Millions of victims of Agent Orange, a set of harmful chemicals that killed and maimed countless people during the Vietnam War, have something to hope for. The Church of Scientology will begin the controversial detoxification in the country, beginning with a small group.

The US millitary resorted to widespread chemical warfare during the Vietnam War to flush out Viet Nam communist guerillas. Hundreds and thousands died and countless children were born with birth defects due to usage of Agent Orange during the war.

The people with whom the detoxification program is slated to start live near the Danang Airbase, a primary Agent Orange hotspot. They have been tested positive for elevated levels of this highly toxic chemical.

The 24 patients will receive the Hubbard method treatment, which comprises of administration of vitamins, sauna and certain exercises. The treatment will go on for over a month at the 103 Hospital in Hanoi.

Hoang Manh An, a director of the hospital told the AFP, "The Hubbard method... has not yet been used for the cleansing of dioxin. We want to confirm the value of this method in cleansing dioxin infection." He went to add that he hopes that the treatment will be effective as there is no other method to treat the exposure.

Most of the Agent Orange used during the infamous herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, was mixed, stored and loaded into planes at The Danang airbase. Joint cleaning up of the area was started by the US and Vietnam last month.

The USA has neither provided funding for the detoxification drive nor endorsed the idea in the first place. U.S. Embassy spokesman Christopher Hodges told AFP, "We are not aware of any safe, effective detoxification treatment for people with dioxin in body tissues.

The best way to reduce health risks associated with dioxin is to prevent human exposure to dioxin, and the best way to do that is to clean up areas where dioxin exists in the environment at potentially hazardous levels."

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