DA NANG (VNS) – Efforts to clean all the war-time dioxin waste from around Da Nang International Airport by 2016 are on schedule.
An estimated 80,000 cubic metres of dioxin-contaminated soil and sediments is targeted for removal with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The four-year project is part of a range of measures implemented to address the chemicals used to defoliate large parts of southern Viet Nam.
During the first stage, USAID contractors dug up 45,000 cubic metres of soil tainted with dioxin, the director of Da Nang City’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Dieu told the Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Bui Cach Tuyen, on Thursday.
Tuyen hailed the department for its part in the project, and called for the second stage to be started soon.
The US government is also helping Viet Nam clean-up other locations outside Da Nang airport
Using an In-Pile Thermal Desorption (IPTD) system, batches of contaminated soil and sediment are placed in a container and heated to a temperature of 335 degrees Celsius, which destroys 95 per cent of dioxins.
The soil is later removed from the container and tested for traces of contaminants before being put back.
Da Nang’s former US air base is considered a dioxin “hot spot” due to its high levels of dioxin. Other dioxin polluted spots include Bien Hoa in the southwestern province of Dong Nai. – VNS
Đăng ký: VietNam News