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Agent Orange is a mix of herbicides (plant-killing chemicals) and defoliant (a chemical used to remove leaves from plants and trees). It was used by the US military during the Vietnam War to destroy plants in large quantities. Agent Orange was one of the “Rainbow Herbicides,” alongside Agent Purple and Agent White. These herbicides were used and tested at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, New Brunswick. A herbicide related to Agent Orange was used to clear public land in Northern Ontario between the 1950s and 1970s. It is unclear how many Canadians were exposed to the potentially deadly chemical. Nor do we know how many may have died as a result.
Use in Warfare
Chemical herbicides were first used in warfare by the British during the Malaya Emergency (1948–1960). Herbicides were employed to destroy both jungle cover and agricultural plants that might be used by Malayan guerrillas. The British experience using herbicides served as a precedent for American use during the Vietnam War. Agent Orange was used in Vietnam from 1962 to 1971. The chemical was used to destroy the dense jungle canopy that provided shelter and cover for the North Vietnamese military and Vietcong guerrillas. Agent Orange was also used against agricultural plants and to control weeds around American military bases. It is believed that upward of 72 million litres of Agent Orange was sprayed over Vietnam and surrounding countries. Over 25,000 square kilometres of forest was defoliated.
Side effects
Agent Orange was initially thought to be harmless to humans and safe enough to handle without additional protection. However, the mixture of herbicides produced trace amounts of the dioxin TCDD — the most toxic and dangerous dioxin. One Vietnamese estimate is that approximately 5 million of its citizens suffer from medical conditions, birth defects or cancers related to their exposure to Agent Orange and other herbicides used during the Vietnam War. As many as 3 million experienced either birth defects or other serious illnesses. It is believed that around 2.6 million American soldiers serving in Vietnam were exposed to Agent Orange. These veterans reported a variety of illnesses and other health concerns. One study estimated that veterans were 33 per cent more likely to have children with birth defects compared to other soldiers. In addition, Agent Orange has been linked to increased risk of cancer.
Agent Orange in Canada
Canada tested Agents White, Purple and Orange in cooperation with the US military at CFB Gagetown in 1966 and 1967. However, this was not the only time these dangerous herbicides were used at the base. It is estimated that over a million litres of the Rainbow Herbicides and other herbicides were used between 1956 and 1984. Over 300,000 Canadian personnel passed through CFB Gagetown during this 28-year period.
The use of Agent Orange and other herbicides in New Brunswick became public knowledge in the early 1980s. This encouraged ex-NB Power employees to create the Sprayers of Dioxin Association to advocate for compensation. The employees were eventually compensated.
In 2004, the widow of a retired general who had commanded the Black Watch regiment at Gagetown rekindled public interest in Agent Orange. She revealed that when awarding her husband a disability pension, the government had admitted to using Agent Orange. This acknowledgement kicked off new interest and investigations by various journalists. The flurry of attention then lead the government to begin its own investigation. By late November 2005, 300 of the 800 troops of the Black Watch stationed at CFB Gagetown — and believed to have been exposed to Agent Orange — had already died. By the fall of 2007, the government allocated nearly $96 million to provide individual compensation up to $20,000. Some criticized the compensation scheme’s narrow criteria which denied many potential claimants. Over the next few years, the government relented and expanded the scope of who could receive compensation. However, the amount was still criticized for being too little. The number of people the government was willing to compensate was also fairly limited: between 4,000 and 5,000 versus as many as 400,000 possible claimants.
Independent analyses of CFB Gagetown and the area around the base were conducted in 2006 for the government of Canada. The findings did not reveal particularly high doses of dioxins. The cancer rates for people living in the area were reported to be lower than the national average. This, however, is not conclusive proof that the herbicides sprayed at the base didn’t cause adverse health effects.
Use in Northern Ontario
Toxic herbicides related to Agent Orange were used in Northern Ontario in the 1950s–1970s. Two of the chemical compounds in Agent Orange were used to clear plants along railways and power lines. The revelation that this occurred caused a minor political scandal in 2011.
