Tens of thousands of people are living close to companies which work with dangerous chemicals yet do not meet fire safety standards, the Telegraaf reports on Friday, quoting environment ministry figures.

Ministry inspectors carried out checks on 340 companies which store more than 10 tonnes of dangerous, inflammable or explosive chemicals on their premises. Of those, 58% did not meet rules covering the risk of fire, the paper said.
Caretaker environment minister Tineke Huizinga has written to local authorities stating her concerns about this ‘lack of responsibility’ and ‘passive approach’. Fourteen local authorities face legal action for failing to protect their citizens. These include The Hague, Terneuzen, Hillegom and Apeldoorn.
An explosion at a fireworks storage depot in central Enschede in 2000 killed 23 people and destroyed a 1,500 home residential area. The council had failed to ensure safety standards were being met.