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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| South Korea digging for evidence in Agent Orange probe | South Korea digging for evidence in Agent Orange probe |
| (about 6 hours later) | |
| By Lucy Williamson BBC News, Seoul | By Lucy Williamson BBC News, Seoul |
| South Korea is launching an investigation into whether toxic chemicals were buried at US military sites in the country. | |
| Military and civilian experts have begun surveys at the site of the former Camp Mercer, outside the capital Seoul. | Military and civilian experts have begun surveys at the site of the former Camp Mercer, outside the capital Seoul. |
| The investigation team includes army and government officials, environmental experts and local residents. | The investigation team includes army and government officials, environmental experts and local residents. |
| Inquiries were prompted by allegations that American soldiers dumped large amounts of Agent Orange on Korean land. | Inquiries were prompted by allegations that American soldiers dumped large amounts of Agent Orange on Korean land. |
| Investigators will drill holes to collect soil and water samples at the former base at Camp Mercer. | Investigators will drill holes to collect soil and water samples at the former base at Camp Mercer. |
| If signs of contamination are found, the investigation could be widened to include more than 80 former US military sites across the country. | If signs of contamination are found, the investigation could be widened to include more than 80 former US military sites across the country. |
| The investigation was sparked by former US servicemen, who told a TV documentary that the toxic chemical, Agent Orange, used as a defoliant during the Vietnam War, had been buried at another US base in South Korea, Camp Carroll. | The investigation was sparked by former US servicemen, who told a TV documentary that the toxic chemical, Agent Orange, used as a defoliant during the Vietnam War, had been buried at another US base in South Korea, Camp Carroll. |
| A joint US and Korean investigation is ongoing at Camp Carroll, which is still home to US forces. | |
| But a US medical specialist told the forces newspaper, Stars and Stripes, that he had seen no evidence of Agent Orange in barrels of chemicals dug up at the site in 1979. | But a US medical specialist told the forces newspaper, Stars and Stripes, that he had seen no evidence of Agent Orange in barrels of chemicals dug up at the site in 1979. |
| Small traces of dioxin have been reported in the soil and groundwater there, and local media say residents near the camp will be tested for possible long-term effects. | Small traces of dioxin have been reported in the soil and groundwater there, and local media say residents near the camp will be tested for possible long-term effects. |