CFB Gagetown - Defoliant Testing

Defoliant Testing

Portions of the training area were subject to testing of the defoliants Agent Orange and Agent Purple during the 1960s, which has led to an inquiry as to its long term effects upon the soldiers and civilian base personnel who were exposed to it. The affected areas had soil tests that measured dioxin levels at 143 times the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment guidelines for maximum exposure.

In 2009, a New York production company is releasing a feature length documentary looking into the herbicide sprayings that took place at the base from 1956-1984. It has been said that over 3.2 million liters and kilograms of chemical defoliants were sprayed during that time. That number would make the concentration per acre stronger than American sprayings in Vietnam.