Maine report into Agent Orange use at Gagetown nearing completion

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As the Maine commission studying toxic chemical use at Base Gagetown finalizes its report, Canadian veterans advocates still hope the study eventually leads Ottawa to hold an inquiry into the issue.

The Gagetown Harmful Chemical Study Commission met Dec. 14 to finalize its recommendations to the Maine and U.S. governments, which include being open to the lasting effects of Agent Orange and other dioxins being sprayed at 5th Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown.

Maine Senate president Troy Jackson, who’s leading the study, said the commission hopes to push the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to grant veteran status to former Maine National Guard members who trained at Gagetown in the 1970s and may have been exposed to Agent Orange.

“At this moment, we’re not even sure how many people (served at Gagetown and suffered adverse health effects) because the federal government hasn’t been covering disability claims for anyone who didn’t serve in the Vietnam War,” he said. “Knowing how many people were at Gagetown going to be important.”

Agent Orange is a herbicide that was used by the U.S. military to control and destroy vegetation in the battlefield during the Vietnam War. In 1966 and 1967, defoliants such as Agent Orange, Agent Purple, and Agent White were tested at Base Gagetown by U.S. officials. The Canadian Department of National Defence has said affected sites were in a 33-hectare forest containing both deciduous and coniferous trees.

Certain cancers and other health problems are now recognized as being associated with exposure to Agent Orange. Veterans groups and politicians have long been calling for the feds to lead a public inquiry into its use at Gagetown and its effects on humans.

It’s believed all traces of the chemical were removed from the base by U.S. troops, but there have been occasional reports over the years of soldiers and retired service personnel saying they saw barrels of the chemical being buried on the base.

DND did subsequent searches but said in 2018 it couldn’t find any evidence the barrels.

In 2007, the federal Conservative government announced an Agent Orange compensation package for veterans and civilians affected by the spraying. Those who qualified received a $20,000 ex gratia payment.

DND spokesperson Maj. Soomin Kim said an additional inquiry isn’t planned at this time, as the department, Veterans Affairs Canada, and Health Canada already did “an intense and fulsome fact-finding investigation” to understand the health and environmental risks associated with past use of registered and unregistered herbicides at Base Gagetown.

“The Government of Canada is steadfastly committed to ensuring that all those who may have been affected by the past use of registered and unregistered herbicides at Base Gagetown receive the support that they need,” he said in an emailed statement.

Canadian Gagetown veteran Gary Goode, chair of the Brats of the Battlefield Association, contends spraying also took place in other years, in larger quantities, and over a larger area than what was stated in a 2005 fact-finding report on chemical use at the base. He’s also worried soil at the base may still be contaminated. Jackson said his commission is looking for governments to recognize those possibilities.

“We are still looking for the Canadian government to launch a fully independent public inquiry into Agent Orange, Agent White, and Agent Purple use at Gagetown,” said Goode.

The Maine commission’s recommendations include urging the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to grant veteran status to Gagetown service members exhibiting health effects related to harmful chemical exposure so they can receive disability benefits, and ask a federal delegation to lobby for the same. The commission is also calling for a registry of people who served at Gagetown and are experiencing health effects, ask Maine’s Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee to pursue a study of chemicals used at the base, and authorize a voluntary health assessment of those in the proposed registry.

In addition, the commission is looking to get the state’s permission to review progress on the recommendations after the current legislative session.

“I think we made some good recommendations,” said Jackson. “They’re starting to shine more of a light on what is really a big problem.”

The Maine commission’s report will be sent to the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee early next year.