Press release RESULTS OF POPULATION SURVEY PFAS

26.10.2021 | Press release RESULTS OF PFAS POPULATION SURVEY:

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Mieke Windey – Fundamental Rights

PRESS RELEASE

Antwerp, 26.10.2021

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Grondrecht, a citizens' collective launched in response to the PFOS problem in Antwerp, is responding to the analysis of the population survey in which blood samples from 800 3M neighbours were tested for PFAS levels.

“After the results of our bloedresearch from the beginning of August, this population survey also shows that the situation in Antwerp is very serious," says Mieke Windey, spokesperson for Grondrecht. In 9 out of 10 participants, such high values were found that health effects can be expected. "That news hits like a bomb here," says Windey. "We are receiving questions from everywhere about whether people can also get tested. At the moment, they cannot go anywhere."

"It seems logical to us that the Flemish government gives all residents of Zwijndrecht and Antwerp Linkeroever the opportunity to have their blood tested for PFAS. After all, tens of thousands of people were left out of this study, including children. We already asked Minister Beke that question, but for the time being he does not seem sufficiently alarmed," says Mieke Windey.

“We find that extremely striking,” says Windey. “Not only because the results in Zwijndrecht are very worrying, but also because there is a city of half a million people just a stone’s throw from the 3M factory. Hundreds of thousands of Antwerp residents are at risk, especially the residents of Antwerp Linkeroever. The people of Antwerp also have the right to know to what extent they were exposed to PFOS.”

“There is also another important reason to give everyone the chance, or even encourage them, to be tested. The results of this study show that socially vulnerable population groups hardly participated. A more general testing campaign can also map the risks for those groups,” says Mieke Windey.

“The bottom line is that everyone should have the opportunity to be tested,” says Mieke Windey, spokesperson for Grondrecht. “In addition, the Flemish government must work on a full-fledged study that maps the epidemiological and intergenerational impact of pollution. That is not happening yet.”

“The door is always open for a substantive discussion with the necessary dossier experts and transparency,” concludes Mieke Windey of Grondrecht.

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