GERMANY: Almost 800 former German soldiers are seeking €100 million in damages in a class action against the German defence ministry for "systematically" exposing them to harmful X-rays while operating radars.
Dozens of former radar operators are believed to have died from prolonged X-ray exposure, while hundreds of survivors suffer from leukaemia and many have deformed children. "I find it shameful and irresponsible that the Defence Minister has promised everything to these men and delivered nothing," said Mr Reiner Geulen, lawyer for the former radar operators yesterday.
Mr Geulen announced further plans to file a lawsuit seeking €400 million in damages from the US manufacturers of the equipment, including Lockheed-Martin, Lucent Technologies, and General Electric. Last year a government-sponsored commission found as many as 90,000 German soldiers in the 1960s and 1970s were exposed to radar equipment that was operated without sufficient radiation regulations in place. The report said up to 1,000 German men may now be seriously ill with cancer and immune-system problems. The German Defence Minister, Mr Rudolf Scharping, promised "generous" help for the soldiers last July. But the soldiers' support group says no money has been forthcoming and their patience has run out.
Mr Geulen said the US firms did give sufficient information about the dangers of radiation from the radars, while the defence ministry ignored for decades guidelines for dealing with X-rays. The defence ministry says it was not aware of any X-ray dangers at the time and are therefore blameless.
