Investigators say 'anomalies' found at U.S. base not necessarily metallic

SEOUL, July 13 (Yonhap) -- A joint South Korea-U.S. investigation team said on Wednesday "anomalies" recently discovered at a U.S. military base aren't necessarily metallic.
The clarification came on the heels of an announcement last Friday that the joint team had detected unidentified metal objects buried under a helipad at Camp Carroll in Chilgok, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul. U.S. veterans who served here decades ago claimed they had dumped containers of toxic defoliant.
In a statement, the joint team said its survey "only indicated anomalous areas under the ground."
"While these anomalies could be metallic, they could also be areas of different soil density, soil composition or water," it added. "All tests to date indicate no evidence of Agent Orange on Camp Carroll or in the adjacent communities."
Agent Orange is a toxic chemical that was widely used to clear leaves from trees and plant life during wars. The cancer-causing chemical was allegedly sprayed in the 1960s around the Demilitarized Zone to thwart North Korean infiltrations.
Last week, the team said it would begin drilling in over 40 spots under the helipad, including one where the unidentified metallic substances are buried, and take soil samples to test for pollution. The result of the soil test is due in late August, it added.
The U.S. military has conceded the burial took place but said that the waste was removed in the late 1970s and shipped out of the country.
About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
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