WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- A U.S. environmental toxicology expert on Monday refuted the allegations that American troops secretly buried leftover Agent Orange at a base in South Korea decades ago after use in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas.
Speaking to Yonhap News Agency over the phone, Alvin Young, who lives in Wyoming, stressed that no Agent Orange was dumped at Camp Carroll, a U.S. military base about 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
"I have gone through all records I can find. What I concluded was that there was no Agent Orange buried at Camp Carroll," he said, describing relevant disputes as "groundless."
He said the records showed that all the toxic materials brought from Vietnam were used in the DMZ, and "there were none" taken back to the U.S. base in South Korea.
"There was apparently no surplus Orange to return to Camp Carroll," Young said. "More importantly, all of the Blue and Agent Orange drums were rinsed with water or diesel fuel, respectively, and turned over to the First Republic of Korea Army."
Young's remarks contradict claims by some retired American soldiers that they had participated in dumping large amounts of Agent Orange at the base in the late 1970s.
South Korea and the U.S. launched a joint investigation into the allegations. Officials in Washington, who have bitter memories of anti-American protests in South Korea following the 2002 deaths of two schoolgirls crushed by a U.S. armored vehicle, are apparently concerned about the results of the ongoing probe.
Young, who obtained his doctorate in agronomy in 1968 and studied the impact of the U.S. use of Agent Orange in Vietnam for a long time, said he would be "very surprised" if investigators find Agent Orange in Camp Carroll.
"I am convinced that they are not going to find Agent Orange drums," he said, adding he reviewed all related documents and materials of the Eighth U.S. Army, and interviewed many people who were responsible for the issue at that time.
In 2006, he conducted a review for the Department of Defense on the use of Agents Orange and Blue adjacent to the DMZ in 1968.
Young said, however, he does not know if there are additional materials, leaving room for unexpected findings by the joint investigation team.
"We have to wait until they finish the investigation," he said. (Yonhap)
lcd@yna.co.kr
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