Title Archival Records on the Use of Chemical Agents during the Vietnam War at National Archives Center III: Value and Accessibility
Author(s) Vu Thi Phung¹, Vu Dinh Phong², Nguyen Van Ngoc³
Affiliation ¹ Vietnam Association of Archivists² University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University – Hanoi³ University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University – Hanoi
Country Vietnam
Contribution type case study; empirical study; conceptual paper; methodological paper
Thematic area • Theory, Methodology, and Evidence• War and Soil Systems• War and Freshwater Systems• War and Land-Use Systems• War and Health
Conference framework connection • Analytical Track AT-01 — provisional title to be defined• Analytical Track AT-02 — provisional title to be defined• Analytical Track AT-03 — provisional title to be defined• Analytical Track AT-04 — provisional title to be defined• Analytical Track AT-05 — provisional title to be defined• Analytical Track AT-06 — provisional title to be defined• Analytical Track AT-07 — provisional title to be defined
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 many perspectives. However, much of the existing scholarship has relied mainly on empirical data, military records, and archival sources held in the United States. Relevant records preserved in Vietnamese archives have received comparatively limited scholarly attention and use. Based on an archival survey at National Archives Center III, one of Vietnam’s five National Archives Centers, this study identifies and organizes major groups of records relating to the use of chemical agents during the Vietnam War. It also examines records created through post-war investigations, research, and efforts to address the consequences of the war. The article outlines the contents of these records and analyzes their informational and evidential value for research on the history of the Vietnam War, environmental history, public health, and related interdisciplinary fields. It also assesses their accessibility and discusses issues concerning their use and digitization. By bringing this underused body of historical sources to the attention of the international scholarly community, the study broadens the documentary basis for research on the long-term legacies of the Vietnam War. It also highlights the potential for connecting Vietnamese archival sources with relevant international archival sources and datasets.
Key points ● National Archives Center III preserves diverse records documenting the use of chemical agents during the Vietnam War and post-war investigations of their environmental and human consequences.● These records have informational and evidential value for research on the history of the Vietnam War, environmental history, public health, and related interdisciplinary fields.● Their wider research use depends on systematic identification, appropriate access, digitization, and careful attention to provenance, reliability, and sensitive personal data.
Keywords archival records; chemical agents; Vietnam War; war legacies; National Archives Center III
Main discussion question How can Vietnamese archival records on wartime chemical-agent use be more effectively identified, accessed, and connected with international archival sources and datasets to support interdisciplinary research on the long-term environmental and human legacies of war?
OJS publication link https://pollution-diseases-ojs.org/index.php/pd/article/view/63
Note. Analytical TracksIn addition to the main thematic areas, the conference programme will include several cross-cutting analytical tracks. These tracks will be defined during the preparation of the programme, based on the submitted abstracts and the emerging links between presentations.At the preliminary stage, abstracts may be assigned to provisional analytical tracks marked as AT-01 to AT-07. Final track titles will be announced after the Scientific Committee has reviewed the submitted materials.