US forces share 1978 study on defoliant at Camp Carroll

The U.S. Forces Korea said Monday that the toxic carcinogen dioxin was found at Camp Carroll, a U.S. base in North Gyeongsang Province in which a large amount of defoliant was allegedly buried.

Dioxin is 10,000 times more toxic than potassium cyanide. The former consists of a large portion of Agent Orange, a toxic defoliant, giving support to the allegation that defoliant is buried in the base.

Lt. Gen. John D. Johnson, commander of the U.S. 8th Army, said Monday in a news release, “In 2004, tests were conducted using ground-penetrating radar and boring 13 test holes on and around the site. The 13th hole revealed trace amounts of a chemical.”

A source from the 8th Army said, “It was dioxin but the amount was deemed to be no hazard to human health.”

Johnson said, “A 1992 study by the Army Corps of Engineers indicated that a `specific substance` was buried in 1978.”

According to the study, a large number of drums containing chemicals, pesticides, herbicides and solvents were buried in the vicinity of the area as identified by former soldiers in news reports.

The study added that these materials and 40-60 tons of soil were subsequently removed from the site in 1979-80 and disposed of offsite over the same period. Officials of the 8th Army said the study did not specifically mention whether the chemicals in the drums included defoliant or not.

U.S. Army officials are still trying to determine why the materials were buried and how they were disposed of after they were excavated. They shared data from this report with Korean government officials.

ysh1005@donga.com