A Belgian innovation cleans up Vietnamese soils
From 1 to 3 April 2025, Their Royal Majesties, the King and Queen of Belgium made a state visit to Vietnam. The visit highlighted the 30 years of cooperation between Belgium and Vietnam, especially in the health sector.
During this state visit, several themes were discussed, including soil pollution in Vietnam. The Belgian company Haemers Technologies, specialized in soil decontamination since 1991, was highlighted. The firm offers an innovative technique to depollute and decontaminate soils. This method had already been tested in 2022 in Vietnam, and the results were very promising. It involves warming soils to evaporate the pollution. The vapours collected are than sucked out and finally burnt at 1 200° C.
This has had a very positive impact and especially on the eradication of Agent Orange. his herbicide is an ultra-toxic defoliant which was sprayed on Vietnamese crops and vegetation by the US army during the Vietnam War in the 60s and 70s. 50 years later, Agent Orange still damages the health and environment of the Vietnamese population. Moreover, its main component is not biodegradable, making it even more difficult to eliminate this defoliant.
Even if the effectiveness of this innovative Belgian method has been proven, it represents substantial cost. An impact private fund has been set up by a Belgian to finance this soil depollution project in Vietnam.
This example demonstrates, once again, Belgium’s commitment to its role as an ambassador for sustainability.