Five members of Vietnam’s Ministry of National Defense (MND), USAID’s key partner in dioxin clean-up efforts, recently attended a week-long study tour in the United States to observe and learn about technologies for treatment of dioxin and other toxic chemicals, and techniques for environmental site restoration and management. The tour, co-funded by USAID and MND, included site visits to an active Superfund site, a treatment technology research facility, and the Presidio of San Francisco - a former military base cleaned-up to create residential, recreational, and open park land.

So What? This trip successfully introduced participants to a wide range of technologies and environmental site tools, and strengthened the MND-USAID project team working relationship, which will be critical for technology selection and successful clean-up of dioxin contamination at the Bien Hoa Air Base area, the largest remaining hotspot of dioxin contamination in Vietnam.