US embassy cable - 03HANOI1989

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 HANOI 001989 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/BCLTV, OES/STC (BPERRY), STAS (NNEUREITER), 
     EAP/RSP, EAP/PD AND OES/PCI 
DEPT PASS HHS FOR OGHA/STEIGER; NIH/FIC/GKEUSCH; 
     NIH/FIC/AHOLT; NIH/NIEHS/OLDEN, SASSAMAN; 
     CDC/OGH/BLOUNT; CDC/CEH/SINKS, BARRETT, NEEDHAM; 
     FDA/OIA/WBATTS 
DEPT PASS USAID FOR G/ENV, G/H 
DEPT PASS EPA FOR WFARLAND 
DEPT PASS OSTP FOR GAINES 
BANGKOK FOR REO 
SECDEF ALSO FOR ISA/AP/LSTERN AND ES/WVAN HOUTEN 
USDA FOR FAA/AO/SSAP/HEUTE, ITP/ODA/SHEIKH 
NSC FOR BEARDSWORTH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, OSCI, SENV, EAID, VM 
SUBJECT:  AGENT ORANGE/DIOXIN UPDATE 
 
REF:  A. STATE 180975 
      B. STATE 155248 
      C. HANOI 0373 
      D. HANOI 1264 
 
1.  SUMMARY: On July 3, the Ambassador met with Vietnamese 
VFM Nguyen Dinh Bin to deliver Ref A talking points on the 
status of joint research on Agent Orange/Dioxin.  Bin 
emphasized the GVN's gratitude for humanitarian efforts by 
non-governmental organizations and U.S. congresspersons who 
have advocated the establishment medical research center for 
Agent Orange "victims" in Hanoi.  Bin appeared uninformed 
and misinformed about the status of U.S. contributions to 
promote the joint research program.    Separately, on July 
15, the Embassy received (via diplomatic pouch) and 
delivered a high-resolution gas chromatography mass 
spectrometer (GCMS) to the Vietnam National Center for 
Natural Sciences and Technology (NCST).  A two-person EPA 
team visited Hanoi during July 24-30 to work with NCST 
scientists on plans/requirements for installation of the 
GCMS, and to map out a plan/schedule for training NCST 
scientists in a bioassay technology, training in use of the 
GCMS, and for characterization of a potential dioxin "hot 
spot" site in Danang Airport.  As of July 2, the Carpenter- 
Tuong health research project had not been presented to 
Committee 33, and the Vietnamese members of the Joint 
Advisory Committee to be established per terms of the March 
2002 MOU had not been appointed.   END SUMMARY 
 
--------------------------------- 
Ambassador's Meeting with VFM Bin 
--------------------------------- 
 
2.  On July 3, the Ambassador met with Vietnamese First Vice- 
Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Dinh Bin, also a member 
of Committee 33, to convey the points raised in Ref A 
concerning the status and next steps on joint cooperation on 
Agent Orange/Dioxin issue.  EST Officer accompanied the 
Ambassador.  Mr. Pham Van Que, Deputy Director of the MFA's 
Americas Department, also participated. 
 
3.  Prior to launching into a presentation of Ref A talking 
points, the Ambassador informed VFM Bin that many U.S. and 
international scientists did not accept claims made by 
Vietnamese scientists about the affects of AO/dioxin on the 
health of the Vietnamese people.  The Ambassador noted that, 
for example, while Vietnamese scientists attribute numerous 
forms of birth defects on exposure of the parents to 
AO/dioxin, international experts suspect that many are the 
result of other factors, such as deficiencies in the 
mother's diet.  Based on this genuine scientific dispute, 
the U.S. Government does not accept the label of "AO Victim" 
placed on virtually every afflicted child.  Bin, without 
acknowledging the scientific debate, responded that the USG 
should deal with this was a humanitarian issue.  Bin several 
times erroneously stated that dioxin was the "cause" of nine 
diseases.  Bin also ignored the point that international 
scientific research has linked dioxin to only one form of 
birth defect.  The Ambassador agreed that assistance to 
persons with health problems was indeed a humanitarian 
issue, which is why the U.S. Government supported health 
assistance programs in Vietnam and worldwide no matter what 
the cause.  (COMMENT:  When Vietnamese officials use the 
term "humanitarian assistance" related to the AO/Dioxin 
issue, they are actually talking about financial 
compensation to those persons whom the Government of Vietnam 
(GVN) has identified - without scientific evidence - as 
"victims of AO."  END COMMENT.) 
 
4.  After The Ambassador completed presentation of Ref A 
talking points, VFM Bin responded that he thought "good 
progress" had been made in joint scientific cooperation.  He 
noted that the March 2002 International Conference on 
AO/Dioxin had been the first of its kind, thus Vietnam's 
slow pace in implementing the terms of the MOU was 
"expected."  He acknowledged that Vietnam needed to speed up 
the appointment of the members of the Joint Advisory 
Committee (JAC), and noted that formation of the JAC was 
"important and inevitable."  Bin stated that the Vietnamese 
side had sent draft terms of reference (TOR) for the JAC to 
the U.S. side, but had not received a response.  EST Officer 
informed Bin that Office 33 had sent the TOR document via 
international mail to the U.S. National Institute of 
Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) on or about June 30, 
so NIEHS had not yet received the document.  The Ambassador 
pointed out that developing and coordinating TOR should be a 
task for the JAC to accomplish during its first meeting, so 
it was premature to discuss TOR without a committee.  (NOTE: 
EST Officer had received an informal copy of the TOR during 
a visit to Office 33 on July 1.  The document was presented 
without explanation.  On July 7, EST officer received an 
official copy of the document, delivered to the Embassy via 
the Vietnamese postal system.  The envelope was postmarked 
July 1.  Another copy of the document arrived at NIEHS on 
July 21.  END NOTE.) 
 
5.  EST Officer gave a brief overview of status of "Project 
2" (soil sampling and "hot spot" site characterization in 
Danang Airport).  Bin, citing talking points provided to him 
by Office 33, pointed out that the U.S. had not yet provided 
Vietnam with the results of tests of Danang soil samples 
shipped to the U.S. in June 2002.  EST Officer responded 
that, contrary to Office 33's information, the test results 
had been provided to scientists of the National Center for 
Natural Sciences and Technology in early March 2003. 
 
6.  Bin continued that the GVN highly appreciated the 
support received from NGO's and the efforts by three members 
of the U.S. Congress who advocate the establishment of a 
center for research and medical treatment of AO victims. 
Bin expressed hope that the USG would assist by providing 
funds for this center. 
 
7.  Deputy Director Que commented that the GVN did not view 
this as a "legal case," even though Vietnamese authorities 
were fully aware of the legal suit brought by U.S. veterans 
against the U.S. manufacturer of AO.  Que admitted that the 
GVN had considered filing a similar suit, but had abandoned 
that idea several years ago because of its negative 
implications on the overall U.S.-Vietnam bilateral 
relationship.  Que said the GVN had appropriated a large 
portion of its budget to assist people suffering from 
AO/Dioxin exposure in all locations.  Que also reiterated 
Bin's appeal to view this as a humanitarian issue. 
 
8.  (COMMENT:  Bin appeared uninformed and/or misinformed 
about several issues related to the status of joint 
cooperation on AO/dioxin.  When EST Officer visited Office 
33 on July 1, Dr. Nguyen Tien Dung had to cut the meeting 
short in order to go the MFA for a meeting to prepare the 
MFA for the Ambassador-VFM meeting.  Based on remarks made 
by Dung and other Vietnamese scientists, the MFA had not 
sent a representative to attend working level meetings on 
the joint research program for a long time.  It appears that 
Committee 33 has not met formally for an even longer time. 
The fact that Bin did not appear to be well-informed about 
the status of the joint program is very telling in terms of 
how senior GVN leadership views the scientific cooperation. 
When senior Vietnamese officials, either from MFA or other 
agencies, appeal to senior U.S. officials for assistance in 
"addressing the lasting effects of AO," they are not talking 
about joint scientific research and capacity building; they 
are talking about financial compensation and medical 
treatment for all those who are classified as "AO victims" 
and for clean-up of all potential dioxin "hot spots" on 
former U.S. military bases and other locations.  Even when 
both sides use the term "humanitarian issue," usage of the 
term differs in both meaning and intent.  END COMMENT) 
 
----------------------------- 
Update of Status of Project 2 
----------------------------- 
 
9.  On July 14, the high-resolution gas chromatography mass 
spectrometer (GCMS) acquired by the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) from the U.S. Centers for Disease 
Control (CDC) arrived in Hanoi via diplomatic pouch, and the 
Embassy delivered it to the Vietnam National Center for 
Natural Sciences and Technology (NCST) on July 15.  NCST 
intends to place the GCMS on the ground floor of NCST's 
Institute of Chemistry.   EPA officers William Coakley and 
Vance Fong visited Hanoi July 24-30 and met with NCST 
scientists from the Institute of Chemistry and Institute of 
Biotechnology who are the principal researchers 
participating in "Project 2" (environmental research on a 
suspected dioxin "hot spot" in Danang Airport).  The primary 
Vietnamese contacts were Dr. Dang Thi Cam Ha, Head, 
Environmental Biotechnology Laboratory; and Dr. Pham Huu Ly, 
Deputy Director, Institute of Chemistry. (NOTE:  The EPA 
team will prepare a full, separate report on their visit. 
END NOTE) 
 
10.  The primary purposes of this visit to NCST were to 
unpack and inspect all GCMS components, review in detail the 
requirements and specifications for the installation as well 
as the installation schedule to include assembly and 
performance testing of GCMS and training of NCST personnel 
in its use.  These tasks should all be accomplished by 
November 2003. 
 
11.  During the visit, the EPA officers informed NCST 
scientists that EPA intends to fund the training of two NCST 
scientists in a two-week session at the laboratory of the 
company that produces the CALUX bioassay screening 
technology.  This training covers mammalian, liver cell 
culturing and bioassay procedures, and all extractions, 
cleanup, and analytical software procedures.  Following this 
training in the U.S., the company will provide additional 
training at the NCST lab and provide all necessary supplies 
and chemical reagents. 
 
12.  The two EPA officers and NCST scientists opened all the 
crates containing the GCMS components, inspected the 
separate components for any damage (none detected), and 
conducted an inventory (nothing missing).  They also 
inspected the room that is being renovated to house the GCMS 
and advised the Vietnamese on requirements for electric 
power, cooling water, air conditioning, measures to 
eliminate vibrational interference, electrical outlets, and 
emergency shut-off switch. 
 
13.  On July 26, the EPA team met with Dr. Ha, Dr. Ly, and 
Colonel Nguyen Quang Toai, Department of Science, Technology 
and Environment, Ministry of National Defense (MND), to 
discuss in general terms a tentative plan and techniques for 
hot spot site characterization and a subsequent pilot 
remediation project at the former AO storage and loading 
area at Danang Airport (the suspect dioxin hot spot from 
which soil samples were taken).  The discussions focused on 
possible soil sampling techniques that could most 
efficiently and effectively determine the scope of the hot 
spot and paths/routes of potential migration of dioxin away 
from the hot spot.  Dr. Ha (apparently without prior 
coordination with Ly and/or Toai) suggested that Dr. Toai 
would visit NCST on July 28 or 29 to provide more details 
concerning the actual dimensions of the storage/loading 
area, the surrounding topography, and stream that passes by 
the area.  However, Dr. Toai never visited NCST for follow- 
up discussions. 
 
14.  On July 29, Dr. Dang Vu Minh, General Director, NCST, 
hosted a lunch in honor of the EPA officers to acknowledge 
their efforts in Project 2 and the acquisition and delivery 
of the GCMS.  Dr. Minh was extremely grateful for the GMCS 
and stated that he hoped the installation could be completed 
by the end of the year so that soil sampling using the GCMS 
could be accomplished by January 2004.  He said he intended 
to request additional funds from the Ministry of Science and 
Technology (one source of NCST's budget) for upgrading the 
room containing the GCMS.  He also expressed great 
enthusiasm about the potential of receiving the CALUX 
technology.  (COMMENT:  Dr. Minh is a member of the Central 
Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and a member of 
the National Assembly, so he has some political clout as 
well as scientific expertise.  He is a chemist and former 
Director of NCST's Institute of Chemistry.  His support for 
Project 2 is very important.  END COMMENT) 
 
15.  Overall, the visit was successful and productive.  The 
Vietnamese are very interested in moving forward with 
certain aspects of Project 2.  The EPA team and NCST 
scientists devised a schedule of events (installation of 
GCMS, training in use of GCMS, training in CALUX technology, 
transfer of CALUX technology) per EPA's objectives. 
However, EST Officer and the EPA team detected several 
potential negatives: 
 
     --In discussions on hot spot site characterization and 
remediation, it became apparent that differences in opinion 
on "how hot is hot" and/or "what's hot and what's not" could 
surface as we attempt to move forward in developing a site 
characterization plan.  When the EPA team explained U.S. 
guidelines and standards for levels of contamination 
permitted for residential vice industrial areas, the 
Vietnamese responded that the Vietnamese leadership would 
not accept such a distinction and would want remediation to 
bring contamination down to a level fit for residential 
purposes.  At this point, EST Officer pointed out that since 
Vietnam, not the U.S., would pay for remediation efforts 
beyond this one pilot project, the Vietnamese leadership 
would probably have to adopt a less rigid policy. 
 
     --In early March 2003, the EPA had sent the NCST 
scientists the test results and analyses for the ten Danang 
soil samples shipped to the U.S. in July 2002.  Prior to 
shipment, Dr. Ha and Dr. Ly had agreed to perform similar 
tests (possibly with low resolution GCMS) on samples of the 
same soil in order to have a comparison of the two test 
results.  When the EPA officers inquired about NCST's test 
results (which EPA had never received), Dr. Ha replied that 
she did not have sufficient funds in her budget to pay for 
the tests.   According to Dr. Ha, the cost for a test 
conducted in Vietnam was $600/sample.  The EPA team obtained 
Ha's agreement to have tests conducted on 3-5 of the most 
highly contaminated of the ten samples.  This exemplifies a 
persistent detractor to establishing a reliable partnerhip - 
verbal commitments from the Vietnamese side during face-to- 
face meetings are often ignored and the Vietnamese often do 
not respond in a timely manner to queries via e-mail. 
 
     --The role of the MND and its cooperation with NCST and 
EPA is critical to the success of site characterization and 
future pilot remediation project at Danang.  More than one 
year ago, EPA initially requested past sampling results 
conducted by either MND and NCST, but the Vietnamese have 
not delivered.  EPA officers and EST officer sense that 
there potential conflict between NCST and MND could develop 
over control of the joint project.  It is very possible that 
MND is envious of the technical and material support (lab 
equipment, training, GCMS) given to NCST. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
STATUS OF HEALTH RESEARCH AND JOINT ADVISORY COMMITTEE 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
16.  In a letter dated June 23 (postmarked July 1), Dr. 
Nguyen Ngoc Sinh, Director, National Environmental Agency 
(NEA), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, 
responded to a 27 February 2003 letter from Dr. Kenneth 
Olden and Dr. Anne Sassaman of NIEHS urging the Vietnamese 
to appoint members to the Joint Advisory Committee (JAC). 
Sinh's letter was addressed to Olden, Sassaman, and Embassy 
EST Officer.   The letter ignores the critical issue of the 
JAC, but takes the offensive to criticize the U.S. for 
delays in Project 2.  Pertinent translated extracts follow. 
BEGIN QUOTE:  Although recently there were organizational 
changes in the Government, such as some ministries were 
split and some new ministries have been established, these 
changes have not affected the activities of the Steering 
Committee 33.  We also note the delay by the United States 
in the implementation of Project No 2.  The Vietnamese side 
has invested in the construction and provided funding for 
the newly built laboratory belonging to the Institute of 
Chemistry, National Center for Natural Sciences and 
Technology, which will be used for Project No 2.  At the 
same time, we have sent 10 soil samples of the Da Nang 
airport area to the Untied States for dioxin analyses as per 
the agreement between Vietnam and the United States under 
Project No 2 framework.   We look forward to the United 
States' prompt completion of Project No 2.  In particular, 
the United States will follow the plan agreed upon in Hawaii 
on the provision of some testing equipment and instruments, 
and on completion of some analytical methods including the 
Calux analytical method and a high resolution GCMS in order 
to enhance the quality of residual dioxin assessment at 
site, as well as to have scientific basis to determine 
poison cleaning methods for Da Nang area in the future.  END 
QUOTE. 
 
17.  NIEHS did not receive this letter until July 21. 
Although the letter does not mention an attachment, a draft 
TOR for the JAC was attached without explanation.  Also, 
Sinh's letter implies erroneously that EPA made a formal 
commitment to provide the GCMS.  EPA only promised to make a 
serious effort to locate a used GCMS.  The Vietnamese were 
made fully aware that funding for this acquisition was not 
readily available within EPA's budget.  The fact that EPA 
delivered reflects highly on their positive attitude toward 
achieving success in this project.  The letter also does not 
give EPA credit for providing test results on the 10 soil 
samples or for supplying the majority of the equipment and 
supplies for the laboratory in NCST.  EST Officer and Dr. 
Sassaman are preparing a response to Sinh. 
 
18.  On 1 July, EST Officer met with Dr. Nguyen Tien Dung, 
Director, Office 33.  Dung stated that the Carpenter-Tuong 
health research project had not yet been submitted to 
Committee 33 for review and approval.  Dung said that he had 
sent the grant proposal back to the Ministry of Health for 
further review and comment because he wanted to know how 
this project would relate to a similar health research 
project currently funded by the GVN.  Dung could not state 
with certainty when the proposal would be presented to 
Committee 33 or when the GVN would appoint members of the 
JAC. 
 
19.  As of August 1, the NCST had not yet received approval 
from Committee 33 to hold a joint workshop on remediation 
technologies to be funded and joint organized by NIEHS, 
tentatively scheduled for early November 2003.  NIEHS is 
funding the travel of two NCST scientists from the Institute 
of Biotechnology and one officer from NCST's International 
Cooperation Department to visit NIEHS in Research Triangle 
Park and to visit EPA in Washington, DC in late August - 
early September.  The purpose of the meetings is to plan the 
remediation workshop and discuss overall cooperation in 
environmental research. 
PORTER