''Gagetown'' is a 2009
documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...
that looks into the massive
defoliant
A defoliant is any herbicidal chemical sprayed or dusted on plants to cause their leaves to fall off. Defoliants are widely used for the selective removal of weeds in managing croplands and lawns. Worldwide use of defoliants, along with the ...
spray program that was used at
CFB Gagetown since 1956. The chemical
herbicides
Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weedkillers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page fo ...
used include
50/50 mixtures of
2,4-D/
2,4,5-T, and
Tordon 101
Picloram is a systemic herbicide used for general woody plant control. It also controls a wide range of broad-leaved weeds, but most grasses are resistant. , also known as
Agent Orange
Agent Orange is a chemical herbicide and defoliant, one of the "tactical use" Rainbow Herbicides. It was used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. It ...
and
Agent White
Agent may refer to:
Espionage, investigation, and law
*, spies or intelligence officers
* Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another
** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...
.
These chemicals have been known to produce extremely toxic byproducts, including
dioxins
Dioxin may refer to:
* 1,2-Dioxin or 1,4-Dioxin, two unsaturated heterocyclic 6-membered rings where two carbon atoms have been replaced by oxygen atoms, giving the molecular formula C4H4O2
*Dibenzo-1,4-dioxin, the parent compound also known as ...
and
hexachlorobenzene
Hexachlorobenzene, or perchlorobenzene, is an organochloride with the molecular formula C6Cl6. It is a fungicide formerly used as a seed treatment, especially on wheat to control the fungal disease bunt. It has been banned globally under the Sto ...
s.
Exposure to these byproducts has been linked to increased cases in
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
and
blood diseases
:''This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy certain standards for completion.''
There are many conditions of or affecting the human hematologic system—the biological system that includes plasma, platelets, leukocytes, and ...
, especially
non-Hodgkin lymphoma
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a group of blood cancers that includes all types of lymphomas except Hodgkin lymphomas. Symptoms include enlarged lymph nodes, fever, night sweats, weight loss, and tiredness. ...
and
leukemia
Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...
.
According to a Canadian Department of National Defence document acquired through the Access to Information Act, over 3.2 million liters and kilograms of chemical defoliants
were used at the base between the years 1956 to 1984.
Press
Article by Shawn Berry, The Daily Gleaner, March 9, 2009Article by Benjamin Shingler, Telegraph Journal, March 28, 2009Article by Kate Horodyski, Capital News Online, April 3, 2009
External links
Official website
2009 films
2009 documentary films
American documentary films
Documentary films about environmental issues
2000s English-language films
2000s American films
English-language documentary films
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