OROMOCTO, New Brunswick (AP) – A new study into the spraying of Agent Orange and other herbicides at a New Brunswick army base long used to train Maine National Guard troops has concluded that only those involved in the mixing, spraying and clearing of brush need worry about potential health effects.

The finding, released Thursday by a federal fact-finding mission into spraying at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, was determined by independent researchers with Cantox Environmental Inc.

They concluded that toxins in defoliants used at the base from the mid-1950s to current times should be of concern only to those who were directly involved in the spraying.

As well, they said, only the most potent products used prior to the late 1960s have the potential to cause long-term health problems such as cancer and hormonal disorders.

“The report released today indicates that Base Gagetown is a safe place to train our soldiers and allied Armed Forces members for combat in trouble spots around the world,” said Dennis Furlong, co-ordinator of the fact-finding mission.

The findings are the latest in a several major scientific reports to play down health concerns over the widespread spraying of chemical herbicides at the largest military training base in Canada.

Two earlier reports on human health risks arising from the spraying determined there are almost no health hazards.

In the late 1960s, the U.S. Defense Department tested Agent Orange, Agent Purple and a rainbow of other defoliants at the base, raising alarms that Canadians involved in the tests could suffer the same health problems as veterans of the Vietnam War, where herbicides were sprayed to clear jungle.

But scientists say a key element in determining health effects from the harmful substances is the level of exposure – and levels were much lighter in Canada than in Vietnam.

The latest report looked only at the health impact of the toxic contaminants of the sprays – dioxins and hexachlorobenzene. The researchers found there only would be health effects from these chemicals in “extreme, worst-case conditions.”

They said that all others, including civilians living near the base and military trainees who have been on the base in subsequent years, would have no more of the contaminants in their systems than the general population.