Over eight years in the 1960's during the war in Vietnam the US government carried out operation Ranch Hand in which they sprayed 42,000,000 litres of a chemical defoliant called Agent Orange, which contained dioxins - some of the most toxic compounds known to mankind. The US used this chemical concotion to kill all the vegetation including rice. The rather unsubtle idea being to deprive the enemy of two of the basics pre-requisites to life - shelter and food.
Through importation and storage of large quantities of these chemicals the US government caused not only widespread contamination of the environment through spraying, but also left contamination hotspots such as in Biên Hòa City, where chemicals stored at an airbase leaked into the soil and groundwater. Dioxins are recalcitrant chemicals whch once created, persist in the environment for many years. In the west incinerators, power stations and other industrial processes that involve combustion are closely regulated to limit the release of even minute quantities of dioxins into the atmosphere. In the UK enquiries have been held into the release of dioxins from incinerators which have purportedly led to health impacts in clusters around the sites. The burden of proving dioxins caused these health impacts has been great due to the low levels released and the need for accuracy in sampling and analysis. However in Vietnam the US government allowed the release of such massive concentrations that health impact clusters are grossly obvious.
The legacy of US involvement in the war between North and South Vietnam range from cancers to multiple miscarriages to developmental defects, resulting in physical and mental deformities. In the late 1990's a survey of blood samples taken from people living in communities exposed to dioxin found that 95% had dioxin levels 135 times greater than people living outwith these areas. This means Agent Orange dioxins will continue to affect generations to come.
As a consequence of the US government actions in Vietnam huge areas of the country's soil and water remain polluted. The Vietnamese say the US government breached the 1925 Geneva Convention, which prohibits the use of any chemical weapon to kill plants during time of war. Despite approaches to successive American Presidents no compensation has been elicited, therefore the victims have had to resort to legal action against the US Government and the chemical companies involved. In 1984/85 the Dow and Monsanto chemical companies paid out around $236,000,000 in settlement to soldiers whose health had been affected by working wth Agent Orange during the war. The companies never however admitted liability and still claim they were instructed to produce the chemicals by the US government.
In June 2011 a project commenced between the Vietnam and US governments to start cleaning up some of the pollution. Alas nothing has yet been agreed to help the ongoing vitims.
