By Kim Tae-jong



A joint investigation team said Friday that they had detected traces of a defoliant component in ground water samples taken at a U.S. military camp where, American veterans claimed Agent Orange was buried three decades ago.



It was the first such finding since the team began investigating sites at Camp Carroll in Chilgok, North Gyeongsang Province, after former American soldiers told a U.S. television station last May that they helped bury hundreds of drums containing toxic chemicals under the camp’s heliport in 1978.



During a news briefing in Chilgok, the team said experts detected 0.161 micrograms of of 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T), a key component of Agent Orange, per liter of groundwater samples extracted from one of five spots on the military base.



“It is more than 50 times below the World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water guidelines, posing little impact on human health. But a second groundwater examination will be conducted in order to verify the results of the first investigation,” an official of the team said.



A huge level of other volatile organic compounds was also found, which could pose a risk to human health. The level of the compounds found in water near the camp exceeded 900 times the guidelines for drinking water.



“We will have residents in nearby areas stop drinking water from the area and will further study the contamination in order to locate its exact source,” the official added.



But the team said no indications of drums of Agent Orange were found in the geophysical survey and soil coring at 83 locations at the camp including a spot that former U.S. Forces Korea soldier Steve House identified as the alleged Agent Orange burial site when he visited the camp on July 27.



Additionally, the USFK said it is taking appropriate measures to gain approval for the release of Camp Carroll employees’ interviews and the final 2010 Environmental Survey Report as part of preparation for a final briefing on the allegations and the ongoing soil analysis in late September or early October.



Citing the interviews, Col. Joseph Birchmeier, a USFK engineer and cochairman of the joint investigation, said they confirmed the U.S. army moved chemicals from the camp to Utah in the United States in 1981.



There are people who said they ordered drum-shaped containers to carry chemicals such as defoliants and agricultural pesticides and witnesses who saw these containers taken out of the camp, Birchmeier said.



Upon the announcement of the interim report, however, environmental groups expressed deep disappointment, saying the investigation has been conducted in a “sloppy” manner.



“We can’t trust the results that they announced as they have conducted the investigation using sloppy methods,” Green Daegu said in a statement.



The group also demanded the U.S. government replace Lt. Gen. John D. Johnson, commander of the Eighth U.S. Army, and Birchmeier, arguing they should take responsibility for the “disappointing investigation.”



e3dward@koreatimes.co.kr











경북 칠곡 미군기지 캠프 캐럴 내외부 지하수에서 고엽제 관련 성분이 검출됐다. 지난 5월 퇴역 미군 스티브 하우스씨가 캠프 캐럴 내 고엽제 매립 의혹을 제기한 이후 고엽제 관련 성분이 검출된 것은 이번이 처음이다. 한미 공동조사단은 9일 경북 칠곡군청에서 브리핑을 열고 캠프 캐럴 고엽제 매립 의혹 관련 한미 공동조사 중간결과를 발표했다. 우선 기지 내부인 41구역 내 지하수 관측정 5개소에 대한 한미 양측 수질조사 결과 한국측 분석에서 고엽제 성분인 2,4,5-T가 0.161㎍/ℓ 가량 검출됐다. 다만 이는 세계보건기구(WHO)의 음용수 기준(9㎍/ℓ)의 50분의 1 정도로 인체에는 영향을 미치지 않는 수준이라고 공동조사단은 설명했다. 미측 분석에서는 2,4,5-T 성분이 검출되지 않았다. 인체에 해가 없는 수준이지만 캠프 캐럴 내와 기지 밖에서 고엽제 관련 성분이 직접 발견된 것은 이번이 처음이다. 한미 공동조사단은 현재 진행 중인 기지내부 토양조사 결과는 이달 말에서 10월 초 사이에 발표할 예정이다. (연합뉴스)