After working all his life with chromium and zinc, a 75-year-old Astigarraga worker, after retiring, was diagnosed with lung cancer and died in February 2012. According to the newspaper El País, the Donostia-San Sebastian Social Court has appealed to Zincados and Derivatives as responsible for the death and has condemned to pay financial compensation to their families.

Chromium is a chemical element for industrial use, mainly for the treatment and protection of metals, but also for the manufacture of cement. In the higher oxidation state, hexavalent chromium can be very polluting and carcinogenic. The Donostia-San Sebastián Court points out that since 1961 companies have been obliged to adopt protective measures at work with these elements and that since 1978 professional diseases are considered those caused by the handling of zinc and chromium. In 1890, an article published by the University of Glasgow described the carcinomas created by hexavalent chromium among workers.

However, unlike other occupational diseases, it seems that there is still a great lack of knowledge about chromium. When the former Astigarraga worker became ill, Osakidetza doctors did not guess the origin of cancer and the CCOO trade union informed Osalan of the existence of chromium.

CCOO warned two years ago that, as with asbestos, chromium can also lead to fatal diseases in the coming years. The use of products such as nickel and chromium is common in the Basque Country, in soil treatment plants and in chrome and galvanized workshops. According to the union, no preventive measures are taken and workers are not informed of the risks of the product.