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Topic: Agent Orange Gagetown (Read 8064 times)
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ranrad
Ron [Andy] Andrews
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Sounds real good for them. But people are sick, people are dying, people are suffering and doing without basic.,.. like proper nutrition , so they can get at least SOMe of the medication they need... and it appears that our own country.. and ESPECIALLY the GOV LEADERS... DO NOT GIVE A DAMN... and what of the Minister responsible?  He keeps his high paid job and big pension for doing ... naught.....shame ,shame shame.... and shame on the people of this country for not letting their MPs know.....and yes buds , the Gov secret squirrels are watching me , and creating whatever obstacle sthey can for me...well.. if thats what they are about , then maybe they will get caught....and face the wrath of the nation.....but i really wonder if Joe average Canuck cares anymore.....ranrad |
RCAF,CAF, converted RCR?,1RCR 74-77 CD: SSM (Nato);CPSM,;UN-Cyp.; UN- Golan
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Young Ken
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Now the rest of Canadians are beginning to see the light.
****************************
Canadians link environment, health problems: CMA poll
Sun Aug 19, 9:54 PM
One in four Canadians surveyed in the Canadian Medical Association's seventh annual National Report Card on Health Care linked the effects of the environment in relation to their health problems, the association's president said Sunday.
About 27 per cent of Canadians believe they have environment-related illnesses such as asthma and allergies, Dr. Colin McMillan told CBC News on Sunday. It was the first time the report card focused on that issue, he said.
"It does seem like the link between good health and a good environment is a real one, and that Canadians are aware of this and concerned in many areas," he said.
Although scientists and health officials haven't been able to confirm a strong link between the two, asthma clinics have been set up in certain regions to track the number of children who suffer from the condition.
McMillan, who leaves his post as CMA president later this week, said the clinics help doctors detect changes or complications earlier, which has meant a reduction on the use of the health care system, particularly hospitalization.
The survey was commissioned by the CMA and was conducted between June 19 and 29 that asked 1,001 Canadian adults. The sample provides a 3.2 percentage point margin of error for the overall national findings, 95 times out of 100.
with files from the Canadian Press
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Young Ken
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Aug 20, 2007 1:36:00 PM MST
Veterans say final N.B. Agent Orange report may limit compensation (Agent-Orange-Report)
OROMOCTO, N.B. (CP) _ The final report on the use of Agent Orange and other herbicides at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown will be released Tuesday, and some activists fighting for compensation worry it may serve to limit Ottawa‘s settlement plans.
Gagetown veteran Wayne Cardinal and Art Connolly of the Agent Orange Association of Canada said Monday they believe the federal government has already decided on the amount of compensation to offer those potentially affected by the use of herbicides at the sprawling New Brunswick base from the 1950s to the 1980s.
Cardinal said the final report _ a study of health patterns in the Gagetown area _ may serve only to limit the number of people who qualify for a federal settlement package, expected to be between $20,000 and $24,000 per person.
“I‘m a little scared they may narrow it down to just those with cancer or those who are dying,‘‘ said Cardinal, who has worked and lived in the area south of Fredericton since the 1960s.
“If I have to get one of the cancers linked to exposure to qualify, I‘m glad I don‘t qualify.‘‘
Dr. Dennis Furlong, co-ordinator of the federal fact-finding project, will reveal whether communities near Gagetown had a higher incidence of illnesses when compared with the rest of the province.
It will be the last in a series of reports that, so far, have minimized the health risks for people living near and working on the base.
Cantox Environmental, the company hired by the federal government to look into the Agent Orange controversy, concluded that only those directly involved in applying defoliants or clearing treated brush faced potential, long-term health risks.
“The overall scenario is that people in the area are safe,‘‘ Furlong said following the release of the most recent Agent Orange report in June.
The U.S. military tested a number of defoliants at CFB Gagetown, including Agent Orange, over several days in 1966 and 1967.
Besides military tests, commercially available herbicides were used to clear foliage at the base from the time it opened in the mid-1950s.
The same commercial herbicides, approved for use in Canada, were widely used across the country in forestry operations and to clear power and railway lines.
High concentrations of the dioxin-laden chemicals have been linked to health problems such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia, non-Hodgkin‘s lymphoma and Hodgkin‘s disease.
Connolly said he, too, believes the report on health patterns will be used by the federal government to fit the compensation package it has already developed.
“I think it (the compensation) will be limited to soldiers,‘‘ Connolly said in an interview.
“I think it will be very minimal. It will be token, in my opinion. I don‘t think you‘ll see anything for wives, children or civilians.‘‘
Cardinal said he believes the compensation will be enough “to maybe buy a used Volkswagon. We‘re not expecting much.‘‘
Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson said recently he believed the federal government has “enough detail‘‘ and “enough science‘‘ to move forward on compensation.
Ottawa has been working for more than a year on a proposal. The payments would probably see claimants waive any right to sue.
About 1,400 people are involved in a class action lawsuit over herbicide spraying at the base. The suit is slowly making its way through the courts.
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Young Ken
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Aug 20, 2007 1:36:00 PM MST
Veterans say final N.B. Agent Orange report may limit compensation (Agent-Orange-Report)
OROMOCTO, N.B. (CP) _ The final report on the use of Agent Orange and other herbicides at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown will be released Tuesday, and some activists fighting for compensation worry it may serve to limit Ottawa‘s settlement plans.
Gagetown veteran Wayne Cardinal and Art Connolly of the Agent Orange Association of Canada said Monday they believe the federal government has already decided on the amount of compensation to offer those potentially affected by the use of herbicides at the sprawling New Brunswick base from the 1950s to the 1980s.
Cardinal said the final report _ a study of health patterns in the Gagetown area _ may serve only to limit the number of people who qualify for a federal settlement package, expected to be between $20,000 and $24,000 per person.
“I‘m a little scared they may narrow it down to just those with cancer or those who are dying,‘‘ said Cardinal, who has worked and lived in the area south of Fredericton since the 1960s.
“If I have to get one of the cancers linked to exposure to qualify, I‘m glad I don‘t qualify.‘‘
Dr. Dennis Furlong, co-ordinator of the federal fact-finding project, will reveal whether communities near Gagetown had a higher incidence of illnesses when compared with the rest of the province.
It will be the last in a series of reports that, so far, have minimized the health risks for people living near and working on the base.
Cantox Environmental, the company hired by the federal government to look into the Agent Orange controversy, concluded that only those directly involved in applying defoliants or clearing treated brush faced potential, long-term health risks.
“The overall scenario is that people in the area are safe,‘‘ Furlong said following the release of the most recent Agent Orange report in June.
The U.S. military tested a number of defoliants at CFB Gagetown, including Agent Orange, over several days in 1966 and 1967.
Besides military tests, commercially available herbicides were used to clear foliage at the base from the time it opened in the mid-1950s.
The same commercial herbicides, approved for use in Canada, were widely used across the country in forestry operations and to clear power and railway lines.
High concentrations of the dioxin-laden chemicals have been linked to health problems such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia, non-Hodgkin‘s lymphoma and Hodgkin‘s disease.
Connolly said he, too, believes the report on health patterns will be used by the federal government to fit the compensation package it has already developed.
“I think it (the compensation) will be limited to soldiers,‘‘ Connolly said in an interview.
“I think it will be very minimal. It will be token, in my opinion. I don‘t think you‘ll see anything for wives, children or civilians.‘‘
Cardinal said he believes the compensation will be enough “to maybe buy a used Volkswagon. We‘re not expecting much.‘‘
Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson said recently he believed the federal government has “enough detail‘‘ and “enough science‘‘ to move forward on compensation.
Ottawa has been working for more than a year on a proposal. The payments would probably see claimants waive any right to sue.
About 1,400 people are involved in a class action lawsuit over herbicide spraying at the base. The suit is slowly making its way through the courts.
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Young Ken
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Agent Orange fact finders release report today By MICHAEL STAPLES staples.michael@dailygleaner.com Published Tuesday August 21st, 2007 Appeared on page A3 ********************** I removed picture ********************* GLEANER/STEPHEN MACGILLIVRAY PHO WAITING IS OVER: Bill Gerdson, a former member of the Black Watch Regiment, left, and Jim Cadger, membership chairman for the Agent Orange Association of Canada and also a veteran, will have a first-hand look at an epidemiological report today into herbicide use at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown. Residents in and around Canadian Forces Base Gagetown will find out today what the effects of more than 50 years of herbicide spraying by the military may have had on their health. The results of an epidemiological study will be released this morning by Dr. Dennis Furlong, the co-ordinator for the Gagetown and Area Fact-Finders Project. Researchers for the study were given the task of determining whether people near the military base had a higher incidence of illnesses when compared to average New Brunswickers. The study is expected to include illnesses the scientific and medical communities have previously associated with exposure to the types of herbicides used at CFB Gagetown. "I think it is fair to say that there are no surprises," Furlong said in an interview. "It's pretty well much in the line of what we have been told to date by the scientists. There is no dark and shady; it's a positive report. It gives people, finally, some solid scientific information about what the facts actually are." Aside from Agent Orange, which was tested at CFB Gagetown for four days in 1966 and for three days in 1967, the base also used chemicals known as 2-4-5-T and 2-4-D on its ranges to keep forest growth in check. As many as 200,000 soldiers may have been at the base during the spraying. Two recent reports on the use of Agent Orange and other herbicides at the base found that spraying posed little risk to human health, and those involved in the preparation and distribution of the herbicide mix were at greater risk of developing health problems, including cancer. "This is the end of what I have to do except to do my summary report, which will be (given) to the minister in another two weeks or so," Furlong said. The Department of Veterans Affairs has reportedly been working on a compensation package for more than a year that will offer payments of $20,000 to $24,000 to eligible victims. The ex gratia payments would probably see claimants waive any right to sue. That announcement is expected next month. Veteran John Chisholm of Douglas, who sits on an advisory board for the Base Gagetown and Area Fact-Finders Project, has seen parts of the latest report. He said it might help clarify exactly who may be eligible for compensation. "If it doesn't, I just don't know what they are going to do ... I'll have to take another route." Chisholm said there is no difference between Agent Orange and other chemicals under a different name that were sprayed at the base. Everyone who was exposed to the spray should be compensated, he said. Lincoln's Wayne Cardinal, who served at Gagetown with the Black Watch Regiment during the spraying years, said he hopes officials don't micromanage results from the study to the point where only certain types of illnesses are given consideration for compensation. Cardinal hopes the "presumptive clause" will be adopted. That means "if you were there, you will be compensated." He said $20,000 to $30,000 is not much but, he admitted, it was "better than a kick in the arse." Jim Cadger, the membership chairman for the Agent Orange Association of Canada, said nothing will be settled until a public inquiry into the spray issue is ordered and those responsible are held accountable. Cadger described the fact-finders project as being nothing more than a waste of time. "The Base Gagetown Fact-finders Mission has been the biggest public exercise in futility that I have ever witnessed in my life," he said. "They have spent $1.7 million down there so far and have done absolutely nothing but play golf, as far as I am concerned." Aside from an inquiry, the association is asking for an immediate $50,000 tax-free payment for the living and also for the estates of those who were exposed between 1956 and 1984, including all living direct family members of these persons. |
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Young Ken
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AUG 21, 2007
CBC NEWS MORNING
Agent Orange health report to be released today
CBC: From the other coast of our country a much anticipated report detailing the use of herbicides at a New Brunswick military base comes out today. Many people believe their health was harmed by exposure to Agent Orange and other chemicals from the 1950's through to the 1980's. The CBC's Jacques Poitras joins us from Fredericton this morning. Jacques.
REPORTER: Hi Heather. Well, today's report is going to look at whether there are higher than normal rates of cancer and other illnesses among the residents and employees in the area around CFB Gagetown. Now this is part of a long process and there have been several reports that began after anecdotal evidence surfaced a couple of years ago and was reported by the CBC about people who had worked at the base, people who had served in the military on the base, getting sick after the spraying of Agent Orange and other herbicides particularly in the 1950's and the 1960's.
CBC: So when you say this is an ongoing process and there have been several reports, what did those earlier reports say Jacques?
REPORTER: Well those reports have been quite discouraging to the veterans and other former base workers who have been looking for compensation, who have been asking Ottawa for compensation. Those reports used a bunch of scientific models to suggest that there should not have been any long-term risk to the people on the base from the herbicides. So, that's been very dispiriting to them. There's still talk of compensation. Of course, today's report which will look at the actual illness rates is very crucial to the process because if it shows that there is a higher than normal rate of illness then that will suggest that something wasn't right at the base. If it shows that it's the same as everywhere else, well then, you know, that will be another blow to their effort to persuade the federal government to provide compensation.
CBC: And Jacques we'll be watching today as this unfolds there. Jacque Poitras in Fredericton this morning.
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Young Ken
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Latest Agent Orange report to address health patterns at N.B. base
August 20, 2007 - 13:17
OROMOCTO, N.B. (CP) - People who feel their health was harmed by exposure to herbicides at a New Brunswick military base are skeptical the final report on the spray programs will have much impact on Ottawa's compensation plans.
Military veteran Wayne Cardinal and Art Connolly of the Agent Orange Association of Canada say they believe the federal government has already decided about the amount of compensation to offer as a result of toxic herbicides used at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown from the 1950s to the 1980s.
Cardinal says the final report, to be released on Tuesday, may serve only to limit the number of people who qualify for a federal settlement package, expected to be between $20,000 and $24,000 per person.
Dr. Dennis Furlong, co-ordinator of the federal fact-finding project on herbicide spraying at the base, will reveal the results of a study to determine whether communities near Gagetown had a higher incidence of illnesses, as compared to the province of New Brunswick.
But Connolly says military families who lived in those communities are highly mobile, and it would be difficult to get an accurate picture of the people who could have been affected by the spray programs.
The U.S. military briefly tested Agent Orange and other combat defoliants at the base in the 1960s.
In addition, herbicides were applied regularly to cut down brush on the base.
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Young Ken
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No evidence to link cancer rates to Agent Orange: report
Last Updated: Tuesday, August 21, 2007 | 12:05 PM AT
CBC News
There's no evidence that rates of cancer in the area around CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick are linked to the use of Agent Orange, according to a report released Tuesday.
Veterans of CFB Gagetown were anxiously awaiting the report on the use of herbicides at the base, as it could make or break their case for compensation.
The report is part of the federal fact-finding review led by co-ordinator Dr. Dennis Furlong on whether Agent Orange and other chemicals may have led to cancer and other illnesses in the area.
Dr. Judith Guernsey of Dalhousie University said she looked at existing research to determine which types of cancers are linked to Agent Orange and other herbicides. Then she looked at whether there were higher rates of those cancers in people near the base.
The Gagetown-area rates of soft tissue sarcoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the two types most linked to herbicides, were virtually identical to rates around the province as a whole.
Breast cancer, bone cancer, brain cancer and cancer of the larynx did show up more often in the area, but in many of those examples, only two or three cases led to the higher rate, and there's no scientific consensus that herbicides lead to those types of cancer, Guernsey said.
She said rates for some forms of cancer were actually lower in the Gagetown area than in the province overall.
Guernsey said she can't rule out that exposure did lead to greater risk for cancer because there is preliminary evidence of a link between some herbicides and breast cancer. However, she said it would take a much longer, larger and more expensive study to come up with firm conclusions.
The U.S. military tested Agent Orange and other combat defoliants at the base in the 1960s, and other herbicides were used there to get rid of brush on the base.
Two previous reports have undermined the case that veterans and others have been making to Ottawa for compensation. One found it was unlikely that most base workers suffered any long-term risk to their health. The other declared the base safe for current personnel.
More than 2,000 people have signed on to a lawsuit launched in 2005 against the federal government. Members of the Agent Orange Association of Canada said a negative result from the report would limit the number of people who qualify for a federal settlement package, and further damage the case for compensation.
The package was promised by Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson for later this year, and is expected to be between $20,000 and $24,000 per person.
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Young Ken
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Aug 21, 2007 8:29:00 AM MST
Agent Orange study finds little risk for communities near CFB Gagetown (Agent-Orange-Report)
OROMOCTO, N.B. (CP) _ The latest report on the use of Agent Orange and other potent herbicides at a New Brunswick military base says there is little evidence that people living near the base faced increased health risks.
The community health risk study, released Tuesday, found that mortality and cancer rates for both men and women living near Canadian Forces Base Gagetown are similar to those for New Brunswick as a whole.
In fact, men in the Gagetown study region, which included the city Fredericton, have a slightly reduced risk of dying from cancer than the rest of province _ a finding that will shock military veterans in the area who say they have lost numerous friends to cancer.
“For most of the specific disease outcomes, there were few differences between the Gagetown study region and the province of New Brunswick as a whole for both mortality and cancer incidence,‘‘ the report states.
Some veterans and people living near the base have been saying for years that they believe their health was harmed by the spraying of herbicides at the base and by U.S. military tests of Agent Orange and other defoliants in the 1960s.
But a federally appointed fact-finding mission has found little evidence to support that claim, saying that only those directly involved in the mixing and spraying of the chemicals could be at a higher risk of harm.
However, the latest report does find a slightly higher incidence of breast cancer and nose and throat cancers among women living in the study region, but it did not draw a link to the herbicide spraying.
“It was not possible to draw conclusions about the factors that might be causing this slightly increased risk,‘‘ said the report, prepared by Intrinsik Environmental Sciences Inc. of Ontario.
Still, the study‘s authors do admit to a number of shortcomings in their methodology. They noted that many of the people who once worked at the base have long since moved away, reflecting the traditionally transient lifestyle of military families.
They suggest it may be worthwhile to conduct a “nested study‘‘ of the health histories of people who were directly involved in spraying programs from the early 1960s until 2000.
“The comparisons that would result from this study might yield patterns of herbicide health effects associations related to the experience at CFB Gagetown,‘‘ the report states.
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Young Ken
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Sunday, August 19, 2007
Dioxin dangers
Voice: Richard A. Maltby, Midland
While reading Midland County Environmental Health Services Director
Chuck Lichon's article, ''Dioxin: A difficult-to-define molecule
entangled in hypothetical fears'' (The Bay City Times, July 31), we
should all be aware that the Michigan Department of Community Health
continues to recognize the danger of exposure to dioxins.
The department says: ''Not all dioxins have the same toxicity or
ability to cause illness and adverse health effects. The most toxic
chemical in the group is 2,3,7,8-tetracholrodibenzo-para-dioxin
(2,3,7,8-TCDD). Because it is the most toxic, 2,3,7,8-TCCD is the
standard to which other dioxins are compared.''
The department also reported that it is not known whether people
exposed to low levels of dioxins will experience the same health
effects as seen in animal studies.
Dioxins are believed to have the potential to cause a wide range of
adverse effects in humans. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
has characterized the mixture of dioxins to which people are usually
exposed as ''likely human carcinogens.'' The EPA has also
characterized 2,3,7,8-TCDD as a ''human carcinogen.'' The U.S.
Department of Heath and Human Services lists 2,3,7,8-TCDD as a
substance ''known to be a human carcinogen.''
The National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences
recently informed us that 2,3,7,8-TCDD is among the most toxic
anthropogenic substance ever identified.
Inadvertent exposures of humans through chemical waste byproducts,
industrial accidents, occupational exposures to commercial compounds
(primarily phenooxyacid herbicides), and through dietary pathways
have led to a wide range of body burdens of TCDD and other dioxins
and led numerous epidemiological studies to a variety of adverse
effects in humans.
As a practicing professional urban and regional environmental
resources planner for 38 years, I am inclined to say it would be
wise to take precaution with exposure to dioxins and other
environmental pollutants rather than be sorry.
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Young Ken
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Base Gagetown and Area Fact Finding Project’s (BGAFFP) final report no surprise to the Victims. Disappointed yes! Surprised No, and that is the sad part, that soldiers who loved their country so much that they joined the Canadian Armed Forces could get to a stage in their life time, where they are not surprised that Ottawa is once again using half truths and even out right lies to belittle the injuries that they received in the service to this country. Dalhousie University conducted a study to determine if area residents had a higher rate of cancers then other New Brunswick (NB) residents. First the question answered wasn’t the correct question in the victim’s minds because how much they were contaminated their rate of dieing and for what reasons as compared against other contaminated areas in the Provence is of little concern to the people who are dieing. This also doesn’t allow for the fact that many retired soldiers and other civilians affected by Gagetown spraying do in fact populate the many parts of NB. Dr. Judith Guernsey of Dalhousie University said she looked at existing research to determine which types of cancers are linked to Agent Orange and other herbicides, which is a problem in itself as Garbage in Garbage out and so far no country has admitted just how deadly these chemicals are. This is one of the reasons that there has been over 50 years of study after study with little or no consensus on their findings. The Politicians’ instead make political and financial decisions on which study to accept and which ones to down play with Corporate America swinging most of the decisions. Ottawa officials have been quoted that as many as 535,000 military and civilians may have been affected, what they failed to emphasize to Dalhousie University was that as many as 500,000 because of the very nature of their military lives have since moved away. That the Wives and children who were in PMQ’s are all gone, that the soldiers are gone and that most of the young people who were there during these years are also elsewhere, should have not only been taken into account but also pursued in order to determine the correctness of their findings. In fact the numbers thrown around by Ottawa if they still remained in the Gagetown-area it would have almost doubled the population of NB, so if only half of them were sick it would have increased the cancer rate of NB by 25%, not exactly something Ottawa would want discovered or disclosed. No there is only one conclusion that anybody can draw from this report and that is that without a Full Public and Judicial Inquiry, nobody will ever hear the truth of what was sprayed, why it was sprayed or the true and unacceptable numbers of Canadian Soldiers killed by Friendly fire, in the believed safety of their own country, by their very own government and all during piece time. Cpl. Kenneth H. Young CD (Ret'd). 3205 Telescope Terrace Nanaimo, BC V9T-3V4 Tel - 250-758-8837 kentar@telus.net The CFB Gagetown Agent Orange petition is located at www.petitiononline.com/aoalert More Information on Gagetown Chemicals. www.agentorangealert.com |
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Young Ken
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MLA: TODAY'S REPORT SUPPORTS COMPENSATION
Jody Carr's Response to Today's Fact Finders Report
August 21, 2007
Today's report regarding the potential health effects from the use of herbicides used at CFB Gagetown from 1952 to the present is but only one of several pieces in a very large puzzle. There has been a great deal of work undertaken by the previous and current governments. The Minister of Veterans Affairs, Greg Thompson, stated publicly compensation will be announced "soon".
With the release of today's report I am convinced there will indeed be compensation provided by the Federal Government. Today's report, in my estimation, provided information weighing heavily in favour of providing compensation, especially to those who worked at Base Gagetown or lived very very close to spray areas and were repeatedly directly exposed to herbicides. Here is why I conclude this:
Three points I gathered as being very important from today's release are:
1. It stated in the Summary Report that using the US IMO standards, there was sufficient evidence to support conclusions of positive associations between exposure to chlorophenoxy herbicides used at Base Gagetown (especially in the earlier years when dioxin was a contaminant) and the development of soft tissue sarcoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and other adverse health outcomes sited on page 3 and,
2. Exposure to chlorophenoxy (dioxin-laced) chemicals did occur, however there were no concrete conclusions made regarding the "level or magnitude" of the exposures and no conclusions on the likelihood of causal of illness. Thus, in my opinion, this leaves the benefit of the doubt to those more directly exposed requiring compensation who have experienced an IMO illness as described in the summary report page 3 and finally,
3. Since 1980, the greater Base Gagetown Region in general has seen no greater incidence of cancer compared to other regions of New Brunswick,
1. The summary report from today on Page 3 provided highlights/conclusions about the health associations with herbicides used at Base Gagetown.
It states on page 3:
"Using the US Institute of Medicine evaluation of evidence criteria, a thorough Scientific Literature Review of the published epidemiological studies about the health effects associated with the herbicides used at CFB Gagetown determined that...there was sufficient evidence, however, to support conclusions of positive associations between exposure to chlorophenoxy herbicides and the development of soft tissue sarcoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In earlier years, chlorophenoxy herbicides were known to have contained manufacturing impurities, including dioxin as contaminants. There was also preliminary evidence of positive associations between exposure to chlorophenoxy herbicides and laryngeal cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, Hodgkin's disease, multiple myeloma, chronic lymphocylic leukemia, spina bifida, spontaneous abortions, Parkinson's disease, and type 2 diabetes."
DVA currently only recognizes illnesses associated to exposure in 1966 and 1967. However, as a result of today's report and acknowledgment of sufficient evidence supporting associations with dioxin laced herbicides and certain illnesses, compensation should be expanded to those people exposed beyond the 1966 + 1967 years, especially those exposed prior to 1966.
2. In addition, even though the information past 1980 showed no elevated incidence of cancer in this region compared to other areas of NB, the report today stated several times there was insufficient information to make proper conclusions regarding the people more directly exposed to the herbicides.
Family members: "exposure of family members to pesticides through the take-home pathway can occur...it was not possible to quantify this exposure...with any level of certainty due to the large number of variables and assumptions required.
Also the summary report states:
"...the level of uncertainty resulting from the reconstruction of activities, some of which occurred more than 50 years ago, coupled with the uncertainties inherent in standard forward-looking risk assessment, is large. The expectations regarding the level of precision that this risk assessment exercise can produce...should be limited. The risk assessment should be considered part of the weight-of-evidence needed to identify groups of individuals who may have been adversely affected by historical exposures."
"detailed analysis for exposure-related health effects was not possible due to the nature of the data that were available."
"due to the uncertainty of the data, absence of evidence from these analyses does not necessarily mean that there were no health effects resulting from the exposures to the CFB Gagetown herbicides."
Therefore, the benefit of the doubt, or the presumptive policy, should be provided to those with IMO illnesses who were exposed to dioxin-laced chlorophenoxy herbicides anytime since 1952 at Base Gagetown.
3. The report today stated there is no elevated health incidence using information available since 1980 in the greater Base Gagetown region compared to other regions of New Brunswick. That is good news for present day residents, in particular. However, in relation to herbicide exposure since 1952, many people who were directly exposed, especially in the earlier years, left the region prior to 1980. Also, some people died and/or were diagnosed and treated prior to 1980, thus not being included in the statistics for today's report.
I will continue to monitor the progress of this file. I will join many others, including veterans, at the upcoming compensation announcement to listen to the response of the Federal government with the hopes it mirrors adequate compensation for those who suffered adverse health affects due to the exposure of herbicides at Base Gagetown.
I think the Fact Finder and employees at the Fact Finder office have done the job that was asked of them. They should be commended for their work and effort.
Sincerely,
Jody Carr, MLA
Oromocto
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Young Ken
Veteran 300+ Member
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Fort York - 2 RCR 67-70 * 1 RCR Recce 70-74
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Agent Orange report 'out of whack,' says veteran By MICHAEL STAPLES staples.michael@dailygleaner.com Published Wednesday August 22nd, 2007 Appeared on page A3 Disappointment and frustration marked the release Tuesday of the latest report on herbicide spraying at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown. An epidemiology and literature review prepared for the Base Gagetown Fact-Finders Project found the use of Agent Orange and other herbicides at the military facility didn't cause increased cases of cancer for people living near the base. Jim Cadger, the membership chairman for the Agent Orange Association of Canada, a group that's been fighting for a public inquiry, described the results of the study as being nothing more than a whitewash. He said it would have huge implications in the fight to give veterans and civilians exposed to the spray compensation. "They are going to cut this down to as few people as they possibly can," said Cadger. "Basically, they are saying if you didn't go swimming in it, you don't qualify. Only a few people are going to be offered (the compensation)." Agent Orange was tested at CFB Gagetown for four days in 1966 and for three days in 1967. The base also used chemicals known as 2-4-5-T and 2-4-D on its ranges to keep forest growth in check. A compensation package, expected to offer payments of $20,000 to $24,000 to eligible victims, could be announced as early as next week. The ex gratia payments would probably see claimants waive any right to sue. Cadger said the study and others done by the fact-finders project, which reached similar conclusions, are "way out of whack" with what should have been done. No medical tests were carried out on former military members or on civilians, he said. Dr. Dennis Furlong, the co-ordinator of the fact-finders project, said 40,000 people in the Gagetown study area were compared to 700,000 people in the rest of the province. "The answer I can give New Brunswickers today, more particularly the people in this region, is there appears to be no difference in the cancer rate and some of the other diseases that we studied between this endemic area and the rest of the province," Furlong said. He said the study only went back to 1980 because the information was easy to obtain digitally, adding individual records prior to then would need to be examined. The process could have delayed the report by an additional three years because of privacy issues, he said. The report's author, Dr. Judith Guernsey of Dalhousie University, said she and her team of researchers examined which types of cancers are linked to the herbicides. They determined that while rates of soft-tissue sarcoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma differed little when compared to the rest of the province, cancers of the breast, bone, larynx and brain were slightly more prevalent. "I think it would be interesting to study those people and try to understand what's happened," Guernsey said. "I also recognize that such a study may not be feasible because you would have to do it in a very systematic way. You have to make sure there are good systematic records of who was working where and have good health records to follow up what's happened with those people, and I am not sure that's possible." David Weir, a veteran living in Oromocto, said the study was done too fast, so that they could meet their mandate of being done on time. "I just think they should have started that study when this whole thing began," he said. "They would have had more time and, maybe, as better study." Veteran Wayne Cardinal of Lincoln said he was disappointed with the study because it did not concentrate more on other sicknesses. "There are so many people out there with other illnesses -- headaches, rashes, heart related, lung problems," Cardinal said. "It wasn't in our favour, that's for sure," added John Chisholm of Douglas, another veteran. "The epidemiological study did not include personnel (who) trained here, worked here and left the area. I acknowledged that from the very beginning of the study that this here is not going to prove absolutely anything." Fredericton Liberal MP Andy Scott said the government has an obligation to reach out to its veterans in a fair and compassionate manner. |
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