U.S. to help pay for removal of Agent Orange in Thailand
BANGKOK, Aug. 3 Kyodo
The United States will share the estimated 4 million baht (108,000 dollars) cost of cleaning up toxic chemicals at a southern Thai airport, where Agent Orange, used by the U.S. during Vietnam War, has been found, a government official said Tuesday. Derivatives of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoryacetate, two major substances in Agent Orange, were found buried under the taxiway at Bor Fai airport in the southern resort of Hua Hin on March 19 during construction work to expand the runway. Agent Orange was used by the U.S. military during Vietnam War 30 years ago to denude trees to prevent their being used as cover by Vietnamese forces. Dioxin from the agent can cause cancer in humans. The U.S. will share the cost of cleaning up the contaminated soil at the airport as the U.S. military conducted research on the defoliant in 1964 and 1965 in Thailand’s Prachuabkirikhan Province where Bor Fai airport is located. The airport was used as a base for deforestation experiments in the Pranburi district of the province. Initially, Thailand asked the U.S. to provide about 17 million baht (460,000 dollars) to treat the contamination at the airport but Washington refused since an analysis by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicated low levels of dioxin and the cost of treatment is relatively low. One out of 15 samples collected from the airport showed levels of dioxin equivalent in excess of levels allowable in the U.S. — or 1 part per billion (ppb) — in residential areas. The sample indicated the level of dioxin at 2.02 ppb but it is still below the EPA level of allowable contamination for commercial or industrial sites, according to an official at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok. The U.S. recommended the Thai authorities treat the contaminant by covering over and sealing the soil in its present location since this is the most cost-effective means of disposal. The Thai side has agreed and will complete the treatment by November.
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