U.S. and Vietnam agree on Agent Orange study

By CNN's Kirsty Alfredson

HANOI, Vietnam -- Vietnamese and U.S. officials have agreed for the first time to study the possible effects of Agent Orange, a toxic chemical defoliant used by the American military during the Vietnam War.

The agreement comes after years of negotiations that stumbled over compensation issues.

Both American and Australian Vietnam veterans have applauded the agreement saying it is long overdue and a step in the right the direction.

U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, Pete Peterson, is quoted in the Viet Nam News as saying "the U.S. has long offered to engage in serious, joint scientific research with Vietnam to reach a well-founded understanding of the environmental and health effects of dioxin, an element in Agent Orange that has been claimed to cause health problems."

Pilot study to test soil

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The U.S. Embassy in Hanoi said in a statement the projects would focus on human health and environmental effects and screen for dioxin in soil and sediments.

It added that the two sides had agreed to hold the first Vietnam-U.S. scientific conference on Agent Orange, tentatively scheduled for April 2002 in Vietnam.

The U.S. used around 19 million gallons of Agent Orange in South Vietnam during the war to defoliate jungle and unmask the hiding places of communist troops infiltrating from the North.

Exposure has been associated with cancer, birth defects and miscarriages affecting both Vietnamese civilians and former servicemen who fought on the U.S. side.

Vietnam veterans in the U.S. say their children have suffered elevated rates of spina bifida, cancers and deformities such as cleft palates.

Similar claims have come from South Korea and Australia, both of which sent troops to fight alongside the Americans.

Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia national president, Brian McKenzie told CNN that he hoped ultimately the research would validate compensation claims by veterans.

Second generation contamination

"Around 50,000 Australian soldiers were either exposed directly to Orange Agent or through the food chain and water supply; the effects are still being felt today," he said.

"As well as soil tests, this study should also cover genetic damage to the Vietnamese people, as there's a lot of concern about second generation contamination."

The Vietnamese government says pregnant women have higher than normal rates of reproductive disorders and spontaneous abortions, and there are higher rates of infant deaths due to congenital abnormalities.

American researchers have also found Vietnamese have high dioxin levels in their blood, more than three decades after the U.S. military stopped spraying the herbicide.

Thousands of Americans, Australian, Korean, Thai, Philippine and New Zealand troops were also exposed to Agent Orange, and blame ailments on the defoliant.