A Vietnamese soldier next to a hazardous warning sign for dioxin contamination at Bien Hoa air base last October. KHAM/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
From 1962 to 1971, the American military sprayed vast areas of Vietnam with Agent Orange, leaving dioxin contamination that has severely affected the health of three generations of Vietnamese. Now, the U.S. and Vietnamese governments have joined together in a massive cleanup project.
In the thriving industrial city of Bien Hoa, about 20 miles east of Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon, there is a large air base, just beyond a sweeping bend in the Dong Nai River. During the American war in Vietnam, it was said to be the busiest airport in the world. Since the war ended in 1975, a dense cluster of four residential neighborhoods has grown up around the base. Their total population is perhaps 111,000, while the base itself, now home to advanced long-range fighter-bombers of the Vietnam People’s Air Force, has another 1,200 permanent residents. Tiếp tục đọc “Fifty Years After, A Daunting Cleanup of Vietnam’s Toxic Legacy”
Hue Imperial Citadel, Tam Giang lagoon, and Thien Mu pagoda are among the must-visit destinations in the central province of Thua Thien Hue for tourists.
CVD 