NS maintenance workers have been exposed to the carcinogenic chromium-6 for decades. The Dutch Railways took measures far too late, concludes an independent investigation committee led by RIVM on Tuesday morning. NS boss Wouter Koolmees apologizes and says that affected employees or their surviving relatives can claim financial compensation today.
As with Defense and KLM, chromium-6 was used for a long time at NS maintenance and service locations. It concerns the period 1970 and 2020, according to the Independent Chromium-6 NS Committee. The substance was incorporated in, among other things, the paint and primer with which the trains were painted.
For the study, the committee spoke with two hundred (former) employees, from ordinary employees to managers. Personnel from seventeen locations were surveyed.
Painters, painters, welders, mechanics, fitters and cleaners at workshops of NS maintenance subsidiary NedTrain were particularly at risk, especially before the year 2000. However, it is no longer possible to determine how many employees suffered health damage. The same applies to the level of exposure to which maintenance personnel are exposed. The concentrations of the toxic substance in the paint were not recorded at the time.
However, these must be large numbers. For example, 33 unemployed people from Tilburg previously started a lawsuit because they renovated trains in Tilburg between 2004 and 2010, in a reintegration project of NS and the municipality of Tilburg. A total of 800 unemployed people were involved in the project. The Court of Breda then ruled that NedTrain was liable for the damage.
Lack of knowledge
The research committee – which also included TNO, the universities of Maastricht and Tilburg, plus a number of independent researchers – judges harshly. At NS there was a long-term lack of knowledge about the dangers of chromium-6: among the management and therefore also among the employees. As a result, they were insufficiently protected against the dangers and informed about them.
When the risks were recognized in the 1980s, the main focus was on reducing the risks. It was not until the 1990s that actual protection measures were implemented, such as separate work areas for welding, sanding and grinding. From 2010, good ventilation and extraction was also introduced at NS locations.
New president-director Wouter Koolmees reacts with shock. ,,The recommendations of NS do not lie. This is very sad, we have failed as NS. On behalf of the management, I apologize for the suffering and sadness that employees have suffered as a result.”
Damages
According to Koolmees, NS is opening a compensation scheme, which victims and any surviving relatives can appeal to as of today. This arrangement is comparable to the arrangement previously set up by the Ministry of Defence. Victims can claim immaterial compensation of 5,000 to 40,000 euros, depending on the position, the length of the position and the condition. They are also entitled to a one-off amount of 3850 euros. That money is intended for costs incurred that remain for your own account, such as medical expenses that fall under the deductible and/or travel costs.
Even now, exposure to chromium-6 is still possible during maintenance and overhaul of NS trains, the committee concludes. Although negligibly low, the researchers make a number of recommendations to further tighten security measures.
What is Chromium-6?
Chromium-6 is a metal that is added to the paint because it prevents rusting. It is also used for chrome plating of metal or plastic, in rust inhibitors for metal surfaces, in wood preservatives, and in certain cements. The dust can be released during sanding, so that chromium-6 particles can be inhaled.
Long-term exposure can lead to serious health damage, including lung cancer, nasal and sinus cancer, stomach cancer and larynx cancer. In addition, chronic lung diseases such as asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, COPD and nasal mucosal inflammation are possible
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