Maps Of Heavily Sprayed Areas And Dioxin Hot Spots

Close Navigation

Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.

Walter P. Paepcke, Aspen Institute Co-Founder

• Welcome
• About Us
• Our Work
• Impact Areas
• People
• Support Us

• Events
• Programs
• Seminars
• Membership
• Store
• Contact Us

Back

• Welcome Welcome to the Aspen Institute—explore our work, programs, and ideas creating new possibilities for a better world.
• Who We Are
• What We Do
• How We Work

Back

• About Us We are a global convener of changemakers building a better world. Explore our history, impact, and the places that bring our mission to life.
• Impact
• History
• Locations
• International Partners
• People & Culture
• Press center

Back

• Our Work We create real-world impact through a wide range of initiatives that connect people, spark ideas, and advance solutions.
• Programs
• Fellowships
• Events
• Seminars
• Centers
• Awards
• Publications

Back

• Impact Areas Our impact areas connect the dots across programs, fellowships, and networks—linking and leveraging our strengths to take on complex, interdisciplinary challenges.
• Economic Opportunity
• Energy and Climate
• Leadership
• rising generations
• Societal Trust

Back

• People The Aspen Institute is powered by people who lead with purpose: experts, leaders, and changemakers who bring curiosity, conviction, and drive to create a better world.
• President and CEO
• Board of Trustees
• Executive Leadership
• Experts

Back

• Support Us Our work, and the impact we make on people and communities around the world, is made possible by your support.
• 75th anniversary campaign
• Aspen Society
• DONATE NOW

Back

Who We Are

Our Purpose

We ignite human potential to build understanding and create new possibilities for a better world.

Our Heritage

We were founded in 1949 as an experiment—as a place to reflect on values and lead with purpose in a complex, changing world.

Our People

The Aspen Institute is powered by a dedicated community of leaders working together to advance our mission with purpose and care.

Back

How We Work

We bring people together, develop leaders, and enable solutions to today’s challenges by fostering dialogue and collaboration.

Our Methodologies

• Facilitate Dialogue and Curate Convenings
• Develop Leaders and Leadership
• Enable Solutions

Back

What We Do

We tackle society’s most complex challenges through programs, leadership initiatives, and convenings that turn ideas into action.

Explore our Work

Our Impact Areas

• Economic Opportunity
• Energy and Climate
• Leadership
• Rising Generations
• Societal Trust

Back

About Us

Back

Impact

We convene diverse voices to explore complex challenges and spark ideas and foster relationships that lead to real-world impact.

Read our Latest Impact Report Back

The Latest From the Aspen Institute

PRess center news releases Back

History and Heritage

We were founded in 1949 as an experiment—as a place to reflect on values and lead with purpose in a complex, changing world.

Learn about our history and heritage Back

Locations

Our U.S. locations foster connection, reflection, and dialogue—serving as hubs for ideas, leadership, and impact.

Explore our locations

• Washington D.C. (Headquarters)
• Aspen, Colorado
• New York, New York

Back

International Partners

Our network of 13 international partners and 1 initiative advance dialogue, civil discourse, and practical solutions to important challenges within their societies. They are distinct nonprofit organizations affiliated with the Aspen Institute.

Learn more about our International Partners

• Aspen Initiative Africa – Nairobi
• Aspen Institute Central Europe
• Aspen Institute Colombia
• Aspen Institute España
• Institut Aspen France
• Aspen Institute Germany
• Ananta Aspen Centre (India)
• Aspen Institute Italia
• Aspen Institute Japan
• Aspen Institute Kyiv
• Aspen Institute México
• Aspen Institute New Zealand
• Aspen Romania
• Aspen Institute UK

Back

People & Culture

Aspen Institute employees bring diverse backgrounds and a unique blend of knowledge, skills, and experience. We value their passion, insight, and commitment as our most vital resource.

Learn more about careers at the Aspen Institute

Career Opportunities

If you are interested in a career with the Aspen Institute, please explore our open positions.

Internships

The Aspen Institute offers internships that build skills, provide hands-on learning, and connect you with professionals in your field.

Back

Across the Institute

Back

Programs

Our programs tackle complex challenges across policy, society, and culture, creating space for dialogue, innovation, and practical solutions.

No programs found.

• Arts Program
• Ascend at the Aspen Institute
• Aspen Challenge
• Aspen Community Programs
• Aspen Conexión
• Aspen Digital
• Aspen Economic Strategy Group
• Aspen Forum for Community Solutions (AFCS)
• Aspen Global Innovators Group
• Aspen Global Leadership Network
• Aspen Leadership Seminars
• Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs
• Aspen Policy Academy
• Aspen Strategy Group
• Aspen Words
• Business & Society Program
• Center for Native American Youth
• College Excellence Program
• Community Strategies Group
• Congressional Program
• Criminal Justice Reform Initiative
• Economic Opportunities Program
• Education and Society Program
• Energy and Environment Program
• Financial Security Program
• Food and Society Program
• Health, Medicine & Society
• Philanthropy and Social Innovation
• Philosophy & Society
• Religion & Society Program
• Science & Society
• Shared Success
• Socrates Program
• Sports & Society
• Stevens Initiative
• Weave: The Social Fabric Project
• Workplace Innovation Now (WIN) Challenge

Back

Events

From global convenings to local forums, our events bring together diverse voices to exchange ideas and explore solutions to critical issues.

See Upcoming Events Past Events

• Wed 21 Jan 2026

  Beyond 9 to 5: Facilitating Good Jobs for People with Unpredictable Schedules

  Join the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on January 21, from 2 to 3:15 p.m. Eastern time, for “Beyond 9 to 5: Facilitating Good Jobs for People with Unpredictable Schedules.” This conversation will explore a range of strategies for ensuring that those who need a flexible and adaptable work arrangement don’t have to endure low quality jobs and low wages.

• Fri 23 Jan 2026

  Edlis Neeson Great Decisions: America and the World – Trump 2.0 Foreign Policy

Back

Fellowships

Back

Seminars

Back

Partnerships

Back

MyAspen Sign Up

Back

People

Back

Support Us

Discover the ways you can fuel our impact and help us advance our mission.

How to Support the Aspen Institute Back

Seminars

Our signature leadership seminars create transformative experiences that challenge participants to reflect deeply, think critically, and grow as purposeful leaders.

See Upcoming Seminars Back

Centers

Aspen Institute Centers provide focused platforms for advancing specific fields of inquiry, public understanding, and leadership development across disciplines.

Learn about our Centers Back

Publications and Reports

Our research, reports, and commentary share knowledge, surface insights, and inform policy and public discourse.

Browse our publications and reports Back

Awards

We recognize and celebrate individuals and organizations making exceptional contributions to society, leadership, and the public good.

See our Awards Back

Fellowships

We cultivate communities of high-impact leaders committed to values-driven leadership and positive change in their sectors and communities.

No programs found.

• Africa Leadership Initiative – East Africa
• Africa Leadership Initiative – South Africa
• Africa Leadership Initiative – West Africa
• Ascend Fellowship
• Aspen President’s Fellowship
• Aspen Rising President’s Fellowship
• Aspen Strategy Group Rising Leaders Program
• Aspen Young Leaders Fellowship
• Aspen-Kern Program on Leadership and Character in Higher Education
• Brave Heart Fellowship
• Building Indigenous Communities of Hope Fellowship
• Central America Leadership Initiative
• China Fellowship Program
• Civil Society Fellowship
• Economic Mobility Fellowship
• Education and Career Mobility Fellowship
• Finance Leaders Fellowship
• First Movers Fellowship
• Food Leaders Fellowship
• Future Leaders Climate Fellowship
• Health Innovators Fellowship
• Healthy Communities Fellowship
• Henry Crown Fellowship
• Impact West Africa Fellowship
• Job Quality Fellowship
• Kamalnayan Bajaj Fellowship
• Leading Colombia 2050
• Liberty Fellowship
• Middle East Leadership Initiative
• New Voices Fellowship
• Pahara Fellowship
• Remembering Our Sisters Fellowship
• Science and Technology Policy Fellowship
• SOAR Fellowship
• Technology Leaders Initiative
• The Michael D. Eisner Arts & Culture Fellowship
• Workforce Leadership Academies

Back

Energy and Climate

We elevate climate solutions through practical, collective action that protects our planet and our future.

Explore Energy and climate

Back

Economic Opportunity

We advance strategies, policies, and ideas that catalyze the change needed to build an inclusive economy—one that ensures financial security, opportunity, and resilience.

Explore economic opportunity

Back

Leadership

We connect and develop leaders across sectors, geographies, and generations, creating networks of individuals committed to solving our greatest challenges.

Explore Leadership

Back

Rising Generations

We ignite the potential of young people of all backgrounds by developing their leadership, amplifying their voices, and enabling productive dialogue across differences.​

Explore Rising Generations

Back

Societal Trust

We strengthen democracy and our social fabric by building trust and solving problems in partnership with individuals, institutions, and communities.

Explore Societal Trust

Back

President and CEO

Dan Porterfield is President and CEO of the Aspen Institute. He has been recognized as a visionary strategist, leader, and advocate for young people and purpose-driven leadership.

Learn about dan Porterfield Back

Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees includes distinguished leaders from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Trustees provide counsel to the President and CEO, oversee the management of the Institute’s assets and affairs, and guide the organization in fulfillment of its purpose and mission.

Learn About the Board of Trustees Back

Executive Leadership

The Executive Team advises the President and CEO on strategy and operations, ensures alignment across the Institute, and advances its mission internally and externally. Members represent key programs and functions.

Learn more about our Executive Leadership Back

Experts

Our experts focus on an array of relevant critical issues and ideas. They come from a diverse range of backgrounds and have made it their mission to further the ideals of the Aspen Institute

Explore our Experts Back

Planned Giving

Your values-based legacy gift to the Aspen Institute can be a powerful testament to shared beliefs and provide essential support towards our impactful work.

Learn more about Planned Giving Back

Corporate and Foundation Partners

The Aspen Institute is proud to partner with leading companies in our mission to solve the greatest challenges of our time through dialogue, leadership, and action.

Learn more about Corporate and Foundation Partners

• The Agent Orange in Vietnam Program

Maps of Heavily Sprayed Areas and Dioxin Hot Spots

Click here for latest news on Agent Orange

The most effective approach to sharply reducing the legacy of Agent Orange in Vietnam is to focus assistance to health and disabilities services in the provinces which were heavily sprayed with dioxin and on clean-up of dioxin hotspots at former U.S. military bases. To highlight these areas, we employ the great amount of historical data available from Jeanne Stellman and her colleagues at Columbia University on the areas that were sprayed with herbicides and more recent data on dioxin concentrations at hotspots from Office of Committee 33/Hatfield Consultants. We encourage you to explore the following maps using Google Earth. To use this mapping tool, you will need to download a file that will open on your own computer using Google Earth. There you will find an interactive map like the maps below, where you can learn about specific locations by zooming in and clicking for more information. The Google Earth-based tool was developed by the War Legacies Project. Google Earth image of heavily sprayed provinces in Vietnam (outlined in blue and purple). Dioxin hotspots become visible on the map by using Google Earth to zoom in on provinces. Google Earth image of the Da Nang Airbase (outlined in red above) in central Vietnam. One of the two principal dioxin hotspots is located inside the Da Nang Airbase. Google Earth image of the Bien Hoa Airbase (outlined in red above) in Bien Hoa city 50 kms. north of Ho Chi Minh City. This is the second principal dioxin hotspot; it is located at the Bien Hoa Airbase. Office of Committee 33/ Hatfield Consultants studies have confirmed that these two hotspots have dioxin contaminated soils and sediments above or near the Vietnamese National Standard of 1,000 ppt TEQ for soil and 150 ppt TEQ for pond sediments. Google Earth image of central Vietnam. The Phu Cat Airbase, located in Binh Dinh province (red dot in lower right above) was also used as a base for Agent Orange spraying. In 2012 the Vietnamese Ministry of Defense & the UNDP/Global Environmental Facility (GEF) completed the containment of dioxin and Phu Cat has been removed from the list of dioxin hotspots. Two heavily sprayed provinces—Binh Dinh and Kon Tum—are outlined in purple (above). Setting Priorities: Addressing the Heavily Sprayed AreasTwelve provinces were the most heavily sprayed with Agent Orange during the war. Ten of them cluster around one of the three air bases that became the most contaminate with dioxin: Da Nang, Phu Cat and Bien Hoa.

Provinces	Population in 2009 (millions)	Percentage of Province Sprayed During 1960s	Gallons of Herbicides Sprayed	Total Area Sprayed (sq. kms.)	Rank Among Most Heavily Sprayed Provinces in Vietnam
Da Nang Cluster
Thừa Thiên Huế	1.1	25%	920,497	1,244	3rd
Quảng Nam/Đà Nẵng	2.4	8%	665,431	899	7th
Quảng Trị	0.6	17%	613,062	828	9th
4.1	2,198,990
Phu Cat Cluster
Kon Tum	0.4	11%	818,340	1,106	4th
Binh Dinh	1.5	10%	450,817	609	10th
1.9	1,269,157
Bien Hoa Cluster
Đồng Nai	2.6	41%	1,785,897	2,413	1st
Bình Phước/Bình Dương	2.5	24%	1,714,609	2,317	2nd
Tây Ninh	1.1	23%	690,160	933	5th
6.2	4,190,666

Today these ten provinces are home to over 12 million Vietnamese. These provinces need assistance for individuals and families burdened with disabilities and to restore forest cover and the productivity of farming soils in ways that create jobs and lead to higher incomes. See Dialogue Group: Second Year Report, pages 9-19. Setting Priorities: Addressing the Human Need A public private partnership (PPP) is being used to address the human needs in Cam Le District in Da Nang. The PPP has enrolled all of the 165 children with disabilities in Cam Le District in the Hope System of Care and 17 of the 120 young adults. One of the children in the Hope System of Care is Nguyen Thi Ly, born in 2001 with a deformed face, head and chest. Ly’s grandfather was a soldier stationed in Quang Binh during the war. His two daughters, Ly’s mother and her sister, are disabled. Ly’s father is a bricklayer. The Hope System of Care has provided nutritional supplements and a scholarship for Ly, a new roof for the family’s house and a small loan to Ly’s mother to raise pigs. The photo below shows Ly at school. Catherine Karnow Setting Priorities: Addressing Dioxin “Hot Spots” Da Nang Airbase The Da Nang airbase was a major Ranch Hand facility during the American War in Vietnam. Nearly 11 million liters of Agent Orange were handled on the base. Today, several areas on the Da Nang Base including the loading, storage and mixing areas and Sen Lake to the north and the Pacer Ivy area at the south of the base have been confirmed to have high levels of dioxin. Levels of dioxin have been found to be as much as 365,000 ppt TEQ, more than 365 times the Vietnamese standard for soil. In a joint US-Vietnam project funded by USAID and the Ministry of Defense, 72,900 cubic meters of soil and sediment will be decontaminated using in-pile thermal desorption technology. The contaminated soil and sediment will be placed in a closed structure which is being built at the airbase. The soil and sediment will be heated to a minimum of 335 degrees Celsius (635 degrees Fahrenheit) and held at that temperature for 28 days to break the dioxin into non-toxic compounds. The project was officially launched on August 9, 2012 and is expected to be finished in 2016. Bien Hoa Airbase The Bien Hoa Airbase is also a priority hotspot. Over the last decade, scientists from the government of Vietnam working with international experts have identified soils contaminated with dioxin. In early 2013 the Ministry of Defense and USAID will begin more detailed studies leading to the full remediation of the contaminated soils over the next several years. Dioxin is toxic to human health and exposure to it has been associated with numerous specific disabilities. Highly contaminated soil from the former storage area has been contained in a landfill, however there are other sites on the base (including lakes) that are in need of clean-up. Phu Cat Airbase Over 3.5 million liters of Agent Orange were located on the Phu Cat base during the American war in Vietnam. Several areas of the Phu Cat base were found to have elevated levels of dioxin requiring remediation (above 1000 ppt in soil or 150 ppt in sediment). The Ministry of Defense and UNDP/Global Environmental Facility (GEF) removed the 7,000 cubic meters of dioxin contaminated sediment and soil on the base and placed it in a secure landfill. The Government of Vietnam has now removed Phu Cat from the list of dioxin hot spots. Learn more about the ongoing cleanup and the important impact of government and donor support in the USAID Cleanup Progress Reports.