Zwijndrecht (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – OVAM Waste Company has dismissed four attempts from 3M Chemical Company to develop proper cleanup methods for PFAS pollution in Zwijndrecht. The plans fail to meet the specified requirements, which require additional work to improve before moving forward.
Waste company OVAM rejected all four remediation plans that chemical company 3M had submitted for PFAS pollution at Zwijndrecht. The four remediation plans submitted by 3M to OVAM failed to meet the necessary standards for cleaning contamination from the nature reserve agricultural land, groundwater and factory site.
According to OVAM, 3M must rewrite their plans before submitting a new version in the upcoming couple of years. Following OVAM’s authorisation of updated remediation plans for residential zones around 3M in the Beveren-Kruibeke-Zwijndrecht area, this decision became necessary.
The four soil remediation plans which 3M submitted at the end of November 2023 did not match OVAM’s requirements. OVAM requires organisations to develop unified strategies that properly handle all contamination risks across multiple affected areas. The plans aimed at implementing PFAS pollution cleanup measures within the nature reserve alongside agricultural land areas and groundwater regions and at the factory site.
OVAM declared that the plans required further work because they did not satisfy the established requirements. The agency now requires a united plan to merge different soil cleanup initiatives for complete contamination resolution.
What is the background of the PFAS pollution issue in Zwijndrecht?
Environmental officials have expressed concern about PFAS pollution in Zwijndrecht, which originates from chemical production at 3M, since the early stages of the contamination. Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exist as synthetic chemicals that endure within ecosystems while posing possible health risks to people. PFAS fouling extends to house districts while polluting farming fields and aquifers and protecting natural lands in proximity to 3M’s plant.
OVAM gave its endorsement to remediation plan updates targeting residential areas within Beveren-Kruibeke-Zwijndrecht, but unresolved challenges persist in non-residential segments. OVAM has rejected four remediation plans, which demonstrates the multi-faceted challenge of eliminating PFAS contamination in different environments. 3M received a two-year deadline as part of OVAM’s order to develop unified contamination risk management plans.
