United States Forces Korea is acting promptly to establish facts following claims by American veterans that Agent Orange was buried at a U.S. Army camp in southern Korea. The U.S. command has issued press statements almost on a daily basis since the disclosure through a U.S. cable network last week and the Korean and U.S. authorities conducted a preliminary on-site investigation at Camp Carroll in Chilgok.
USFK Commander Gen. Walter Sharp ordered a swift and transparent investigation into the illegal disposal of toxic material on Korean soil including the sampling of underground water for contamination. The Eighth U.S. Army reported that a 1992 study by military engineers confirmed the burial in 1978 of “a large number of drums containing chemicals, pesticides, herbicides and solvents” inside the compound and the drilling of test holes in 2004 found “trace amounts” of Agent Orange.
These findings were delivered to Korean officials during their visits to the U.S. Army camp on Saturday and Monday. A statement by Eighth Army Commanding General John D. Johnson revealed that toxic chemicals and 40-60 tons of soil were removed from the site in 1979 and 1980. This means that the Agent Orange disposal here was a documented fact known to U.S. authorities.
The U.S. military authorities’ speedy notification of Korean officials about the outcome of their initial investigation was commendable. But the information led to some serious questions as to why the U.S. authorities had not immediately shared the results of the 1992 study and the 2004 survey with Korean officials. Also unclear was how much of the buried Agent Orange was excavated and where the unearthed chemicals and apparently contaminated earth was moved.
The war in Vietnam ended in 1975 and surplus Agent Orange used in clearing Vietnamese jungles was known to have been incinerated on remote Pacific islands. If the claims by the U.S. veterans are true, the 250 55-gallon drums of the toxic chemical were brought to Camp Carroll three years after the end of the war in the Southeast Asian country. Now we wonder if these materials passed through other locations before being dumped in Korea, and if there were other places in Korea that were chosen for their disposal.
Korea dispatched two Army infantry divisions and a Marine brigade to Vietnam to help the United States as its military ally and suffered 3,000 men killed and 8,000 wounded in the war. Using the alliance for secret disposal of toxic leftover war materials is unimaginable. If there was any clandestine communication with the Seoul government at that time, it should be disclosed.
We do not doubt the sincerity of the present U.S. government and military authorities in addressing the issue after three decades. The first practical step we may recommend is to bring the three American veterans quickly to Camp Carroll and let them point out the exact location of the burial site to facilitate speedy excavation.
When the existence of the Agent Orange drums has been confirmed, extensive surveys should be conducted jointly by Korean and U.S. authorities inside and outside of the U.S. military compound to determine earth and water contamination and its effect on the residents. The U.S. authorities are requested to prove with convincing data that there was no similar concealing of toxic materials at other U.S. military facilities in Korea. All these efforts are needed to strengthen the alliance of the two countries at a time when major transformation is about to take place in the physical presence and the strategic role of the U.S. forces in Korea.
