Brussels (VNA) – A Belgian environmental technology firm has expressed its readiness to bring its advanced decontamination solutions to Vietnam, helping handle the Agent Orange (AO) wound that has lingered half a century after the war’s end.
Haemers Technologies, with over three decades of experience in soil decontamination, successfully tested its thermal cleaning technology on Vietnamese soil contaminated with dioxin, the deadly component of AO that has persisted in the environment for years.
Its technology works by heating contaminated soil to release toxic compounds in vapour form, which are then collected and incinerated at 1,200 degrees Celsius to destroy the dioxin.
Haemers Technologies is the only company that has completely cleaned the soil and thoroughly eliminated dioxin, declared CEO of the firm Jan Haemers, following a successful pilot project at a former air base in Vietnam.
During the war in Vietnam, the US military sprayed nearly 80 million litres of toxic chemicals containing 366kg of dioxin across a quarter of southern Vietnam, destroying ecosystems and causing many species of animals and plants to disappear, according to the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange.
As many as 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to the toxins, and more than 3 million were victims. Many died, and others are still struggling with serious diseases, according to the association.
While the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided some funding for cleanup efforts, the scale of the disaster remains overwhelming as some 3 million hectares of land, equivalent to the entire area of Belgium, remain heavily contaminated. This has presented formidable technological and financial challenges.
Aquitara, a Belgian investment fund, appears ready to bridge the financial gap. According to Haemers, the fund has mobilised sufficient capital to launch the project in Vietnam and is waiting for approval from the Vietnamese Government.
The Belgian interest extends beyond corporate initiatives. In 2023, the Belgian Parliament became the first legislative body worldwide to unanimously adopt a resolution supporting AO victims in Vietnam. During a recent state visit to Vietnam, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium met with AO victims in Hanoi, demonstrating Belgium's commitment to helping Vietnam overcome this wartime legacy./.
VNA
