The burial ground at Phu Cat Airport. Photo by Tuoi Tre.
Also part of the USD5 million project, funded by the UNDP and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to clean the most dioxin-contaminated areas around Vietnam, was a building for the burial ground at Phu Cat Airport. The project is continuing to be implemented by Office 33 under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of National Defense.
Associate Professor, Dr. Le Ke Son, director of the project said, “The successful burial of dioxin contaminated soil at Phu Cat Airport has reduced the number of hot spots in Vietnam, which include Da Nang and Bien Hoa airports. With support from the US government, the UNDP and other agencies, we will continue to treat the toxic chemical contamination at these two airports.
Besides Phu Cat Airport, Bien Hoa Airport and Da Nang Airport are two other former military airbases used to store the substance, which was sprayed over Vietnamese forests as an herbicide during the war. These are also areas of concern.
The US Agency for International Development said early this month that it would commence a project to clean up dioxin contamination at the Da Nang Airport. The project, which utilises the latest technology for decontamination, is estimated to cost US$43 million.
Infected soil and mud will be scooped up and put into a large, well-built tank, 70m wide and 8m high. The tank will act as a sort of ‘stove’ to decompose the contaminated soil at a temperature of 335 degrees Celsius with the help of 1,254 heat-transferring units.
The 30 hectares of land at the Da Nang Airport are expected to be clean in four years.
