ANP extension
ANNOUNCEMENTS••Edited
NS CEO Wouter Koolmees has apologized to maintenance employees who worked with the chrome-6 paint between 1970 and 2020. The paint has been used in workshops to refurbish trains. The employees were not sufficiently protected against the carcinogens that are released during this process.
Koolmees conveyed an apology to a number of employees this morning. This is a response to an investigation by RIVM, which concluded that NS was not complying with the rules then in force.
“For a social organization like NS, the results of that research are extremely painful,” Koolmees said. “We apologize for the suffering, uncertainty and pain that has been caused. In recognition, we have drawn up a plan for the victims, with the support of the unions. We hope they make use of it.”
The RIVM had previously come to similar firm conclusions about the situation in defence around the same time.
The NS cannot say how many people have been exposed to dangerous substances in this way. Until eight years ago, the train company didn’t keep track of who had worked where in the past.
Sanding and welding
The study shows that while NS and its subsidiary NedTrain intended to follow the rules by adequately protecting staff during the period under review, they knew too little about the risks of chromium-6 to do so. Managers sometimes knew that applying new paint could be dangerous, but not that sanding and welding old coats was nearly as risky.
As a result, employees inhaled hazardous dust. Incidentally, it is not possible to determine how intense such exposure was. NS and NedTrain have no measurement data for most of the period.
Protection against the risks of chromium-6 is possible, but few measures have been taken in NS, for example through mining plants. It also has not been consistently tested whether personnel are wearing protective equipment such as dust masks.
At least 4100 euros per person
Exposure to chromium-6 can cause a variety of illnesses. This is not only about various forms of cancer, but also about allergic diseases, chronic lung diseases and damage to the nasal septum.
Former employees who have been exposed to chromium-6 in the past and become ill can claim at least 4,100 euros. Depending on the clinical picture, this amount can amount to 42,000 euros for the most serious cases.
Last year, the Public Prosecutor announced NS and the municipality of Tilburg continue due to the fact that people there had to work with chromium-6 under insufficient protection as part of an unemployment project. Koolmees didn’t want to anticipate the additional legal risks his company faces as a result of this new investigation.
