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THAIS PROTEST AT U.S. EMBASSY

Associated Press

BANGKOK, Thailand, 14 July 1999 - More than 100 Thai environmentalists gathered at the U.S. embassy today to demand that the United States take responsibility for cleaning up some oxic Vietnam-War chemical defoliants recently discovered at a provincial airport. They presented an embassy official with two sacks of dirt which they said was contaminated soil. Drums of buried chemicals were found by workers expanding a runway at a provincial airport, near the seaside resort Of Hua Hin. The workers renovating the runway fell ill, and fears arose that the chemical might be Agent Orange dumped by U.S. military units who were stationed there in the 1960s and 70s.

Tests by U.S. and Thai agencies confirmed that the chemical was old, degraded Agent Orange, a defoliant sprayed from U.S. warplanes on Vietnam's dense jungles during the Vietnam War. Thailand was a key U.S. ally during the conflict. The United States admitted to testing Agent Orange and other defoliants in Thailand with the knowledge and consent of the Thai military government. According to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report submitted to the Thai government last month, soil contaminated by the chemicals showed residues of dioxin, a highly toxic substance that can cause cancer and birth defects in humans. Agent Orange contains dioxins.

In their letter given to the U.S. Embassy today, Thai environmentalists asked the U.S. government to take the chemicals and contaminated soil to the United States for treatment and disposal and to pay all costs associated with a cleanup of the site.

Penchom Tang, a coordinator for 22 local environmental concern groups, told the Associated Press that the U.S. government should show its spirit in solving the problem.

"The defoliant without any doubt belongs to the U.S. government. No matter what the results of the tests are saying the defoliant is too old and too degraded to pose a threat to anyone, it still is the responsible of the U.S. government," she said.

The groups also asked the U.S. government to disclose all information about tests of dangerous chemicals in Thailand during the Vietnam War and to join Thai experts in conducting a study to find out the effects of such chemicals on the Thai people.

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