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| Photo: Ministry of Defence |
The defence ministry said on Monday
that it will give financial compensation to hundreds of people who became ill
after using highly carcinogenic paints.
A deal has been worked out with the
military unions and defence ministry workers who developed cancer and other
ailments are now able to claim up to €40,000 for immaterial damage and €3,850
towards medical costs.
‘The defence ministry has failed. I am sorry but I
cannot turn back the clock,’ junior defence minister Barbara Visser told MPs.
Last week it emerged that the government is liable for the health issues which
hundreds of armed forces engineers have reported after being exposed to paint
containing high levels of toxic Chromium 6.
They had been involved in
maintaining American Nato equipment at five bases between 1984 and 2006.
The
research, by the public health institute RIVM, showed that the defence ministry
was aware of the health problems since 1973 but had had not shared this with
doctors or soldiers. The RIVM began its research in 2014 after the scandal
became public.
In addition, the safety standards at the five locations where
the equipment was maintained were not up to scratch. ‘The defence ministry’s
prevention and care strategies did not meet the regulations,’ the RIVM report
stated.
More than 350 former defence workers have so far come forward to make a claim against the ministry.
More than 350 former defence workers have so far come forward to make a claim against the ministry.
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