Archival records at National Archives Center III on the use of chemical agents during the Vietnam War: value and accessibility

Authors

  • Vu Thi Phung Vietnam Records and Archives Association Author
  • Vu Dinh Phong University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi Author
  • Nguyen Van Ngoc University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.66659/xnkh0w22

Keywords:

archival records; chemical agents; Vietnam War; consequences of war; National Archives Center III

Abstract

The use of chemical agents during the Vietnam War and their long-term consequences for the environment and human health have been studied from multiple perspectives. However, many published studies have relied primarily on experimental data, military records, and archival sources in the United States, while archival sources created and preserved in Vietnam have been used only to a limited extent in the existing literature. Based on an on-site survey at National Archives Center III, one of Vietnam's five National Archives Centers, this article identifies and introduces groups of records related to the use of chemical agents during the Vietnam War, as well as records documenting subsequent investigation, research, and efforts to address the consequences of the war. It then examines the informational and evidential value of these sources for research on the history of the Vietnam War, environmental history, public health, and selected interdisciplinary fields, while also assessing their accessibility and issues arising in their use. The study introduces to the international scholarly community a body of archival sources that remains underused and highlights the potential to connect records held in Vietnam with international archival sources and datasets in research on the long-term consequences of war.

References

1. Research Literature

Dwernychuk, L. W., Cau, H. D., Hatfield, C. T., Boivin, T. G., Hung, T. M., Dung, P. T., & Thai, N. D. (2002). Dioxin reservoirs in southern Viet Nam: A legacy of Agent Orange. Chemo-sphere, 47(2), 117–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0045-6535(01)00300-9

Le, D. T., Pham, T. M., & Polachek, S. W. (2022). The long-term health impact of Agent Orange: Evidence from the Vietnam War. World Development, 155, 105813. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2022.105813

Lê, K. S., & Bailey, C. R. (2017). From enemies to partners: Vietnam, the U.S. and Agent Orange. G. Anton Publishing.

Martini, E. A. (2012). Agent Orange: History, science, and the politics of uncertainty. University of Massachusetts Press.

Olson, K. R. (2023). Agent Blue: A secret military and environmental chemical weapon used for food denial in South Vietnam during the Vietnam Civil War (1962–1965). Open Journal of Soil Science, 13, 151–186. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojss.2023.133007

Schecter, A., Dai, L. C., Thuy, L. T. B., Quynh, H. T., Minh, D. Q., Cau, H. D., Phiet, P. H., Phuong, N. T. N., Constable, J. D., Baughman, R., Päpke, O., Ryan, J. J., Fürst, P., & Räisänen, S. (1995). Agent Orange and the Vietnamese: The persistence of elevated dioxin levels in human tissues. American Journal of Public Health, 85(4), 516–522. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.85.4.516

Stellman, J. M., Stellman, S. D., Christian, R., Weber, T., & Tomasallo, C. (2003). The extent and patterns of usage of Agent Orange and other herbicides in Vietnam. Nature, 422, 681–687. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01537

Young, A. L. (2009). The history, use, disposition and environmental fate of Agent Orange. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-87486-9

Zierler, D. (2011). The invention of ecocide: Agent Orange, Vietnam, and the scientists who changed the way we think about the environment. University of Georgia Press.

2. Vietnamese Government and Administrative Documents

Council of Ministers of Vietnam. (1987). Quyết định số 213/HĐBT ngày 09/11/1987 về việc đổi tên Ủy ban Quốc gia điều tra hậu quả chiến tranh hóa học của Mỹ ở Việt Nam [Decision No. 213/HĐBT dated November 9, 1987, renaming the National Committee for Investigation of the Consequences of U.S. Chemical Warfare in Vietnam]

Government of Vietnam. (2025). Nghị định số 113/2025/NĐ-CP ngày 03/6/2025 quy định chi tiết một số điều của Luật Lưu trữ [Decree No. 113/2025/NĐ-CP dated June 3, 2025, detailing several provisions of the Law on Archives].

Ministry of Home Affairs of Vietnam. (2025). Thông tư số 06/2025/TT-BNV ngày 15/5/2025 quy định chi tiết một số điều của Luật Lưu trữ [Circular No. 06/2025/TT-BNV dated May 15, 2025, detailing several provisions of the Law on Archives].

Ministry of Home Affairs of Vietnam. (2026). Quyết định số 523/QĐ-BNV ngày 13/5/2026 phê duyệt Danh mục tài liệu lưu trữ tiếp cận có điều kiện của một số phông lưu trữ đang được bảo quản tại các Trung tâm Lưu trữ quốc gia [Decision No. 523/QĐ-BNV dated May 13, 2026, approving the list of archival records subject to conditional access in selected fonds held at the National Archives Centers].

National Assembly of Vietnam. (2024). Luật Lưu trữ số 33/2024/QH15 ngày 21/6/2024 [Law on Archives No. 33/2024/QH15 dated June 21, 2024].

Prime Minister of Vietnam. (1980). Quyết định số 288-TTg ngày 15/10/1980 về việc thành lập Ủy ban Quốc gia điều tra hậu quả chiến tranh hóa học của Mỹ ở Việt Nam [Decision No. 288-TTg dated October 15, 1980, establishing the National Committee for Investigation of the Consequences of U.S. Chemical Warfare in Vietnam].

Prime Minister of Vietnam. (1998). Quyết định số 105/1998/QĐ-TTg ngày 09/6/1998 về việc cho phép Hội Chữ thập đỏ Việt Nam thành lập Quỹ bảo trợ nạn nhân chất độc da cam do chiến tranh ở Việt Nam [Decision No. 105/1998/QĐ-TTg dated June 9, 1998, authorizing the Vietnam Red Cross Society to establish the Fund for the Support of Victims of Agent Orange from the War in Vietnam]

Prime Minister of Vietnam. (1999). Quyết định số 33/1999/QĐ-TTg ngày 01/3/1999 về việc thành lập Ban Chỉ đạo Quốc gia khắc phục hậu quả chất độc hóa học do Mỹ sử dụng trong chiến tranh ở Việt Nam [Decision No. 33/1999/QĐ-TTg dated March 1, 1999, establishing the National Steering Committee for Overcoming the Consequences of Toxic Chemicals Used by the United States in the War in Vietnam]

3. Archival Sources

National Archives Center III. Fonds A, File A-01. Statistical records on incidents involving the use of chemical agents in South Vietnam, 1963–1967.

National Archives Center III. Fonds A, File A-02. Records on war and the living environment in South Vietnam, 1973.

National Archives Center III. Fonds A, File A-03. Statistical records on forest area and growing stock lost/destroyed during the war, 1968–1975.

National Archives Center III. Fonds B, File B-01. Survey forms on the consequences of toxic chemicals in Long Xuyen City, An Giang Province, 1999.

National Archives Center III. Fonds B, File B-02. Survey forms on the consequences of toxic chemicals in the town and districts of Yen Bai Province, 1999.

National Archives Center III. President/Office of the President Fonds, Files 540–544. Records on responses to, research on, and remediation of the consequences of toxic chemicals/dioxin, 1998–2004.

National Archives Center III. Prime Minister's Office Fonds, Files 18045 and 18408. Records on the use of toxic chemicals and investigation of their consequences in Vietnam, 1965-1973.

National Archives Center III. National Assembly and Its Agencies Fonds, File 737 (1962) and File 1824 (1998). Records related to the use of toxic chemicals and research on their consequences.

National Archives Center III. Office of the Council of Ministers Fonds, File 12777. File on research cooperation with the Soviet Union concerning the consequences of chemical warfare in Vietnam, 1983.

National Archives Center III. Government Office Fonds, File 1583, fols. 59–60. Decision No. 105/1998/QĐ-TTg dated June 9, 1998.

Pollution and Diseases is an international, interdisciplinary journal.

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Published

2026-10-09

Issue

Vol. 2 (2026)

Section

Research Articles

Categories

How to Cite

Vu Thi Phung, Vu Dinh Phong, and Nguyen Van Ngoc. 2026. “Archival Records at National Archives Center III on the Use of Chemical Agents During the Vietnam War: Value and Accessibility”. Pollution and Diseases 2 (October): 199-230. https://doi.org/10.66659/xnkh0w22.

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