ID :
183496
Sat, 05/21/2011 - 14:09
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/183496
The shortlink copeid
At least 250 Agent Orange drums buried at USFK base: veteran
LOS ANGELES, May 20 (Yonhap) -- A retired American soldier on Friday pinpointed a heliport inside his former military camp in South Korea as the site where large amounts of leftover toxic chemical Agent Orange were illegally buried in the 1970s.
Steve House, along with two other veterans, appeared on a U.S. TV program earlier this week, accusing the U.S. military of burying at least 250 drums of the toxic chemical near a heliport inside Camp Carroll in 1978.
In an interview with Yonhap by e-mail and telephone, House said about 250 200-liter drums were buried in the firs two weeks and then 30 to 40 drums at a time several times later until fall.
House earlier had said the dumping started around April.
Camp Carroll is located at Chilgok, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
Six soldiers who took part in the dumping weren't initially notified that the drums contained defoliant, according to House.
Agent Orange, a powerful toxic herbicide which was widely used in the Vietnam War, is suspected of causing serious health problems, including cancer and genetic damage in some persons exposed to it and birth defects in their offspring.
Earlier this week, South Korea's Environment Ministry launched a probe into the alleged illegal dumping of the chemical and demanded the U.S. military verify the report.
The U.S. Eighth Army in South Korea said it was investigating the case. Some 28,500 American service members are currently stationed in the country, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Steve House, along with two other veterans, appeared on a U.S. TV program earlier this week, accusing the U.S. military of burying at least 250 drums of the toxic chemical near a heliport inside Camp Carroll in 1978.
In an interview with Yonhap by e-mail and telephone, House said about 250 200-liter drums were buried in the firs two weeks and then 30 to 40 drums at a time several times later until fall.
House earlier had said the dumping started around April.
Camp Carroll is located at Chilgok, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
Six soldiers who took part in the dumping weren't initially notified that the drums contained defoliant, according to House.
Agent Orange, a powerful toxic herbicide which was widely used in the Vietnam War, is suspected of causing serious health problems, including cancer and genetic damage in some persons exposed to it and birth defects in their offspring.
Earlier this week, South Korea's Environment Ministry launched a probe into the alleged illegal dumping of the chemical and demanded the U.S. military verify the report.
The U.S. Eighth Army in South Korea said it was investigating the case. Some 28,500 American service members are currently stationed in the country, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War.
