ID :
184793
Fri, 05/27/2011 - 06:45
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/184793
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea, U.S. to collect groundwater samples in Agent Orange probe
(ATTN: ADDS news report potentially denying the allegations of Agent Orange burial in last three paras)
SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korean and U.S. officials on Friday geared up to collect groundwater samples near a U.S. army base in the South, widening their probe into the alleged burial of the toxic defoliant Agent Orange by American troops about three decades ago.
The investigation began after former U.S. soldiers told a U.S. television station early this month that they buried large amounts of the dangerous chemical in 1978 at a heliport inside Camp Carroll in Chilgok, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
Experts from the South's Environment Ministry plan to begin taking groundwater samples at 10 locations outside the base from 2 p.m. in the presence of U.S. officials, ministry officials said.
"The groundwater samples will be analyzed by several environmental laboratories," a ministry official said. "It is expected to take more than two weeks for the analysis to produce results."
From next week, South Korea and the U.S. will jointly start monitoring sites at Camp Carroll, according to the official.
Lt. Gen. John D. Johnson, commander of the 8th U.S. Army and lead investigator into the allegations, said Thursday that ground-penetrating radar devices will be mobilized next week to identify substances buried at Camp Carroll.
"If we get evidence that there is a risk to health, we are going to fix it," Johnson told a local radio station.
Early this week, U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said a 1992 study showed a "large amount" of pesticides, herbicides and solvents were buried at Camp Carroll in 1978, but were removed and taken to an unknown site during the following two years.
The USFK also said its review of records found "trace amounts" of dioxin in a 2004 test at the site, but the findings do not "directly" indicate that Agent Orange was buried there.
Agent Orange, a defoliant widely used in the Vietnam War, is suspected of causing serious health problems, including cancer and genetic damage, among some people, as well as birth defects in their children. The defoliant was contaminated by dioxin, a highly toxic substance.
Meanwhile, a retired American soldier who collected samples from barrels of chemicals dug up at Camp Carroll in 1979 told a U.S. military newspaper that he is aware of no evidence that Agent Orange was buried there a year earlier.
According to a report by The Stars and Stripes on Friday, retired Sgt. 1st Class John Sipkens said none of the drums he saw had standard markings for Agent Orange, and no one he has spoken to regarding the testing ever mentioned the chemical.
"I don't think they were trying to hide anything from the Korean government," Sipkens was quoted as saying. "I think they were just trying to clean out the warehouse and make it disappear."
(END)
SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korean and U.S. officials on Friday geared up to collect groundwater samples near a U.S. army base in the South, widening their probe into the alleged burial of the toxic defoliant Agent Orange by American troops about three decades ago.
The investigation began after former U.S. soldiers told a U.S. television station early this month that they buried large amounts of the dangerous chemical in 1978 at a heliport inside Camp Carroll in Chilgok, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
Experts from the South's Environment Ministry plan to begin taking groundwater samples at 10 locations outside the base from 2 p.m. in the presence of U.S. officials, ministry officials said.
"The groundwater samples will be analyzed by several environmental laboratories," a ministry official said. "It is expected to take more than two weeks for the analysis to produce results."
From next week, South Korea and the U.S. will jointly start monitoring sites at Camp Carroll, according to the official.
Lt. Gen. John D. Johnson, commander of the 8th U.S. Army and lead investigator into the allegations, said Thursday that ground-penetrating radar devices will be mobilized next week to identify substances buried at Camp Carroll.
"If we get evidence that there is a risk to health, we are going to fix it," Johnson told a local radio station.
Early this week, U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said a 1992 study showed a "large amount" of pesticides, herbicides and solvents were buried at Camp Carroll in 1978, but were removed and taken to an unknown site during the following two years.
The USFK also said its review of records found "trace amounts" of dioxin in a 2004 test at the site, but the findings do not "directly" indicate that Agent Orange was buried there.
Agent Orange, a defoliant widely used in the Vietnam War, is suspected of causing serious health problems, including cancer and genetic damage, among some people, as well as birth defects in their children. The defoliant was contaminated by dioxin, a highly toxic substance.
Meanwhile, a retired American soldier who collected samples from barrels of chemicals dug up at Camp Carroll in 1979 told a U.S. military newspaper that he is aware of no evidence that Agent Orange was buried there a year earlier.
According to a report by The Stars and Stripes on Friday, retired Sgt. 1st Class John Sipkens said none of the drums he saw had standard markings for Agent Orange, and no one he has spoken to regarding the testing ever mentioned the chemical.
"I don't think they were trying to hide anything from the Korean government," Sipkens was quoted as saying. "I think they were just trying to clean out the warehouse and make it disappear."
(END)
