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Transport and bioaccumulation of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans at the Bien Hoa Agent Orange hotspot in Vietnam

  • 12th IHPA Forum and selected studies on POPs
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Abstract

The Bien Hoa airbase (south of Vietnam) is known as one of the Agent Orange hotspots which have been seriously contaminated by Agent Orange/dioxin during the Vietnam War. Hundreds of samples including soil, sediment and fish were collected at the Bien Hoa Agent Orange hotspot for assessment of the environmental contamination caused by dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs). The toxicity equivalency quotient (TEQ) concentration of PCDD/Fs in soil and sediment varied from 7.6 to 962,000 and 17 to 4860 pg/g dry wt, respectively, implying very high contamination of PCDD/Fs in several areas. PCDD/F levels in fish ranged between 1.8 and 288 pg/g TEQ wet wt and was generally higher than advisory guidelines for food consumption. 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (2,3,7,8-TCDD) contributed 66–99 % of TEQ for most of the samples, suggesting 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T) from Agent Orange as the major source of the contamination. The vertical transport of PCDD/Fs was observed in soil column with high TEQ levels above 1000 pg/g dry wt (Vietnamese limit for necessary remediation activities- TCVN 8183:2009 (2009)) even at a depth of 1.8 m. The vertical transport of PCDD/Fs has probably mainly taken place during the “Ranch Hand” defoliant spray activities due to the leaks and spills of phenoxy herbicides and solvents. The congener patterns suggest that transports of PCDD/Fs by weathering processes have led to their redistribution in the low-land areas. Also, an estimate for the total volume of contaminated soil requiring remediation to meet Vietnamese regulatory limits is provided.

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Acknowledgments

This study was jointly implemented under the frameworks of the project “Establishment of Dioxin Laboratory in Vietnam” (AP-16657 and BMGF-50799), the Research Grant KHCN-33.01/11-15 from the Vietnam National Science and Technology Research Program KHCN-33/11-15 (Research and overcoming long-term consequences of Agent Orange/Dioxin on the environment and the human health in Vietnam). The authors would like to express sincerest thanks to Dr. Roland Weber (POPs Environmental Consulting, Germany) for critical reading and comments to the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dioxin Laboratory Project, Vietnam Environment Administration (VEA), Nr. 556 Nguyen Van Cu, Long Bien, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Nguyen Van Thuong, Nguyen Xuan Hung, Nguyen Thi Mo, Nguyen Manh Thang, Pham Quang Huy, Hoang Van Binh, Vu Duc Nam, Le Ke Son & Nguyen Hung Minh

  2. Center for Environmental Monitoring (CEM), Vietnam Environment Administration (VEA), Nr. 556 Nguyen Van Cu, Long Bien, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Nguyen Van Thuy

  3. Office of the National Steering Committee 33, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), Nr. 83 Nguyen Chi Thanh Street, Dong Da, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Le Ke Son

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  1. Nguyen Van Thuong
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  2. Nguyen Xuan Hung
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  3. Nguyen Thi Mo
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  4. Nguyen Manh Thang
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  7. Vu Duc Nam
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  8. Nguyen Van Thuy
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  9. Le Ke Son
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  10. Nguyen Hung Minh
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Correspondence to Nguyen Hung Minh.

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Responsible editor: Roland Kallenborn

This article belongs to the series “Dioxin and POP Contaminated Sites” (Weber et al. 2008) edited by Roland Weber, Mats Tysklind and Caroline Gaus.

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Van Thuong, N., Hung, N.X., Mo, N.T. et al. Transport and bioaccumulation of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans at the Bien Hoa Agent Orange hotspot in Vietnam. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 14431–14441 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3946-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3946-9

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