Canadian province to probe alleged use of banned herbicide

Authorities in the Canadian province of Ontario promised Thursday to launch an investigation into reports that Agent Orange, a banned herbicide, was sprayed along the sides of highways across the province until the 1980s to curb the growth of grass and shrubs.

"If the herbicide was used across the province, I suspect that it was used by the Ministry of Transportation," Provincial Transportation Minister Kathleen Wynne told reporters.

"I don't have the specific information on how much of it was used by the ministry of transportation but the independent panel will look at that and we'll work closely with them," Wynne said.

"I don't think there's any point in pretending that somehow the Ministry of Transportation would have been exempted from that," she added.

The minister's remarks came after Toronto Star revealed last week that Agent Orange, a Vietnam War-era defoliant, was used extensively in the province in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s to keep the side of highways free from vegetation.

Millions of gallons of now banned herbicide was first used by the US military to clear jungles of Vietnam between 1962 and 1970 to defoliate the jungle as part of its efforts to deny cover to Vietcong guerrillas.

Vietnam has since said that the areas which were spayed with Agent Orange have witnessed high instances of genetic defects. Also, the US Department of Veterans Affairs has indicated that exposure to Agent Orange could lead to birth defects, cancer and other diseases.