ID :
199045
Thu, 08/04/2011 - 05:32
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/199045
The shortlink copeid
Investigators detect no signs of pollution at former U.S. base
By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- The defense ministry said Thursday its recent investigation did not find any signs of hazardous pollution at a former U.S. military base west of Seoul, casting doubts over claims that toxic materials had been dumped there decades ago.
The ministry said a joint investigation of Camp Mercer, west of Seoul in Bucheon, yielded no signs of toxic defoliant. Only "trace amounts" of cancer-causing dioxin were found from soil samples and none was detected from groundwater samples, the ministry added.
The joint inspection team was made up of military and government officials plus civilian experts.
"We analyzed 20 soil samples from 14 spots in and around the base," the ministry said in a statement. "And none of them exceeded pollution standards that apply to military facilities."
The ministry said a miniscule amount of trichloroethylene (TCE), a solvent known to cause cancer, was detected in groundwater samples.
"In conclusion, there is insufficient scientific evidence to determine that there has been any pollution caused by burial of chemicals or defoliant," the statement said.
Following earlier allegations raised by a former U.S. soldier that large amounts of chemicals were buried at Camp Mercer between 1963 and 1964, the defense ministry launched the investigation on May 31. Inspectors also used a ground-penetrating radar to determine what materials, if any, had been buried.
Camp Mercer was turned over to South Korea in 1993 and is now used by local engineering troops.
Last month, a joint South Korea-U.S. investigation team said it had failed to detect any evidence of defoliant buried on Camp Carroll, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul. U.S. veterans who served there argued that they dumped containers of Agent Orange in the 1970s.
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.
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.
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- The defense ministry said Thursday its recent investigation did not find any signs of hazardous pollution at a former U.S. military base west of Seoul, casting doubts over claims that toxic materials had been dumped there decades ago.
The ministry said a joint investigation of Camp Mercer, west of Seoul in Bucheon, yielded no signs of toxic defoliant. Only "trace amounts" of cancer-causing dioxin were found from soil samples and none was detected from groundwater samples, the ministry added.
The joint inspection team was made up of military and government officials plus civilian experts.
"We analyzed 20 soil samples from 14 spots in and around the base," the ministry said in a statement. "And none of them exceeded pollution standards that apply to military facilities."
The ministry said a miniscule amount of trichloroethylene (TCE), a solvent known to cause cancer, was detected in groundwater samples.
"In conclusion, there is insufficient scientific evidence to determine that there has been any pollution caused by burial of chemicals or defoliant," the statement said.
Following earlier allegations raised by a former U.S. soldier that large amounts of chemicals were buried at Camp Mercer between 1963 and 1964, the defense ministry launched the investigation on May 31. Inspectors also used a ground-penetrating radar to determine what materials, if any, had been buried.
Camp Mercer was turned over to South Korea in 1993 and is now used by local engineering troops.
Last month, a joint South Korea-U.S. investigation team said it had failed to detect any evidence of defoliant buried on Camp Carroll, about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul. U.S. veterans who served there argued that they dumped containers of Agent Orange in the 1970s.
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.
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.
