VietNamNet Bridge – On the morning of April 24, the local and foreign media was permitted to visit the dioxin detoxification site, which is in the first phase of operation, in the central city of Da Nang.

With the consent of the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, the United States Development Agency (USAID) and the Vietnam Air Defense Force, reporters were allowed to enter the dioxin remediation site.

After a short conversation, engineer Peter Cherevey (technical manager of the project) took nearly 20 minutes for the introduction of safety rules for journalists before they enter the site. "It's dioxin. Here, we consider the safety of workers, people living around, as well as the journalists the top priority," Cherevey said.

According to Mr. Joachim Parker - Director of USAID in Vietnam, the project is progressing extremely favorable with good coordination between the parties and it is in the construction of heat treatment oven.

After that, about 73 trillion cubic meters of soil and sludge intoxicated with dioxin will be transferred into the oven, covered by concrete and burned in the temperature of 335 degrees Celsius. Soil and sludge will be decomposes into water and smoke and go through closed pipes for dioxin detoxification before going to the environment.   

It is expected that the project will be completed by the end of 2016, when all the soil and mud is burned. The initial cost for this project is over $40 million, but at this time it is nearly $84 million of ODA and VND35 billion ($1.3 million) of reciprocal capital of Vietnam.

 

 

This is the only dioxin decontamination "oven" in Vietnam. 

 

 

The heat treatment oven. 

A team of safety guiding workers is always there. 

 

In the heat treatment site. 

 

In the heat treatment oven.

 

Workers in the oven. 

 

 

 

The dioxin-contaminated soil. 

 

 

French television journalists. 

Tien Phong