The Canadian military's search for toxic chemical dumpsites at CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick hasn't turned up much so far, and one former employee says he doesn't think there's much there to find.

Maynard Mackay worked at the base in the 1960s. At that time the site was being sprayed extensively with toxic weed killers. Those chemicals, residents and former workers say, have polluted the land and left a poisonous legacy.

The military has been attempting to clean up the site and ensure the public and those who work there, that it is safe.

The military is searching for empty barrels that once contained the herbicide and were buried at the base. But Mackay told CTV Atlantic Canada many of the barrels were excavated in the 1980s, many others weren't buried at all, and possibly hundreds were given away to anyone who wanted them.

"I got 18 myself," Mackay said, adding that the military gave them away "just to get rid of them."

"They didn't care where they went. Anybody wanted them, help yourself, sure."

According to Mackay the barrels were distributed around New Brunswick and as far away as Halifax. They were used for everything from garbage cans to fuel drums and boat pontoons, he said.

The military will continue their search, however, in order to ensure the site is safe. Two more suspected barrel dumps are slated for excavations in the coming weeks.

"We're continuing to search all the sites based on the information that we have found or the information the veterans have given us, for all the sites, until such time that we have convinced everybody that the base is a safe place to work," said Col. Ryan Jestin, of CFB Gagetown.