OROMOCTO, NB, CANADA

Internet Search Keywords: Agent Orange, DND

In June 2018 a retired CAF member claimed publicly that dozens of barrels containing the notorious defoliant Agent Orange were secretly buried on the base over three decades ago.

Agent Orange is an unregistered herbicide and chemical defoliant that was created by the U.S. military in the 1960s for brush control and vegetation management. There were 2 instances in 1966 and 1967 where Agent Orange, and other herbicides were sprayed by the U.S. military at Base Gagetown to test their effects on the vegetation growth on the base.

MRS and joint venture partner Gemtec Consulting Engineers and Scientists Ltd completed a thorough investigation of 223 hectares using Airborne Geophysics followed by a magnetic ground survey and subsequent investigation of 105 targeted anomalies.

Items found at these target locations included an ammo box, scrap metal, cable, a 10-inch spike, and some wire and steel piping, however, no barrels were found. These results match those from previous investigations, and confirmed that this area is not a former barrel disposal site. No barrels of Agent Orange have been found at Base Gagetown to date.

The White Eagle

The magnetic survey platform, owned and operated by K8aranda Geophysique, was towed by a helicopter on a 30 m long tow cable that completely isolated the magnetic sensors from helicopter noise. The platform was equipped with 10 sensors in a gradient configuration with a separation of 1.5 m. The swath of the system was 12.5 m with a gradient separation of 2.5 m.