OSAKA -- Two former workers at an incinerator in Nose, Osaka Prefecture, applied Friday for work-related damages, claiming their illnesses were caused by exposure to high levels of dioxin at the facility.

This is the first attempt in the country to seek recognition of a labor accident caused by dioxin. The pair filed their damages applications with the Yodogawa Labor Standards Inspection Office here.

Studies had already identified the incinerator, Toyono Clean Center, as that with the highest level of dioxin contamination in the country. The incinerator is to be dismantled next month.