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RESIDENTS NEAR BASE GAGETOWN ATTACK REPORT
CLEARING AGENT ORANGE OF CAUSING ILLNESS --
"It is absolutely cruel that a government would
allow
its own soldiers to be killed on their own home
base."
For more about Agent Orange at Base Gagetown in New Brunswick,
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Story below:
-------------------------
Residents attack report clearing Agent Orange
of causing illness
Chris Morris / cp
Angry former soldiers are calling it a whitewash, but a series of
scientific reports on the effects of Agent Orange and other herbicides
at a New Brunswick military base have concluded the chemical sprays
posed a minimal health risk.
A final report released Tuesday states that the area surrounding
Canadian Forces Base Gagetown is as safe as any other region in the
province.
The report, prepared by environmental researchers in Ontario, concluded
that mortality and cancer rates for both men and women living near
Gagetown are similar to those for New Brunswick as a whole.
In fact, men in the Gagetown study region, which included the city of
Fredericton, have a slightly reduced risk of dying from cancer when
compared with the rest of province - a finding that has shocked local
military veterans who say they have lost numerous friends to cancer.
"This here is not going to prove anything," said Gagetown veteran John
Chisholm.
"I know lots of people who were here and who have passed away. How do
you account for them? Where do they fit into the scenario? . . . This is
just about calming the fears of people in the Gagetown area."
The report is the latest in a series of similar studies that found the
herbicide spraying programs had a minor impact on the health of local
residents and most of those who worked at the base.
"It's a whitewash," said Art Connolly of the Agent Orange Association of
Canada. "Even (Veterans Affairs Minister) Greg Thompson once said when
he was in opposition that it was just a public relations exercise."
The studies looked at the annual spray programs at the base, as well as
U.S. military tests of Agent Orange and other combat defoliants over
several days in 1966 and 1967.
The only people who faced potential health risks were those directly
involved in mixing, applying and clearing brush during spray operations,
the studies said.
The reports will now be presented to the federal government to aid in
making a final determination about compensation for people who say their
health was harmed by the sprays.
Compensation
Ottawa is expected to announce a compensation package in the next couple
of weeks, and it is widely believed that the award will be between
$20,000 and $24,000 per person.
Gloria Sellar, the woman who sparked the Agent Orange controversy,
described the final community health report as "shallow."
Sellar's late husband, Gen. Gordon Sellar, was the first Agent Orange
victim from Gagetown to be awarded a disability pension by the Veterans
Affairs Department. Only seven other similar pensions have been awarded
since 1995.
Sellar died of a form of leukemia associated with Agent Orange exposure.
As well, Gloria Sellar has breast cancer.
"I just so want the soldiers to have some recognition," she said in an
interview. "It is absolutely cruel that a government would allow its own
soldiers to be killed on their own home base. No one did this
intentionally, but it was a tragedy nevertheless."
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Larry Scott --
