Vietnam and US agree Agent Orange research
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Press Release
Subject: Vietnam and US agree Agent Orange research
Date:
Tue, 12 Mar 2002 09:31:02 -0500
From: Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization: Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)
To: Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
Director, State of
California, Department of Pesticide Regulation
cc: Christine Whitman whitman.christine@epa.gov
UPDATE -
Vietnam
and US agree Agent Orange research
HANOI
- The
United States
and
Vietnam
agreed on the weekend to investigate the effects of Agent Orange - the chemical
blamed for thousands of birth defects years after being dropped by the
U.S.
during the Vietnam war.
Both countries signed a memorandum of understanding on a
framework for joint research into the effects of the defoliant and its toxic
component dioxin, a
U.S.
statement said.
The agreement was reached by the U.S. National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and
Vietnam
's National Environmental Agency after a week of meetings in
Hanoi
, an NIEHS statement said.
The
U.S.
ambassador to
Vietnam
, Raymond Burghardt, said it was a new step forward in
Washington
's relations with
Hanoi
.
"It is too soon to predict what the eventual benefits
will be," he said, "but it is certain that Americans and Vietnamese
working together in pursuit of a common interest can achieve a great deal."
U.S.
scientist Anne Sassaman, who signed the agreement for the NIEHS, said the real
difficulties lay ahead.
"Agreeing to do the research is the easy part. The
more difficult task will be to develop research studies that are definitive and
address the underlying causes of disease in
Vietnam
."
U.S.
forces dumped millions of gallons of Agent Orange on
Vietnam
during the war that ended in 1975 to deny communist soldiers jungle cover and
food. Spraying was halted in 1971 after it was found it contained the most
dangerous form of dioxin, TCDD, and caused cancer in rats.
Vietnam
estimates more than a million of its people were exposed to the defoliant,
which it blames for tens of thousands of birth defects and other diseases.
While
Washington
provides assistance for
U.S.
veterans for a range of diseases "associated" with Agent Orange, its
government scientists say proving it causes such diseases would take many more
years of research.
COMPENSATION CLAIMS
Washington
says
Vietnam
dropped claims for war compensation and reparations when relations were
normalised in 1995.
But both
U.S.
veterans and
Hanoi
will be hoping future research will boost their case for compensation from
Washington and Agent Orange's makers Dow Chemical Co and Monsanto Co.
Sunday's agreement followed a scientific conference
involving government scientists and international experts last week to examine
current research and assess future needs.
Vietnam
said last week that research should be conducted in tandem with
U.S.
humanitarian help for victims, but Sunday's agreement made no mention of this.
It said that as the primary concerns for
Vietnam
were human birth and development disorders, cancers and genetic damage, both
countries would set priorities for research in areas where they agreed existing
evidence was insufficient to determine the presence or an absence of a hazard.
It said preliminary talks had suggested development of two
research areas - on populations with high dioxin exposures, for example those
living near Agent Orange "hotspots" and on therapies to reduce the
burden of exposure in humans, such as herbal remedies proposed in
Vietnam
.
The agreement also specified the need to develop cheaper,
more rapid tests for dioxin in soil and sediments, given the potential
ecological and human impact of its movement through the food chain.
Story by David Brunnstrom
Story Date:
12/3/2002
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