The US and Vietnam have agreed on a method to detoxify 30 hectares of
land polluted with Agent Orange/Dioxin in the central Vietnamese city of Da
Nang by heating it to very high temperature to neutralize the toxics.
It is estimated that 70,000 cubic
meters of soil and mud of the vast area in the north of Da Nang airport will be
scooped up and go under the latest method for detoxification of dioxin,
according to the meeting held on Wednesday by the USAID and the Ministry of
National Defense in the city.
Da Nang airport is the most
contaminated area in Vietnam, followed by Bien Hoa airport in the southern Dong
Nai Province and Phu Cat airport in the central province of Binh Dinh,
especially at the areas used for mixing the substances and the storehouses in
the airports.
The project, which deploys the
latest technology of decontamination to be ever applied in Vietnam, will cost
US$41 million and be carried out by a US contractor.
Infected soil and mud will be
scooped up and put in a vast and well-built tank which is 100m long, 70m wide
and 8m high. The tank acts as a ‘stove’ to bake the soil to a temperature of
335 degrees Celsius by 1,254 heat-transferring units.
“The process of absorbing the
heat and cooling down at such a high temperature causes the Agent Orange/dioxin
related toxics to completely decompose itself into carbon dioxide, water and
chloride,” said Dr. Than Thanh Cong from the Department of Science, Technology
and Environment under the defense ministry of Vietnam.
It will take the project four
years to ‘stew’ and cleanse the toxics from the 30 hectares of land inside the
Da Nang airport.
Ms. Randa Chichakli, a
representative of the US contractor, said the concentration of dioxin will be constantly
observed and measured during the process of detoxification to ensure that it
will not affect locals and staff of the project.
“The job will be halted in case
the concentration of dioxin surges over the permitted level, or under heavy
raining and strong wind,” she confirmed.
TUOI TRE
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