Dutch military staff awaits compensation in toxic paint case

[unhappycamper]

http://www.dw.de/dutch-military-staff-awaits-compensation-in-toxic-paint-case/a-18250624

Roughly 1,400 military employees in the Netherlands are hoping for compensation from the government, after it emerged that they used toxic paints when servicing US military vehicles in the 1980s and 90s.

Dutch military staff awaits compensation in toxic paint case
Kate Brady
12.02.2015

The use of paint containing hexavalent chromium (chromium VI) to service US military vehicles has turned into quite a headache for the Defense Ministry in the Netherlands in recent months. Chromium VI is a known carcinogen when inhaled or ingested, and can have other negative affects on people's health.

The chemical was reportedly present in paints used to repair and respray US military vehicles - especially camouflage paint for planes and tanks. The vehicles were stationed in Europe on NATO duties.

According to documents published by German regional broadcaster WDR and newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, authorities were aware for years that safety guidelines were not being followed. A total of 10 facilities are under investigation, German staff would occasionally be drafted to help out at some of the eastern sites closest to the border.

WDR's report focused on one employee, Tony Lammers, who said he had spent the last year medically unable to work. Lammers told WDR that protective clothing like gloves and masks were often lacking, or defective. "Once I took my mask off, you could tell what color paint I had been using as it was all around my mouth," he said.