Six hectares of land at Bien Hoa Airbase cleared of dioxin contamination

On September 15, a ceremony was held at Bien Hoa Airbase (Dong Nai province) to hand over dioxin-remediated land, launch the construction of a thermal treatment system under the Dioxin Remediation at Bien Hoa Airbase Area Project, and sign an agreement on additional non-refundable ODA funding for the Project to Support Improved Quality of Life for Persons with Disabilities in priority provinces.

Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, member of the Party Central Committee, and Deputy Defense Minister, delivers remarks at the event. Photo by Cong Nghia

Attending the ceremony were Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, member of the Party Central Committee, member of the Central Military Commission, Deputy Minister of National Defense, and Head of the Standing Body of Steering Committee 701; Marc Evans Knapper, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam; Nguyen Thi Hoang, member of the Dong Nai Provincial Party Committee and Vice Chairwoman of the Dong Nai People's Committee; along with representatives from several ministries and local departments.

Speaking at the ceremony, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien emphasized that: the Dioxin Remediation at Bien Hoa Airbase Area Project is one of the most critically important initiatives, demonstrating effective cooperation between Vietnam and the United States in overcoming the consequences of chemical agents/dioxin left from the war.

The project is also a concrete action to realize the commitments of the two countries’ senior leaders in the 2023 Joint Statement, which elevated Vietnam–US relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for peace and sustainable development.

Nguyen Thi Hoang, Member of the Dong Nai Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairwoman of the Dong Nai People’s Committee, attends the ceremony. Photo by Cong Nghia

At the ceremony, representatives of the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam handed over certificates to the Vietnamese side for approximately six hectares of dioxin-remediated land at Bien Hoa Airbase. This accomplishment marks the result of six years of implementation (since 2019) of the joint Vietnam–US Dioxin Remediation at Bien Hoa Airbase Area Project. The remediated area represents nearly half of the total dioxin-contaminated land inside the airbase and in adjacent regions that have now reached safety standards.

This cleared land will be handed over to the Air Defense–Air Force and local authorities for use in socio-economic development and national defense and security tasks.

U.S. Ambassador Marc Evans Knapper expresses his delight with the effective cooperation between the two countries in addressing dioxin contamination at Bien Hoa Airbase. Photo by Cong Nghia

A representative of the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam presents a certificate to Vietnam confirming that about six hectares of land at Bien Hoa Air Base had been cleaned of dioxin. Photo by Cong Nghia

As part of the event, US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Evans Knapper and Major General Nguyen Dinh Hien, Commander of the Chemical Corps under the Ministry of National Defence and Director General of the National Action Center for Toxic Chemicals and Environmental Treatment (NACCET), signed an agreement to add US$32 million in non-refundable ODA from the United States to expand further the project supporting improved quality of life for people with disabilities in provinces heavily sprayed with Agent Orange/dioxin.

This initiative builds on the successes of the ongoing project to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities in provinces heavily sprayed with Agent Orange/dioxin, which has been carried out since 2021 in six localities: Quang Tri, Thua Thien–Hue, Da Nang, Gia Lai, Quang Ngai, and Dong Nai. The project is expected to be further expanded to two additional provinces, Ca Mau and Quang Ngai, in the near future.

Marc Evans Knapper, US Ambassador to Vietnam, and Major General Nguyen Dinh Hien, Commander of the Chemical Corps under the Ministry of National Defence, signed an agreement to add US$32 million in non-refundable ODA from the United States to expand further the project supporting improved quality of life for people with disabilities in provinces heavily sprayed with Agent Orange/dioxin. Photo by Cong Nghia

After three years of implementation in six provinces and cities, the program has provided support to more than 32,000 people with disabilities, victims of Agent Orange/dioxin, achieving over 60 percent of its set targets. It has contributed to national goals on health care, medical assistance, and employment for Agent Orange/dioxin victims.

At the event, delegates broke ground on the construction and installation of a thermal treatment system for dioxin remediation. This initiative is the largest component of the joint Vietnam–US project to clean up dioxin at Bien Hoa Air Base and is expected to begin operation in 2026. The adoption of thermal treatment technology is expected to accelerate the remediation of dioxin-contaminated soil at Bien Hoa Air Base, with the goal of completing the project before 2030 as planned.

Delegates take part in the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction and installation of the thermal treatment system for dioxin remediation. Photo by Cong Nghia

Delegates view photos illustrating the dioxin remediation process at Bien Hoa Air Base.

By Cong Nghia – Translated by Thu Hien, Minho