The Alberta soldier who says he contracted cancer during his time served overseas has officially filed his appeal with Veterans Affairs.
Warrant Officer Alain Vachon says exposure to depleted uranium while serving overseas contributed to the development of Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Vachon has served in the Canadian military for 27 years and has been posted to Cyprus, Kuwait, Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo and Afghanistan.
He believes he contracted cancer because of where he served and says he was exposed to depleted uranium at the Camp Doha Army base in Kuwait.
“As a combat engineer we clear, dispose of unused ammo, booby traps and more recently in Afghanistan IEDS,” said Vachon during an interview with CTV in January. “In Kuwait the Americans had a base beside us and their ammunition dump blew up and in their rounds, they have uranium, depleted uranium rounds, and as it happened, one of our heavy equipment took a dozer and went through the wall that separated us with them and then a bunch of us, most of us, ran across and helped the injured to safety on our side.”
Vachon has now received a letter from the military admitting that he was exposed to depleted uranium, pesticides, and other unknown substances. However, the letter doesn’t state how much he could have been exposed to.
Other veterans have filed claims related to DU exposure and were awarded.
It could take a month or more before Vachon will learn if his appeal is successful.
