Second Joint Advisory Committee on Agent Orange and Dioxin

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 001476 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS, EAP/EP, EAP/RSP, EAP/PD, OES/PCI STATE PASS TO USAID FOR ANE, G/ENV STATE PASS TO EPA/OIA (DENNIS CUNNINGHAM AND MARK KASMAN) STATE PASS TO EPA/ORD (KEVIN TEICHMAN) STATE PASS TO OGHA/HHS (STIEGER/VALDEZ/HICKEY) CDC FOR OGHA (BLOUT/MCCALL) AND NCEH (THOMAS SINKS) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE (THOMAS SHUBERT AND WILLIAM VAN HOUTEN) HHS PASS TO FIC/NIH (GLASS) AND NIEHS/NIH (DAVID SCHWARTZ) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL SENV TBIO KPAO VM SUBJECT: Second Joint Advisory Committee on Agent Orange and Dioxin REF: HANOI 1235 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. The second U.S.-Vietnam Joint Advisory Committee (JAC) on the health and environmental effects of Agent Orange (AO) and dioxin reviewed the significant cooperation on environmental and health issues between the two sides since the first JAC in 2006, particularly related to the ongoing remediation of dioxin "hot spots" at the former U.S. air base in Danang. JAC members discussed a detailed list of possible U.S. technical assistance to the Government of Vietnam (GVN) on dioxin-related issues. U.S. JAC members emphasized the need for credible, science-based analysis of dioxin-related issues and urged their GVN counterparts to focus on possible dioxin-related health effects as part of broader public health sector interventions. Differing from earlier, acrimonious exchanges between the two countries on this issue, the two delegations built a positive and cooperative atmosphere for possible future joint technical discussions and actions. Subsequently, the JAC members conducted a site visit of the Danang airport hotspot and discussed environmental activities in the area. End Summary. Second JAC -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The second meeting of the U.S.-Vietnam Joint Advisory Committee (JAC) met in Hanoi on August 14-15. The JAC is a body created under a 2002 cooperative agreement, but the first meeting was held last June. It is designed to be a forum for members to discuss the scientific aspects of the dioxin issue with the goal of providing policy makers of the two governments with sound, science-based advice. U.S. members came from EPA, CDC, HHS, DOD (as represented by the DATT) and State (as represented by ESTH). Vietnamese participants came from the coordinating body (Office 33) based in the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, the MOD, the MFA and a number of scientific institutions. (Note: See reftel. for details on the history of the JAC and earlier cooperative efforts.) 
U.S. Members Advocate Sound Science -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Dr. Kevin Teichman, Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Science at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the head of the U.S. delegation, underscored in his introductory remarks that the JAC is not a policy-making body. He defined the JAC's primary roles for this meeting as providing scientific advice on the remediation of dioxin contaminated sites in Vietnam and on health programs in communities near these sites, with the goal of supplying the best available scientific information and recommendations to inform governmental decisions on these topics. The U.S. delegation urged the GVN to consider ways to reduce and prevent exposures and advocated focusing available resources on improving public health, such as adapting prevention strategies to promote healthy birth outcomes by improving nutrition and reducing exposures to pollution sources, including viral and chemical exposures. GVN Agrees on Science; Still Focused on Dioxin Exposure -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Dr. Le Ke Son, head of the Vietnamese delegation, and the Director General of GVN office responsible for Agent Orange and dioxin issues (Office 33),emphasized the importance the GVN places on the JAC and stated that the GVN participants will brief the Prime Minister on its progress. The Vietnamese delegation agreed on the need for strong science to back up environmental remediation projects. However, while the Vietnamese delegation acknowledged the importance of broad-based health care interventions, the GVN continued to emphasize the need to respond to diseases and handicaps they believe are specific to dioxin exposure. Significant Progress -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The JAC detailed significant progress over the past year on environmental and health cooperation. In particular, the U.S.-supported environmental analysis at the Danang airfield formed the basis for successful GVN efforts to attract internal funding for HANOI 00001476 002 OF 002 remediation efforts and to coordinate international assistance with groups such as the Ford Foundation. Dr. Son expressed his strong satisfaction with environmental progress, but advocated for greater cooperation (read: U.S. assistance) on health issues. Potential Future Cooperation -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The JAC proposed a number of environmental, health, and capacity building measures for the next year and suggested a subsequent meeting in 2008 to again review progress. Both delegations noted that the development and implementation of scientifically robust plans would allow Vietnam to attract resources from additional sources. The proposed environmental projects reflect the continued GVN desire to focus on remediation at Danang, which the GVN could then use as a model for future remediation efforts. The JAC urged health cooperation to reduce dioxin exposure, while sharing scientific information on how to conduct more general tracking of birth defects using an international classification system. The JAC also expressed its willingness to provide science-based advice to policy makers to determine how to best implement programs funded by the USD 3 million recently appropriated by the U.S. Congress to support environmental remediation and associated health activities to affected communities, as well as funding from the broader donor community (which to date has included the Ford Foundation and UNDP, and likely soon will include UNICEF, Atlantic Philanthropies and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.) Danang Visit -------------- ¶7. (SBU) At the conclusion of the JAC working meeting, the JAC members conducted a site visit of the Danang airport hotspot and discussed environmental activities. Senior Colonel Nguyen Tu Binh, commander of the Danang Airport management board, who had received Ambassador Marine for a site visit on July 17, greeted the U.S. delegation. The U.S. delegation visited the former mixing and loading area, former storage site, Sen Lake (which receives runoff from the mixing and loading areas) and a second sub-hotspot area along the southern area of the airport recently identified during a June DOD technical workshop. Despite the GVN's assurances to the contrary, the group witnessed human habitation along the lake and within the boundaries of the airport facility. Comment -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The JAC provides an excellent opportunity to further "normalize" the agent orange and dioxin issue as one of many areas of environmental and health cooperation between the United States and Vietnam, as opposed to a continuing obstacle to further development of ties between the two nations. The JAC focuses attention on technical cooperation geared towards forward-looking environmental solutions and science-based consideration of possible health impacts of Agent Orange and dioxin, instead of emotional Vietnamese claims of U.S. moral and financial responsibility for a broad universe of "agent orange victims." Participants of both the 2006 and 2007 JAC sessions unanimously commented on the much-reduced level of rhetoric and the friendly atmosphere created during this year's session. U.S. participants are finalizing the minutes of the meeting, and will - as promised - make policy recommendations with regard to future cooperation with the Vietnam. ALOISI