The area of Antwerp is facing one of the biggest ‘forever chemicals’ pollution scandals worldwide. This pollution was uncovered in 2021, decades after it started.

Following the discovery of the scandal, the Flemish government reached two agreements in 2022: one with 3M to decontaminate the surroundings, and another one with civil society and local authorities to support PFAS victims and prevent future similar pollution. We discussed this issue with Tycho Van Hauwaert, Policy officer on industry & circular economy at Bond Beter Leefmilieu (BBL), the Flemish umbrella NGO for environmental organisations, which was part of the second agreement.

Can you remind us about what happened in Antwerp?

In 2021, BBL and other organisations looked into official authority documents and 3M reports and uncovered the big scale of PFAS pollution around the 3M plant. The concentration of PFAS in soil and water was huge; we have never seen such numbers before – up to 250.000 ng/kg.

It was concerning that local politicians and 3M had kept this pollution hidden from the citizens for several years.

Authorities have tested the blood of 300 teenagers from 12 to 17 years old living near the 3M plant: for 75% of them, adverse health effects cannot be excluded. We are talking about developmental issues, hormonal imbalance, effects on liver… and they can’t do anything about it, as it’s already in their blood.

3M stopped producing PFOS in 2002, but it is still found as the highest concentration out of all the PFAS measured in the soil over there.

How did the government react when people found out about this pollution?

The Flemish Parliament set up an inquiry committee to understand what had actually happened. Subsequently, the Flemish government mapped the PFAS pollution in the ground and water, and signed two deals in 2022:

– one with 3M, where the company commits to paying €580 million for clean-up, restoration, and research.

– another one with civil society organisations such as BBL, the municipality of Zwindrecht, and Lantis – a public construction company that identified PFAS pollution in the soil while digging a tunnel in the vicinity of the 3M plant.

Can you tell us more about this second deal?

It sets up a general approach for cleaning and restoring the polluted area, and measures are implemented in a 5-kilometre perimeter around the 3M plant. It also addresses elementary flaws that let such pollution happen – such as the need for the REACH revision, more transparency, and fixing environmental permitting.

What are the limits of those two agreements?

The agreement with 3M does not cover all the costs for the affected families and farmers. We already know that the costs of total remediation of the site will be higher than what was foreseen. Farmers in the area see their business failing as people are aware their crops are polluted with PFAS.

3M is not included in the second deal, and they seem to refuse to take responsibility. They are slowing down the clean-up plans, and are challenging in court the remediation deadlines and the 5-kilometre perimeter – though this is an area where they caused the pollution.

What are the possible leverages to push 3M to decontaminate as agreed in the deal?

There is no leverage left for the government, as they promised in their deal with 3M that they would not go to court in the future. The only leverage they had was to force 3M to stop producing PFAS if they didn’t remediate. But the company announced it would stop production in Antwerp in 2024 anyway.

How does the community feel about this pollution?

People are angry at 3M, as they are slowing down the process. They just want to live in a healthy environment, but the sanitation works will take years, which leaves no other option than living in this polluted site for the foreseeable future.

What is your advice for other PFAS scandal-struck regions in Europe?

You need to start talking to your government. Ask them to map the PFAS pollution and look for hotspots, to take blood tests, check the PFAS levels in water and work on remediation. It is also important to check environmental permits on PFAS discharges and ask your authorities to implement stricter PFAS emission limits. Also, don’t hesitate to go to court.

What could the EU do to help?

Firstly, the EU needs to fix the chemicals law, REACH, to prevent such scandals from happening again. We can never remediate the soil and water completely, so the best approach is to avoid it in the first place.

Secondly, Europe must choose the most ambitious PFAS phase-out path.

Thirdly, we need a social fund for PFAS victims, for clean-up and restoration.  Research for remediation should also be supported.

Sources:

HBM-PFAS.be, a recap of the human biomonitoring study findings

VRT, news article on the study (24 Apr. 2023)