To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2008, Official Report, columns 753-4W, on Vietnam, what international guidelines apply to concentrations of dioxin; and what the concentrations of dioxins are in those hotspots of serious contamination in Vietnam. (190168)

The calculation of acceptable dioxin levels in soil/sediment or in humans is complex. For soil or sediment, the Atlanta Centre for Disease Control in the US uses 1,000 parts per trillion Toxic Equivalence Quote (ppt TEQ) as being the maximum allowable level of dioxin contamination permitted before some form of corrective action must be taken to mitigate TEQ exposure. For the human body, the UK Food Standards Agency has set the Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) of dioxin at 2 picogram (pc)/kilogramme (kg) of body weight. This is based on World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.

The concept of a dioxin “hotspot” was developed by Hatfield Consultants Ltd (Canada) while working with the Ministry of Health in Vietnam. It found that the current level of dioxin contamination in and around the former US air bases where dioxin was stored, mixed and loaded onto planes—the hot spots—was much higher than current levels in the areas sprayed during the war. The three major hotspots are in Southern Vietnam at the former US air bases at Da Nang, Bien Hoa, and Phu Cat. Studies conducted between 2000 and 2004 by the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence found an average dioxin level of about 35,000 ppt TEQ at Da Nang and Bien Hoa airports. This is 35 times higher than acceptable levels recommended by the Atlanta Centre for Disease Control.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2008, Official Report, columns 753-4W, on Vietnam: chemical weapons, how many Vietnamese have been identified as victims of Agent Orange (a) inside and (b) outside areas which were sprayed; and what estimate has been made of the numbers of as yet unborn people who will be affected. (190169)

There is no agreed accurate information available on how many Vietnamese were victims of Agent Orange and other herbicides, during and since the war, or on how many will be affected in the future.

The Government of Vietnam state that up to 5 million people may have been affected by Agent Orange. The US suggests that the number is probably much lower and is funding research to provide clearer evidence of the link between dioxins and health and of the number of people affected.