Your Assignment: Agent Orange

An Ontario man is calling for a federal inquiry into the alleged use of Agent Orange by CN Rail during the 1970s.

Dave Collins says he and members of his crew applied what they were told was Agent Orange to control weeds along the train tracks. He also says they were never warned of the dangers of exposure. He is now 61 and has terminal cancer.

The Ontario government has launched its own probe into the chemical mixture's use by provincial utilities, municipalities and even farmers.

Archive documents confirm forestry workers were exposed to the toxic herbicides while helping to clear massive plots of Crown land in northern Ontario between the 1950s and 1970s.

Agent Orange, a defoliant best known for its use during the war in Vietnam, has been linked to birth defects and deadly illnesses. It is made from a mixture of two chemicals: 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T.

The federal government banned its use in 1985.

CBCNews.ca readers and community members have been sharing their experiences with Agent Orange.

In the 1960s, Ross King worked in the forestry crew at Ontario Hydro, now known as Hydro One. Via email, he claims that he and his colleagues sprayed 2,4,5-T along the sides of the roads.

"Our crew would end each day covered in fuel oil and 2,4,5-T. We were told by our supervisor at the time that 'this stuff was safe enough to drink'," he wrote.

In his note to yournews@cbc.ca, David Larsen said he used the chemical mixture as a teenager when he worked in the Ministry of Natural Resources junior ranger program in 1978. Larsen claims that he and other employees filled chemical tanks of planes that would spray the bush in an area near Kapuskasing, Ont.

He said they were told the chemicals being used would cause sterility.

"We had to wear a plastic suit, goggles, a respirator and gloves if we had the duty of connecting the filling hose to the plane's tank or mixing the solution," Larsen wrote.

One CBC.ca community member's experience with the chemical mixture didn't involve working with it. Suejay wrote about growing up in the Yukon, where she said the American army would spray it on the Haines-Fairbanks Pipeline corridor.

She claims that the chemical drifted beyond the corridor and into areas where plants were grown and kids played.

"We were supposed to stay inside our homes while the plane sprayed but within a few minutes of its passing we were outside playing along the corridor, splashing in the puddles," Suejay wrote.

Your assignment: Have you or someone you know used or had an experience with Agent Orange? Tell us your story.

We're looking for reports. Here's how you can share your experience with CBC News.

Report:

Tell us your story. Take a moment to write down your personal experiences, focus on how you and your community were affected by Agent Orange. Document the who, what, where, when and how. What are your concerns about the effects? We're looking for entries between 300 and 500 words. Be clear and be concise. You can email your report to yournews@cbc.ca

Related: Probe sought on Agent Orange use in Ontario

Related: Agent Orange 'widely used' in Ont.

Related: Agent Orange used on Ont. highways: NDP