Next week, the Flemish Parliament will vote on a parliamentary inquiry committee. This is one of the necessary steps to clarify the PFOS problem. Bond Beter Leefmilieu, Greenpeace & Natuurpunt Waasland also ask to look to the future and provide solutions. They ask the Flemish Government to impose strict conditions for the further course of the excavation works at the Oosterweel.
11.06.2021 | Greenpeace: Sarah Jacobs
Wednesday Minister Zuhal Demir advocated in the Flemish Parliament for the establishment of a parliamentary committee of inquiryAs Minister of the Environment, Demir took her political responsibility by pushing through against the positions of the majority parties, and a vote will be held on this on Wednesday.
In the meantime, after a crisis meeting, a compromise has already been reached in the Government: OVAM must deliver the 20-year history of PFOS to the Flemish Government by Monday. “We call on the Flemish parliament to vote for an investigation committee. The bad tradition of passing on industrial environmental pollution to society ends here”, says Tycho Van Hauwaert of the Association for a Better Environment.
What about Oosterweel?
The environmental movement – like everyone else – wonders how it could have come to this. More important, however, is to look to the future. BBL and Greenpeace are asking for clarity about the excavation works for the Oosterweel tunnel, so as not to make the situation any worse than it already is.
Stricter measures in the context of the precautionary principle are necessary. Given the increasing insight into the risks of PFOS for health, health standards have rightly become stricter in recent years and OVAM has also already adjusted its assessment framework. However, the permit for the excavation works of Oosterweel is still based on the old standards framework.
“We request that the conditions of the environmental permit be adjusted based on the new health standards”, says Joeri Thijs of Greenpeace. “Strict conditions are also required for the contractor and the building owner before the major excavation works can start. For example, there must be complete clarity about: whether and where the soils will be moved, whether and how they can be stored temporarily, whether covering them with foil offers sufficient protection and whether remediation is realistic.”
We must also look ahead
A parliamentary inquiry committee will ensure a complete clarification of the history of the dossier. But we must also look to the future, the health problems and the situation for the residents.
Now that the health facts are becoming more and more apparent and advice is being given to stop eating eggs from your own chickens, the polluter is coming into focus: 3M.
End of April the environmental movement has already called for a structural solution to PFOS pollution after activists sounded the alarm. Clarity must be provided as soon as possible for the victims and about the approach to polluted land in Zwijndrecht and the surrounding area. “Who is going to clean this mess up? How will local residents be compensated for the damage suffered? The government must take steps to ensure that polluter 3M, and not taxpayers, pay for the cleanup costs and other social costs”, Van Hauwaert concludes.
Contact: Greenpeace press office, bpress@greenpeace.org – 0496 26 31 91
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