Diplomats in Vietnam warned that halting USAID’s cleanup of dioxin contamination at Bien Hoa air base could turn into an environmental disaster, but Trump officials ignored the alarm.
Anna Maria Barry-Jester, Brett Murphy, and Le Van report for ProPublica.
In short:
- The Trump administration abruptly halted USAID’s cleanup of Bien Hoa air base, leaving toxic dioxin-contaminated soil exposed just before Vietnam’s rainy season, risking widespread contamination.
- State Department officials warned that stopping the project mid-way would be an environmental crisis, but Trump’s team not only paused the work — they also froze payments to contractors, delaying the cleanup further.
- The cleanup is part of a broader U.S. effort to repair relations with Vietnam over Agent Orange’s legacy, but the aid freeze put the entire operation at risk, with fears that poisoned water and food supplies could impact thousands.
Key quote:
“Halting a project like that in the middle of the work, that’s an environmental crime.”
— Jan Haemers, CEO of a remediation company that previously worked in Vietnam on Agent Orange soil cleanup
Why this matters:
Without containment, monsoon rains could push dioxin-laced soil into the region’s water and food supplies, putting hundreds of thousands at risk of exposure to the same poison that has already devastated generations of Vietnamese families with cancers, birth defects, and other chronic illnesses.
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