South Korea launched the field survey inspection of U.S. military bases before Agent Orange

A joint investigation team created up of civilian experts and military officials on Tuesday initiated an on-site inspection at a former U.S. military base where massive amounts of chemicals had been allegedly buried inside the 1960s.

The investigation team began surveys at the web site of the former Camp Mercer, west of Seoul, collecting groundwater and soil samples.

The team will also use ground-penetrating radar devices to scan the base, which was turned over to South Korea in 1993 and now houses a corps of South Korean engineers, Seoul's Yonhap news agency reported, citing Defense Ministry officials.

The team plans to widen its investigation to contain 85 former U.S. military bases across the country, based on local reports.

A joint investigation run by South Korea and also the U.S. at Camp Carroll in Chilgok, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, is still ongoing.

These inquiries were sparked by retired U.S. soldiers, who told a U.S. television station that they helped bury drums of the toxic defoliant Agent Orange at Camp Carroll in 1978.

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