southern Vietnam . The 75 billion VND project, however, is expected to tackle just a small part of the polluted area.
Vietnam is thankful to the various international organisations and individuals who have supported its efforts to overcome the aftermath of AO/dioxin. The United Nations Development Programme, the UN Children’s Fund, the Ford Foundation, the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF) and many individuals from Japan , Norway , the UK and the US have made noteworthy contributions.
In 2002, following former US President Bill Clinton’s visit to Vietnam , Vietnam and the US set up cooperative ties to research and address the consequences of AO/dioxin. However, the results of the cooperation have been limited to some scientific conferences, analysis of soil specimens in central Da Nang city and some personnel training.
In June 2007, during a meeting with President Nguyen Minh Triet in Washington , US President George Bush committed 3 million USD in the 2007 fiscal year to tackling dioxin pollution at the Da Nang Airport and assisting people exposed to the toxicant. Again, the commitment has not been realised as the US side yet to have discussed with Vietnam the use of money despite various requests from relevant agencies.
VAVA, representing Vietnam ’s AO victims, began its lawsuit against 37 US chemical companies in 2004 on the principle that the companies were responsible for producing the toxic chemicals for the US Army.
The US lower and appeal courts dismissed the petition, saying that the defoliants that the US Army used during the war in Vietnam were not prohibited toxic weapons.
In response to the judgments, many lawyers and people around the world have voiced their support for the Vietnamese AO victims, pushing the request for US chemical companies to make compensation for them.
American lawyer Jonathan C. Moore, who represented the plaintiff in the lawsuit at the US lower and appeal courts, said that the US courts’ decisions were completely wrong in both the legal and ethical sense.-Enditem
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