SOUTH KOREA: U.S. army veteran says he buried Agent Orange at military base in South Korea

Record ID: 522446

  • Title: SOUTH KOREA: U.S. army veteran says he buried Agent Orange at military base in South Korea
  • Date: 26th July 2011
  • Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (JULY 25, 2011) (REUTERS) UNITED STATES ARMY VETERAN STEVE HOUSE ENTERING AND SHAKING HANDS WITH CIVIC GROUP LEADER JOURNALISTS HOUSE AND UNITED STATES ARMY VETERAN PHILIP STEWARD SITTING JOURNALISTS HOUSE AND STEWARD (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNITED STATES ARMY VETERAN STEVE HOUSE, SAYING: "At that time, they didn't tell us anything. And once we did th
  • Embargoed: 10th August 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Korea, Republic of
  • Country: South Korea
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations,Defence / Military
  • Reuters ID: LVA8BU200KCOQAMNE77C3VJTHIJY
  • Story Text: U.S. army veteran Steve House said on Monday (July 25) he was aware he buried toxic herbicide Agent Orange at a U.S. military base in South Korea during operations in the late 1970s.
    The Agent Orange controversy erupted in mid-May, when South Korean media reported that U.S. veterans told U.S. television station KPHO TV that they were ordered to dump Agent Orange at Camp Carroll in South Korea.
    The television station said the "toxic herbicide that was used to wipe out the jungles during the Vietnam War" was used years later around the Demilitarized zone on the Korean peninsula.
    House said he served in the U.S. Army from December 1975 to December 1979, and at Camp Carroll, from February 1978 to February 1979 as a heavy construction equipment operator.
    He said he was initially unaware that they were burying Agent Orange.
    "At that time, they didn't tell us anything. And once we did the ditch they only said it was going to be used for disposal. They didn't say what. It wasn't until the day that they brought the first truck in, that I was aware of what we were burying," he said.
    "The barrels were all green - army green with the yellow writing or orange writing, just as shown in the photograph, and some of them had light orange stripes. And Bob Travers, the driver who brought the drums down to the ditch clearly showed me it was Agent Orange, and they were dated," he added.
    Another U.S. army veteran, Philip Steward, said he saw Agent Orange at another military base, Camp Peterson.
    "While at Camp Peterson, I found that we had between 200 and 300 55-gallon drums or barrels of herbicide defoliant Orange that were stored at our compound," he said.
    Steward was stationed in South Korea from 1968 to 1969.
    South Korea and the United States started a joint enquiry last month into claims the toxic chemical defoliant was buried at the base about three decades ago.
    Protesters in South Korea had urged the U.S. and the South Korean administration to investigate the case thoroughly.
    The joint investigation team comprises of 14 South Korean and 10 U.S. investigators, used ground-penetrating radar equipment to survey grounds in Camp Carroll.
    The military base in Chilgok, where the chemicals were supposedly buried, is located about 300 km (186 miles) southeast of Seoul.
    The team also tested underground water in the army camp for toxic materials.
    The United States currently has nearly 30,000 troops stationed in South Korea.
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