Last month, a minute of silence was taken for four people alleged to have died from exposure to chromium-6. Although according to Tilburg councilor Esmah Lahlah “everyone has worked with the best intentions”, it now appears afterwards that exposure to chromium-6 poses health risks.
Unemployed people were put to work in Tilburg on the tROM project, but also at an official NedTrain workshop. The exposure to chromium-6 of possibly 800 people who were “forced” to do so should never have happened, the lawyers argue. However, they cannot reverse the fact. At first sight, sanding trains does not seem lethal; hazardous substances do their job in the longer term, something we have learned with the “wonder substance” asbestos.
Zeitgeist and collective consciousness
When you visit the Asbestos Museum in Rijswijk it becomes clear. The panacea that was used in, among other things, floor cloth, cigarettes, irons, sandwich makers, building materials and (still) in cosmetics was widely recommended. Decades later, asbestos turned out to be deadly. In recent Dutch history, the inhalation of asbestos has been labeled dangerous and anchored in our collective consciousness.
Chromium-6 is mainly used to prevent rust and to preserve wood in the case of wood. Chromium-6 is dangerous, especially because you do not know exactly where it is. With asbestos there are indicators and types of applications that are clearly recognizable to experts; this is not the case with chromium-6. Bridges, fences, concrete, wood; it can be life-threatening when processed. The collective consciousness about chromium-6 is only now starting, after the Tilburg drama.
Knowledge about work safety and anchoring within large organizations is not a luxury but a minimum, if we as a society want to limit the risks to an accepted level. It was precisely this knowledge and internal attitude that became fragmented at the Dutch Railways, according to NS CEO Roger van Boxtel in a letter to the independent investigation committee chrome-6 in Tilburg.
Whether chromium-6 is the new asbestos remains to be seen, laws and regulations have not yet crystallized out, something that has been arranged down to the last detail in the case of asbestos. It is clear that the risks are great; Hopefully, together, as a society, regulators and professionals, we can quickly reach good, clear and decisive decisions that ultimately benefit the health of people like you and me.
Back to top
