(VOVworld) - Vietnam and the US launched a joint project at Danang airport today/ on Thursday to clean up Agent Orange/dioxin from the immediate area.

The project is being funded by the United States Agency for International Development and will be managed by Vietnam’s Ministry of National Defense over 41 million USD in funding comes from the US and 1.7 million USD has been contributed by Vietnam. During the project, workers will remove contaminated soil and sediment and stockpile it where it will then be treated by using thermal desorption technology. This process uses extremely high temperatures to break down the dioxin in contaminated soil and make it safe for people living and working in the area.

The project has successfully completed its first phase and the next phase which will focus on treating the dioxin contaminated soil is scheduled to be finished by 2016. Deputy Minister of Defence Nguyen Chi Vinh said: "The success of the project at Da nang airport will be promising for other contaminated hot spots. We highly appreciate the support we have received from the international community and the US government to treat the polluted hot spots and deal with another legacy from the war".

The airport is one of major contaminated “hotspots” in Vietnam. Over the past years, Vietnam, USAID and several NGOs have carried out many projects to help Da Nang city to clean up the environment and protect people’s health.