Prestige costs

While a recent estimate of cleanup costs was placed by the Spanish Finance Ministry, seeking EU funds, at US$1bn, health claims from clean-up workers could push it higher. More than 1,000 were treated in hospital between the end of November and the end of January for a variety of conditions. This figure omits early emergency work and probably fails to include many more treated by local doctors and hospitals. Whether many have suffered long-term harm is as yet unclear.