Vast amounts of lethal defoliant Agent Orange were dumped in the ground at Kindley Air Force Base during the 1960s, an American veteran has claimed.

Numerous barrels of the toxin — now said to cause horrific disfigurements and severe long-term illness to those exposed to it — were poured into deep pits before being burned for days, sending poisonous fumes over St. David’s homes, ex-US Air Force serviceman Ronald Slater says. It is feared dioxins in the herbicide, much of which soaked into the earth when the containers were emptied, remain a serious environmental risk today because they are so chemically stable they will not degrade over decades.

Mr. Slater, who says around 200 barrels of toxic waste was burned between 1965 and 1967, before he bulldozed it into the sea wearing little protection, now has Type Two diabetes, a tumour on his right arm and a large growth on his kidney. He believes his poor health was brought on by exposure to Agent Orange and has been lobbying the US Government for compensation without success for months.

The area in question — thought to be a piece of land about 100 feet long off Annie’s Bay, St. David’s — is now owned by the Bermuda Land Development Company (BLDC) and is currently fenced off to the public. BLDC says it has no plans to develop the land.

Following contact from The Royal Gazette, Government has pledged an urgent investigation into Mr. Slater’s claims.

Mr. Slater, 64, of Washington State, says Agent Orange was brought to the base so its perimeter fences could be painted to prevent foliage growing and creating a security risk.

He also believes many barrels were imported to the Island from elsewhere so they could be dumped and burned. He said he would watch as they were emptied into the pits and the liquid was set on fire before he bulldozed the remains, including the metal containers, into the sea. “Every week, there was at least five, six, eight or ten barrels imported. Some of them were a half or third full,” said Mr. Slater.

“They poured it into the pit. I was told bury everything, smash it, incinerate it. Let it burn for two or three days and bulldoze it into the ocean. After six months, I said I was feeling so ill, I was given something to put over my head — an old fireman’s hood. I wore that for the next 12 months. Today, you have to go through decontamination, you have special respiration and protection.”

The condition of the site — as well as Southampton Naval Annex, now known as Morgan’s Point — has long been a bone of contention following nearly 50 years as an American base where military waste was allegedly continuously dumped and burned.

Government received $11 million from the US to pay to clean up asbestos, excess oil and other waste materials a few years after the land was handed back to Bermuda in 1995.

During the 1960s, millions of gallons of Agent Orange were sprayed across parts of Vietnam by the US military. Many war veterans who have suffered ill health after being exposed to its chemical clouds have since claimed compensation from the US Government.

Agent Orange expert Dr. Mark Brown, of the US Department of Veteran Affairs, said any Vietnam veteran suffering Type Two diabetes could automatically attribute his illness to exposure to the defoliant.

However, Mr. Slater says he has been unable to claim compensation because the US does not recognise that Agent Orange was used anywhere other than Vietnam. His case will be heard before a veterans’ board in the coming months.

He said: “It makes me very angry that I wasn’t protected and very embarrassed that I have had to contact a foreign country to tell them what I was ordered to do on their land.”

Speaking in the House of Assembly on Friday night after being contacted by this newspaper, Works and Engineering Minister Dennis Lister said: “Concern has been expressed that if the allegations are true the surrounding soil might now be contaminated. “The issues raised are serious enough that I have asked my technical officers to urgently research the claims and report their findings to me within two weeks. I would add that early discussions with the Ministry of Health indicate that no trend towards illness as a result of such contaminants has been observed. But to be safe, we will fully examine these claims and keep the public generally, and the people of St. David’s in particular, fully informed of our progress.”

Last night, Premier Ewart Brown’s Press Secretary Glenn Jones said the early signs of in the investigation were encouraging.

“After a review of historical records at BLDC archives, leaders are feeling greater comfort that the site is free of Agent Orange. However, the review continues. Lab tests reviewed thus far show immeasurable levels of herbicides and pesticides and do documented findings of dioxins.”

United Bermuda Party MP Grant Gibbons was Management and Technology Minister when toxicology tests were carried out on the land in the mid 1990s.

Dr. Gibbons said the probes did not show the presence of Agent Orange — but said that may mean the substance was simply missed by bore holes which were drilled into the ground. He said another investigation in the light of Mr. Slater’s claims was vital.

“Now we are told Agent Orange is dumped there, it would be sensible to do some further investigations and perhaps drill some further bore holes, and try to get a sense of what is under there.

“We know that’s all landfill down there, and sooner or later it’s going to leach out. It’s also in a close proximity to Clearwater Beach, a popular bathing area.”

BLDC spokesman Richard Calderon confirmed waste material was dumped in the area in question. He said: “It is important to note that the United States completed a rather exhaustive and expensive clean up of this area as a part of and prior to the turnover of the base lands to the Government of Bermuda. It is the BLDC’s practice to perform environmental testing on all sites earmarked for residential or commercial development. The BLDC has no current plans to develop the secured area in question.”

A spokesman for the US Air Force declined to comment on Friday but said a response could be forthcoming this week.Did you help dispose of waste at Kindley Air Force Base or do you remember the smoke it produced? Contact Tim Smith on 278-8359 or email tsmith@royalgazette.bm.