ID :
183192
Thu, 05/19/2011 - 17:31
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/183192
The shortlink copeid
U.S. asked to verify alleged burial of Agent Orange in S. Korea
(ATTN: UPDATES with response from civic group in last 2 paras)
SEOUL (Yonhap) - South Korea's Environment Ministry said Thursday it plans to demand the United States verify a news report that the U.S. military buried leftover Agent Orange, a defoliant widely used during the Vietnam War, at one of its camps here.
A U.S. terrestrial TV station reported this week, citing three veterans, that U.S. Forces Korea buried the highly toxic substance at Camp Carroll in Chilgok, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in 1978.
The report by Phoenix, Arizona-based KPHO CBS 5 News didn't specify the amount of Agent Orange that was reportedly dumped at Camp Carroll, but one of the former USFK soldiers insisted that there were "approximately 250 drums" of the defoliant in storage at that time.
"We will raise the issue regarding the claims of the former USFK soldiers at an environment committee under the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA)," said an official at the Environment Ministry.
The committee meeting was set for later in the day and the ministry also plans to ask the U.S. side to jointly investigate the claims, the official said on the condition of anonymity.
The SOFA, signed in 1967 between South Korea and the U.S., governs the legal status of U.S. soldiers, their staff and families stationed here. Some 28,500 American service members are in the country, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Lt. Col. Jeffrey Buczkowski, a spokesman for the U.S. Eighth Army that has Camp Carroll under its command, said USFK is verifying the report.
"To date we have initiated a review of historical data to see if we can substantiate the allegations," Buczkowski said. "In addition, we are assessing what other actions we need to take by consulting our environmental experts so we can deliberately address this matter."
American forces used Agent Orange to destroy forest cover during the Vietnam War, which ended in 1975. The defoliant was contaminated by dioxin.
Years after the Vietnam War, the U.S. military also admitted to using Agent Orange around the demilitarized zone that separates the two Koreas.
According to the report, Spc. Steve House, one of the three interviewed USFK soldiers stationed at Camp Carroll in 1978, received orders to dig a ditch nearly the length of a city block.
"They just told us it was going to be used for disposal," House was quoted as saying.
Robert Travis, another former USFK soldier, said, "There was approximately 250 drums. ... On the barrels it said 'chemicals type Agent Orange.' It had a stripe around the barrel dated 1967 for the Republic of Vietnam."
Green Korea United, an environmental civic organization, called for the Korean government to conduct immediate and detailed inspections of reportedly polluted areas.
"If U.S. Forces Korea buried the toxic substances in 1978, there is a high possibility that they might have polluted soil as well as underground water. The government should set up a civilian-government task force to probe into the case in a bid to ease people's anxiety," it said in a statement.
SEOUL (Yonhap) - South Korea's Environment Ministry said Thursday it plans to demand the United States verify a news report that the U.S. military buried leftover Agent Orange, a defoliant widely used during the Vietnam War, at one of its camps here.
A U.S. terrestrial TV station reported this week, citing three veterans, that U.S. Forces Korea buried the highly toxic substance at Camp Carroll in Chilgok, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in 1978.
The report by Phoenix, Arizona-based KPHO CBS 5 News didn't specify the amount of Agent Orange that was reportedly dumped at Camp Carroll, but one of the former USFK soldiers insisted that there were "approximately 250 drums" of the defoliant in storage at that time.
"We will raise the issue regarding the claims of the former USFK soldiers at an environment committee under the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA)," said an official at the Environment Ministry.
The committee meeting was set for later in the day and the ministry also plans to ask the U.S. side to jointly investigate the claims, the official said on the condition of anonymity.
The SOFA, signed in 1967 between South Korea and the U.S., governs the legal status of U.S. soldiers, their staff and families stationed here. Some 28,500 American service members are in the country, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Lt. Col. Jeffrey Buczkowski, a spokesman for the U.S. Eighth Army that has Camp Carroll under its command, said USFK is verifying the report.
"To date we have initiated a review of historical data to see if we can substantiate the allegations," Buczkowski said. "In addition, we are assessing what other actions we need to take by consulting our environmental experts so we can deliberately address this matter."
American forces used Agent Orange to destroy forest cover during the Vietnam War, which ended in 1975. The defoliant was contaminated by dioxin.
Years after the Vietnam War, the U.S. military also admitted to using Agent Orange around the demilitarized zone that separates the two Koreas.
According to the report, Spc. Steve House, one of the three interviewed USFK soldiers stationed at Camp Carroll in 1978, received orders to dig a ditch nearly the length of a city block.
"They just told us it was going to be used for disposal," House was quoted as saying.
Robert Travis, another former USFK soldier, said, "There was approximately 250 drums. ... On the barrels it said 'chemicals type Agent Orange.' It had a stripe around the barrel dated 1967 for the Republic of Vietnam."
Green Korea United, an environmental civic organization, called for the Korean government to conduct immediate and detailed inspections of reportedly polluted areas.
"If U.S. Forces Korea buried the toxic substances in 1978, there is a high possibility that they might have polluted soil as well as underground water. The government should set up a civilian-government task force to probe into the case in a bid to ease people's anxiety," it said in a statement.
