Remediating the effects of toxic chemicals in Quang Tri: A nonstop journey (I)

I. Continue to spread the message of \"Solidarity - Responsibility - Gratitude\" for the victims of Agent Orange

The war has receded, but the wounds caused by bombs and chemical poisons that the enemy poured down on the land of Quang Tri have not healed. More than 9,000 people in Quang Tri affected by Agent Orange is such a great pain. Many families devoting their youth to the country, now at peace have to take care of their deformed children; many children are not able to go to school, attach their life and future on wheelchairs… due to the influence of Agent Orange. Therefore, the remediation of consequences left by this poison on the land of Quang Tri for many years has been very difficult and strenuous, but this is a continuous, non-stop journey to help alleviating the pain of Agent Orange.

Mr. LE VAN DANG, Vice President of Quang Tri Provincial Association for People with Disabilities, Victims of Agent Orange, Protecting People with Disabilities, Protecting Children\'s Rights gave us an interview.

- Sir! The year of 2021 is the 60th anniversary of the US military\'s use of toxic chemicals, causing Agent Orange disaster in Vietnam, causing persistent pain for people in many different localities throughout the country. What is your opinion of the extent and consequences of this poison in Vietnam?

- Yes, 60 years have passed, but the pain of Agent Orange is still there, unrelenting. On August 10, 1961, the US military first sprayed toxic chemicals on Highway 14, located in the north of Kon Tum province and by 1971 they has conducted 19,905 spraying missions with over 80 million liters of toxic chemicals (61% of which is Agent Orange) to nearly 26,000 villages, equal to ¼ of the total area of South Vietnam, of which 86% of the areas were sprayed for the second time; 11% being sprayed more than 10 times.

With a large amount of toxic chemicals being sprayed repeatedly over a long period of time, the environment has been heavily polluted, ecosystems have been disrupted, many forests have been destroyed, and biodiversity has been damaged; some species of animals and plants became extinct. More dangerously, the chemicals have exposed nearly 4.8 million Vietnamese people. More than 3 million people have become its Agent Orange victims so far, in which some have passed on to the 3rd and 4th generations. Hundreds of thousands of victims have died, or are struggling daily with serious diseases; many women are unable to become mothers; many children are born with inadequate bodies, and can’t enjoy the right to life and the right to happiness. All are caused by the sequelae of Agent Orange/dioxin.

- During the war, Quang Tri was one of the localities that suffered from the US spraying of chemical weapons. What is the level of severity, sir?

- Quang Tri province is located in the 17th parallel of latitude which was heavily bombed, raided and sprayed with toxic chemicals by the US army. According to the documents of Committee 10-80 (National Committee to investigate the consequences of chemical weapons used in the war in Vietnam), in Quang Tri, the US military sprayed a total of 710,237 gallons of chemical weapons, including 580,109 gallons of Agent Orange, 25,101 gallons of Agent Blue, 99,714 gallons of Agent White, and 5,314 gallons of other agents (the name of the chemicals is called by the color line marked on the outside the container of the chemical).

According to the document of the United Nations Committee on Disarmament No. CD/82 (Chemical Disarmament), after 7 months of running the Ranch Hand campaign, the US Air Force has carried out 200 sorties, spread 760 thousand liters of herbicides on to the ways along the 17th parallel lines. With various means of spraying poisons, from the air, on the ground, combined with high-temperature incendiary bombs, the poisons are dispersed to a much larger area than report of the US military.

In June 2020, Quang Tri province re-investigated the people infected with toxic chemicals. Accordingly, the whole province has 9,016 Agent Orange victims, of which 5,278 had meritorious services and 3,838 were civilians, a decrease of 6,829 people according to the 1999 survey (15,485 people).

Up to now, no one has calculated the exact volume of TCDD (a highly toxic type of dioxin) sprayed and the area of land contaminated by military poisons in South Vietnam.

According to the initial evaluation and analysis results, the areas infected with toxics chemicals in Quang Tri are mainly located in the districts of: Huong Hoa, Dakrong, Cam Lo, and the western region of Gio Linh and Hai Lang districts, Trieu Phong.

- As a locality heavily affected by the consequences of Agent Orange, over the years, the People\'s Committee of Quang Tri province has issued many action plans to fundamentally overcome the consequences of toxic chemicals sprayed by the US in the war. How do you evaluate the results of these action plans?

Implementing Decision No. 651 of the Prime Minister, on October 3, 2013, the People\'s Committee of Quang Tri Province issued Decision 1785/QĐ-UBND on approving the action plan on fundamentally overcoming the consequences of toxic chemicals sprayed by the US in the war in Quang Tri until 2015, with orientation to 2020 (Decision 1785). On August 1, 2016, the Provincial People\'s Committee continued to issue Decision 1974/QĐ-UBND approving the Action Plan on fundamentally overcoming the consequences of toxic chemicals used by the US during the war in Quang Tri in the 2016-2020 period (Decision No. 1974).

Accordingly, the Provincial People\'s Committee has assigned tasks to 14 departments, branches and people\'s committees of districts, towns and cities based on functions and tasks to implement the objectives of the plan. Accordingly, the overall goal of the plan is to basically deal with the consequences of toxic chemicals used by the US during the war in Quang Tri on people and the environment.

Regarding the environment and ecology, 60 years after the US chemical war, until now the sprayed forests have gradually recovered. Many pepper and rubber plantations have brought about economic revenues, contributing to improving the lives of people in Quang Tri with exports to many countries around the world.

As for human health, by the end of 2020, basically all people participated in the resistance war infected with toxic chemicals and their offsprings are entitled to monthly allowances. People suffering from 17 diseases according to Decision 0/2008/QĐ-BYT of the Ministry of Health and having working capacity decreased by 61% or more, are entitled to monthly allowances according to social protection regime and enjoy free health insurance.

In general, together with the whole country, with the sentiment of \"For the pain of Agent Orange in Quang Tri\", over the years, the Party Committee, government and people of Quang Tri have sponsored, supported, helped and shared to help victims of Agent Orange overcome difficulties, integrate into life. The total amount of money and artifacts mobilized worths over VND 30 billion, along with many other meaningful activities such as: Supporting orthopedic surgery, free medical examination and treatment, awarding scholarships, supporting production... However, some targets of the plan have not been achieved as expected due to various reasons, in which the main reason is the limitation of the provincial budget which can’t cover all expenses of the plan.

In order to well implement the upcoming plan, it is necessary to establish a working group for the Provincial People\'s Committee to monitor, urge and supervise the progress of the plan; review and reward the implementation of units. The most important issue is that the Provincial People\'s Committee allocates enough funds according to the decisions and plans for sectors, units and localities.

I would like to quote the words of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Head of the National Steering Committee for overcoming the consequences of unexploded ordnance and toxic chemicals after the war when working with the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin that: “We will do our best, even international mobilization, socialization of resources, and state budget to provide better conditions for the association and the victims. We try not to miss anyone…”, to continue to spread the message of “Solidarity - Responsibility - Gratitude” for the victims of Agent Orange.