The province of Brabant is investigating almost nine hundred places that may be contaminated with PFAS. There are 1,600 potential PFAS locations throughout the Netherlands. This mainly concerns fire stations and defense areas where areas of land are contaminated with toxic substances that can be harmful to people and the environment.
PFAS is the collective name for this stuff. They are also called ‘forever chemicals‘, because they are hardly degradable in the environment. Too much PFAS in a body can cause cancer. The figures come from research by Pointer, the journalistic research platform of KRO-NCRV.
By order of the government, all provinces must draw up a list of PFAS locations before the end of the year. The goal is to find out which areas of soil are contaminated with PFAS.
Most locations in Brabant
The province of North Brabant investigates by far the most PFAS sources (851). According to Pointer, it also does this more broadly than other provinces. It is not known where these locations are located. The Pointer study assumes that this number will continue to rise.
Three provinces could not yet say how many places they have in mind. Flevoland has the fewest locations that may pose a threat to public health.
What is PFAS?
PFAS is water, grease and dirt repellent. It is found in various products, such as lubricants, food packaging materials, fire-fighting foam, non-stick coatings of pans, clothing, textiles and cosmetics.
It is also used in industry. To clean up the most serious PFAS locations, the government is allocating 23 million euros per year (until 2030).
PFAS is found in the most diverse places. PFAS has even been found in the Brabant part of the Biesbosch area. This recently led to calls not to buy eggs from hobby farmers, because they could contain too much PFAS.
‘No vegetables from gardens’
In 2021, the RIVM advised people not to eat vegetables from the allotment complex on the Sluisdijk in Helmond. It contained too much PFAS, from the company Custom Powders in Helmond.
The Health Council wants the government to test PFAS on citizens. Eleven organizations, including SchipholWatch and volunteer fire brigades, hold the Dutch state responsible for the pollution and health damage. They believe that the state is not fulfilling its duty of care.
Pointer will pay attention to the PFAS study on Saturday afternoon, May 4 at 2 p.m. at KRO-NCRV on NPO Radio 1.
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