VZCZCXRO2966
RR RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #1476/01 2291751
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 171751Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6126
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 3555
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC//USDP/ISA/AP/ES//
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI//J00/J005/J006/J01LA/J06/J5//
RHEHNSC/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC

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