Dr. Tuan's letter to Orange County Register Newspaper

Note to our readers : Couple weeks ago, when Dr. Tuan V. Nguyen send the below letter to Orange County Register (OCR) newspaper, he also forwarded its copy to us by email. But later on, we learned that OCR has refused to publicize it (not even in ‘Public Opinion’ section that would be shown). Therefore, we now decide to post this letter to our readers for fair purpose on mass-media. Giao Điểm

Dear Sir,

We read, with considerable qualm and concern, your article, "Vietnam's toxic woes O.C. scientists study threats in Mekong Delta, from DDT to flooding" (OCRegister, January 3, 2002), in which Dr. Truyet Mai and Mr. Quang M. Nguyen claim that pesticides and farm chemicals, but not Agent Orange, pose the greatest health threat in Vietnam, and that food imported from Vietnam is contaminated with these chemicals, including DDT. Their statements have been repeatedly quoted in most Vietnamese language media outlets around the world. As a result, their claims have generated significant anxiety within the overseas Vietnamese community, especially at the time when imported food from Vietnam is a controversial trade issue in the U.S.

However, in a recent Vietnamese broadcasting program currently archived at:

http://www.songtrendatmy.net/ram/sat3.ram

Dr. Mai and Mr. Nguyen have denied what they had allegedly said about the food contamination, and held the OCRegister responsible for the controversial statement. Nevertheless, I have reasons to think that the article is both misguided and unscientific.

First, we are deeply disappointed that both Dr. Mai and Mr. Nguyen did not present any scientifically credible evidence to support their claims. Moreover, OCR did not even ask for their data and methodology before publishing their statements. For example, they state that "The concentrations of some of the chemicals were 890,000 times the California drinking level allowed," but do not indicate which chemicals and how the analysis was performed, and how is it related to imported food! It is very unscientific and extremely dangerous to make inference or generalization to a larger population based on a few water samples smuggled from Vietnam. Indeed, their other research method (e.g., using maps and satellite photos to reach a conclusion on flood severity) is also highly questionable, if not to say, ludicrous.

Second, it is probably needless to say that all foods are, either in small or large quantity, laced with both natural and man-made chemical residues. The problem is a world-wide issue, and is more serious in developed countries than in developing countries. However, due to primarily lack of systematic studies, it is impossible to make any unequivocal statement regarding the contamination of chemicals in foods imported from Vietnam or elsewhere.

Third, while the scientifically defensible association between pesticides and health has not been established, the effect of Agent Orange (contaminated by the carcinogen 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin (TCDD)) on health is confirmed. Approximately two years ago, the Institute of Medicine (National Academy of Sciences) was commissioned to undertake a systematic review of all available scientific evidence on the effects of dioxin on various health problems. The review committee, under the chair of Professor Irva Hertz-Picciotto (University of North Carolina), has documented several findings in a report, "Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2000." Briefly, the committee found that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that a causal association between exposure to herbicides containing TCDD and occurrence of the following diseases: soft-tissue sarcoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Hogkin’s disease, and chloacne. In addition, there was suggestive evidence for an association between dioxin and the following diseases: prostate cancer, respiratory cancer, multiple myeloma, acute and subacute transient peripheral neuropathy, porphyria cutanea tarda, and type II diabetes.
Between 1962 and 1970, approximately 19 million gallons (72 million litres) of herbicides, including 11 million gallons (41.7 million litres) of Agent Orange (which contains dioxin), were sprayed in Vietnam. Several studies conducted by Dr. Arnold Schecter, a professor of public health from the University of Texas (Dallas), have found marked elevation of dioxin associated with the herbicide Agent Orange in most provinces, particularly in Central and Southern Vietnam, where the agent was heavily sprayed during the war. We find the statement [by Dr. Mai and Mr. Nguyen], that Agent Orange does not pose a serious health problem in Vietnam, rather difficult to understand, if not to say, baseless.
It is obviously important that all communications regarding risk should be based on scientifically valid information. We consider that your article cause the poor farmers in Vietnam unnecessary anguish, although it may help generate serious questions for further investigation. It is rather disappointed to see a distinguished newspaper such as The OCRegister has, in the name of science, indulged on a misguided issue without any credible scientific basis.

Dr.Tuan V. Nguyen Sydney, Australia.

Phone: +612 9295-8277; Fax: +612 9295-8277

Email: t.v.nguyen@unsw.edu.au

 

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