Dioxin removal project to begin in Danang

(Bqp.vn) - The first phase of a project to treat dioxin contamination in Danang Airport is scheduled to commence in April, project management authorities have revealed.

Treating dioxin-contaminated areas in the Danang Airport. (Photo: VOV)

In the first phase, the project will incinerate 45,000m3 of contaminated soil and sediment. To prepare for this work, an In-Pile Thermal Desorption (IPTD) system has been installed, along with 1,254 heat transfer machines and other remediation structures.

The excavation of soil for treatment in the second phase will also take place this year.

According to the Air Defence-Air Force Service under the Ministry of Defence, the project is on the right track and completion is expected by 2016.

Joakim Parker-director of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the project’s sponsor-attributed the progress to the effective co-operation between the agency and the Vietnamese side, especially the Air Defence-Air Force Service and the local government in Danang.

The central city of Danang is one of three hotspots of dioxin pollution in Vietnam, with nearly 73,000m3 of contaminated soil.

Approved by the prime minister and the Ministry of Defence in 2011, the project is expected to clean the entire area polluted by dioxin and prevent it from spreading into the environment and water sources.