AsianScientist (May 22, 2011) – U.S. and South Korea have agreed to jointly investigate the alleged burial of hundred barrels of Agent Orange at a former U.S. military base in South Korea, according to a new report in The Korea Herald.
Named for the orange-striped barrels in which it was shipped, Agent Orange is the code name for a toxic herbicide used by the US military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. The 2,4,5-T component of Agent Orange was later discovered to contain 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin, a dioxin contaminant.
The investigation comes after U.S. cable TV network station CBS 5 cited three former American soldiers who said they helped bury barrels of Agent Orange here in 1978. Steve House, one of the former soldiers, told local media that about 600 barrels might have been buried near the helicopter landing facility of Camp Carroll in Waegwan, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea.
“For a prompt, transparent resolution of the issue, the two sides have agreed to quickly proceed with a joint investigation,” Yook Dong-han, vice minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, told reporters.
With many South Koreans upset from the revelations, Yook said he is leading a government taskforce formed to coordinate measures to deal with the case.
On Saturday, a health and environment research institute collected samples of underground water from Waegwan-ri, Seokjeon-ri and Maewon-ri, which are adjacent to the camp. Separately, a group of environmentalists and residents plan to examine water samples from Camp Carroll today. The South Korean Environment Ministry will also survey residents to identify any diseases that may have occurred from possible defoliant contamination.
Agent Orange is known to cause mental illness, cancer and fetal deformities. More than 33,000 South Koreans who participated in the Vietnam War suffered from the effects of exposure to the defoliant.
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Source: The Korea Herald.
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