双语新闻【515】美军调查向韩国倾倒有毒橙剂报告

US Army Probes Report of Agent Orange Dumping in Korea

美军调查向韩国倾倒有毒橙剂报告

The U.S. Army says it is looking into a report that drums of the Vietnam War-era toxic defoliant Agent Orange were buried at an American military facility in South Korea 33 years ago.A U.S. Army spokesman told VOA on Thursday that the Army is reviewing historical records to try to verify the report. It is also consulting environmental experts to learn how the dangerous material should be handled.

美国陆军表示，正在调查一则关于一些越南战争时期使用的有毒落叶剂“橙剂”33年前被埋在韩国的一处美军设施地下的报导。美军一名发言人星期四对美国之音表示，美国陆军正在审阅历史记录，争取核实这个报导。陆军也在咨询环境专家来了解如何处理这种危险物质。

South Korea's Environment Ministry said Thursday it will ask U.S. officials to determine whether the chemical was dumped in 1978 at Camp Carroll, near Daegu, in the southeastern part of the country.Reports of the dumping first appeared last week on a television station in Phoenix, in the U.S. state of Arizona ((KPHO)).Three U.S. Army veterans told the station they had been ordered to dig a ditch, nearly the length of a city block, to bury about 250 bright yellow or orange drums, each believed to contain 208 liters of the defoliant. They said the chemical was seeping through the barrels and gave off a "sickly sweet" smell.

韩国环境部星期四说，将要求美国官员确定这种化学物质是否在1978年被倾倒在韩国东南部大邱附近的卡罗尔军营。上个星期，美国亚利桑那州菲尼克斯市的 KPHO电视台最先报导这条消息。三名美国陆军老兵对这家电视台表示，他们奉命在一条城市街道附近挖了一道沟壕，用于掩埋大约250个鲜黄色和橙色的桶。他们相信每个桶里装了208升这种落叶剂。这些老兵说，化学物质从桶里渗出，发出一种“恶心的甜味”。