Twenty four out of a total of 62 people who have recently been diagnosed as infected with Agent Orange/Dioxin following a test by Hatfield will be taken to Hanoi next week to be detoxicated of the chemicals.

The process will start on September 5.

Six years ago, the Canada-based Hatfield Consultants Company – a global leader in the field of Agent Orange contamination due to the spraying of herbicide in Vietnam – took random blood samples from locals who lived around Da Nang Airport and used water taken from area wells.

62 of those tested were confirmed to be infected with the toxic chemical, but the news has only recently been publicly announced. It has shocked people living around the airport, which is identified as one of the three dioxin hot spots in Vietnam, including Bien Hoa Airport in southern Dong Nai Province and Phu Cat Airport in central Binh Dinh Province.

Mr. Ta Bay, chairman of the Red Cross Association and the Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin of Chinh Gian Ward in Da Nang’s Thanh Khe District, said researchers took blood samples of 156 people in his locality, and 28 of them have been confirmed to be infected with dioxin.

Chinh Gian is one of many areas in Da Nang that have been contaminated by dioxin drifting out from storage warehouses at the airport via rain water runoff and the outdated sewage system.

Authorities have since assigned government workers to talk with locals and explain what is going on and help them keep their composure.

Four members of the family of Ms. NTN are infected with the toxin. Her husband died from cancer in 2008, two years after being tested.

“On days when it floods dark, contaminated water from lakes on the airport’s ground flows into my land that is used for vegetable cultivation. After the floodwater dries up, the leaves from the plants fall off. The stems were still processed for food, and they are crispy,” Ms. N recalled.

Many families living around the airport have had members die from cancer or other dangerous or undiagnosed diseases.

Mr. VD, a local from Chinh Gian who was confirmed to be infected with dioxin in the middle of this month, said, “Members of my family were shocked to learn that my wife and I have been affected by the chemical. It’s unbelievable. Altogether I have 18 relatives who have tested positive for dioxin.”

“Locals here are worried and they want to have their children tested,” VD added.

A man is collecting bulbs of lotus planted in lake Xuan Hoa A in Da Nang, where was warned of possibly being infected with Agent Orange/dioxin (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

Detoxification with Hubbard method

Ph.D. Hoang Manh An, director of the 103 Hospital which will receive the Da Nang dioxin victims and perform detoxification, said, “The report by Hatfield shows that some victims have a very high concentration of dioxin in their blood. Some others are not at an alarming level, but their family members show clear signs of being exposed to dioxin.”

By using the Hubbard method, the victims will be detoxified through the physical process of perspiration, digestion and urinary excretion, An said.

According to the treatment plan, victims will be prescribed high content vitamins in the early morning and told to exercise strenuously for half an hour to excrete sweat; the more sweat the better.

Later, they will be taken to a sauna to perspire profusely, and the toxic chemicals will leave the body.

The 24 people selected to try this method first are those who have the highest dioxin content in their blood.

Results from this first set will be recorded so that lessons can be learned and applied later to mass treatment.

“This Hubbard method has been applied in many countries for detoxication and treatment of several diseases. But Vietnam is the first nation in the world to apply it to dioxin,” An confirmed.

The trial in Vietnam is aimed at not only detoxification or lowering the content of dioxin in victims, but also recording a persuasive scientific base regarding the consequences of Agent Orange/dioxin use in Vietnam almost 40 years after the war.

The results will be evidence for Vietnam to use in the fight to protect the rights of dioxin victims, according to experts.