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Cleaning up dioxin-contaminated soil at Bien Hoa air base (Photo: USAID) |
Under the contract, the US firm Tetra Tech continues the cleanup of dioxin-contaminated soil in and around the Bien Hoa air base in the southern province of Dong Nai, according to a media release by the US Embassy in Vietnam.
Tetra Tech will provide engineering design, construction management, and environmental monitoring of civil works and treatment activities for dioxin-contaminated soil and sediment to reduce the risk of exposure to people there as well as in the bordering communities to restore the land for full use.
In March, during her visit to Vietnam, USAID Administrator Samantha Power joined other US and Vietnamese government officials to announce another contract of up to US$73 million awarded to Nelson Environmental Remediation USA to design and build a treatment facility to decontaminate soil and sediment on and around the air base.
Since April 2019, USAID has worked with the Ministry of National Defence to remediate approximately 500,000 cubic meters of dioxin-contaminated soil and sediment on and around the air base. In 2022, USAID completed the remediation of an off-base lake (Gate 2 Lake) and returned it to the community for use as a recreational area, completed the remediation of the first on-base area (Southwest area), commemorating this milestone with a US government-funded park on the site, and completed the construction of the long-term storage facility for soil with low levels of contamination.
Dioxin remediation at the Bien Hoa air base area project is expected to take 10 years to complete and cost an estimated US$450 million. To date, the US government’s contribution is US$218.255 million out of a total expected commitment of US$300 million.
This year, the US and Vietnam are celebrating the 10-year anniversary of their Comprehensive Partnership. The close cooperation over the past decades to overcome the legacies of war is yet another example of how the two countries work strategically together to create a better future for their people.
