Dutch defense ministry apologizes for chromium-6 exposure
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Dutch government has apologized and agreed to compensate military personnel who contracted illnesses including cancer after working with paint containing the toxic element chromium-6.
The government's apology Monday followed publication of a critical report into the use of paint containing chromium-6 by staff at five NATO storage depots in the Netherlands from 1984-2006.
The report says that maintenance workers at the depots did not get sufficient information about the risks and, up until the mid-1990s, were not supplied with adequate protection.