ID :
185956
Wed, 06/01/2011 - 18:34
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/185956
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea, US to probe US base over alleged burial of toxic chemical
(ATTN: RECASTS throughout with launch of joint probe on Thursday; TRIMS)
SEOUL (Yonhap) - South Korea and the United States will launch an investigation into a U.S. military base over the alleged burial of toxic chemicals decades ago, an official said Wednesday.
The move comes weeks after three U.S. veterans, appearing on a U.S. television station, claimed that they and other American soldiers were ordered to dump at least 240 drums of Agent Orange at their camp in southern South Korea in 1978.
Last week, the U.S. military in South Korea confirmed that a large amount of chemicals were buried at the U.S. base in 1978, but they had been moved to outside the base during the following two years.
Still, local officials and residents also said Wednesday the U.S. military is suspected of having buried hazardous military waste at Camp Carroll in Chilgok, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, for nearly three decades until 1987.
The allegation prompted the U.S. military to agree with South Korea to conduct a joint on-site investigation at Camp Carroll, an engineering logistics center for the some 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea.
The joint investigation team will begin the on-site probe Thursday near a heliport and other areas inside the camp, Yook Dong-han, an official at the prime minister's office said after a meeting with U.S. military officials.
The team will use ground-penetrating radar (GPR) devices to test a heliport and other suspicious areas to determine whether any toxic materials were buried there and examine water quality of water sources used at the base.
The two sides will also conduct tests for soil after the GPR tests if any poisonous substances are suspected to be buried in a certain area.
Agent Orange, the toxic defoliant widely used during the Vietnam War, was sprayed by the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) in the 1960s around the Demilitarized Zone to thwart North Korean infiltrations.
Also Wednesday, Minister of Environment Yoo Young-sook promised that she will ask the USFK to make public the results of the Seoul-Washington joint probe during her trip to Chilgok.
"I will demand USFK disclose the probe result in a transparent way and do my best to solve the problems that you are concerned about," said Yoo at a meeting with local residents who voiced their anxiety and concern.
SEOUL (Yonhap) - South Korea and the United States will launch an investigation into a U.S. military base over the alleged burial of toxic chemicals decades ago, an official said Wednesday.
The move comes weeks after three U.S. veterans, appearing on a U.S. television station, claimed that they and other American soldiers were ordered to dump at least 240 drums of Agent Orange at their camp in southern South Korea in 1978.
Last week, the U.S. military in South Korea confirmed that a large amount of chemicals were buried at the U.S. base in 1978, but they had been moved to outside the base during the following two years.
Still, local officials and residents also said Wednesday the U.S. military is suspected of having buried hazardous military waste at Camp Carroll in Chilgok, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, for nearly three decades until 1987.
The allegation prompted the U.S. military to agree with South Korea to conduct a joint on-site investigation at Camp Carroll, an engineering logistics center for the some 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea.
The joint investigation team will begin the on-site probe Thursday near a heliport and other areas inside the camp, Yook Dong-han, an official at the prime minister's office said after a meeting with U.S. military officials.
The team will use ground-penetrating radar (GPR) devices to test a heliport and other suspicious areas to determine whether any toxic materials were buried there and examine water quality of water sources used at the base.
The two sides will also conduct tests for soil after the GPR tests if any poisonous substances are suspected to be buried in a certain area.
Agent Orange, the toxic defoliant widely used during the Vietnam War, was sprayed by the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) in the 1960s around the Demilitarized Zone to thwart North Korean infiltrations.
Also Wednesday, Minister of Environment Yoo Young-sook promised that she will ask the USFK to make public the results of the Seoul-Washington joint probe during her trip to Chilgok.
"I will demand USFK disclose the probe result in a transparent way and do my best to solve the problems that you are concerned about," said Yoo at a meeting with local residents who voiced their anxiety and concern.
