PRESS RELEASE

United States and Vietnam Hold Second Joint Advisory Committee Meeting
on Agent Orange/Dioxin

August 17, 2007

On August 14-15, scientists from the United States and Vietnam participated in the second meeting of the Joint Advisory Committee (JAC) on Agent Orange and dioxin.  The U.S. Embassy hosted the two-day meeting in Hanoi and the Government of Vietnam arranged for U.S. members of the JAC to visit the Danang Airport to review environmental remediation efforts at the site.  Leaders of both delegations highlighted the substantial progress made by the parties on environmental and health issues and noted the open, frank, and collegial tone of the meeting.

During the meeting, the participants reviewed several notable cooperative efforts over the past year, including U.S. technical and remediation planning, the exchange of historical information regarding Agent Orange, and support for technical exchanges and workshops.  To date, the United States Government has provided approximately USD 2 million to build scientific capacity to analyze and characterize soil contamination in Danang, including USD 400,000 in technical assistance for remediation planning at the Danang airport.  The parties proposed additional cooperative efforts on environmental remediation, along with interventions to improve health care for persons living near areas of dioxin contamination.