US Army veteran Ronald Slater yesterday stood by his claim that lethal defoliant Agent Orange was dumped and burned at Kindley Air Force Base during the 1960s.

And Mr. Slater called for Government to release a report into the safety of land at the base, to back up Works and Engineering Minister Dennis Lister's announcement that tests had not shown dioxins which pose a health risk.

Earlier this week, Mr. Lister told a press conference that dioxin levels from Kindley were typical of those Island-wide — but he refused several requests from the media to see the report by A.L. Lab Group Canada.

Mr. Slater said he was stunned at the failure to make it public, which he said meant Mr. Lister's pledge over the safety of the land could not be taken for granted. "So much for public disclosure. The public has the right to know what went on. To me, it reeks of downplaying it," said Mr. Slater.

"The citizens of St. David's and the people of Bermuda in general need to demand it is released. They need to demand more candid, accurate answers — none of this 'they are not going to release the report'. That wouldn't last in the US for a day."

The veteran alleges about 200 barrels of Agent Orange — now said to cause horrific disfigurement and severe long-term illness to those exposed to it — were poured into deep pits at the then-US military occupied site.

He says the chemical was burned, sending poisonous fumes over St. David's homes, before he bulldozed the remains into the sea.

He now has Type Two diabetes, a tumour on his right arm, a large growth on his kidney and prostate cancer, and believes his poor health was brought on by exposure to the substance.

Mr. Lister told Tuesday's press conference samples were taken from 15 sites and shipped overseas for analysis, before comparisons were made with control samples to search for dioxins present in Agent Orange.

Mr. Slater said the refusal to release the report left many questions unanswered, including:

• were samples taken from the exact spots he says Agent Orange was dumped?

• did testers drill the 30 to 40 feet deep he believes would be required for conclusive results?

• did they test the St. David's area where toxins would have been carried by the smoke?

"If they drilled deep enough, in the right places, they would have found Agent Orange," he said.

"Sooner or later, someone is going to dig into that land for condos or something and they will find it.

"I can only tell Bermudians this is my memory and my words and truth as I know it. These things took place in those pits by order from my superiors."

During the 1960s, millions of gallons of Agent Orange were sprayed across parts of Vietnam by the US military.

Many war veterans now suffering ill health after being exposed to its chemical clouds have since claimed compensation from US Government.

America has consistently said for the past 25 years that Agent Orange was not used anywhere except in South East Asia in the Vietnam War, despite many claims it was deployed in places including Panama, Puerto Rico and Hawaii. Mr. Slater has been lobbying his government, but will have to wait several months for his case to be heard.

At Tuesday's press conference, when Mr. Lister was asked why the public could not see the report if it simply pointed out the site was clean, he said he would give the idea some consideration. Yesterday, the Ministry of Works and Engineering failed to respond to another request to release the report.