For years, unemployed people in Tilburg were forced to work at NedTrain, where they scoured old trains and were exposed to the carcinogenic chromium-6. This weekend, their lawyer Rob Bedaux filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights against the Dutch State on behalf of 28 victims. According to him, their human rights have been violated.
Chromium-6 is a toxic substance used in paint and anti-rust coatings. Exposure can cause serious health problems, including cancer. According to lawyer Rob Bedaux, both NedTrain and the municipality of Tilburg were aware of the risks, but those involved were not informed about this and protective equipment and extraction were lacking.
In the period between 2004 and 2012, Tilburg forced eight hundred unemployed people to work in the NedTrain workshop. Some became ill or died.
European Court
On March 12, 2024, a court ruled that the group had been wrongly exposed to chromium-6, but that decision was later reversed by the court in Den Bosch. The court used a RIVM report in which the health risks were presented as smaller.
Because legal proceedings are no longer possible in the Netherlands, Bedaux is going to the European Court. He asks the Court to rule that the Dutch State is violating the rights of those involved.