Bond Beter Leefmilieu, Greenpeace and Grondrecht: 3M's default notice is a step forward, now take decisive action for our own policy

The environmental movement (Bond Beter Leefmilieu, Greenpeace & Grondrecht) supports the legal notice of default of Minister of Environment Zuhal Demir against polluter 3M. But it is not enough: the problems with Flemish environmental policy, which made this dossier so painfully clear, also deserve a firm approach. 

08.09.2021 | Fundamental right

3M only understands strong language

After their half-hearted answers in the parliamentary PFAS committee, it is clear that polluter 3M will only provide information and pay the costs if it is legally forced to do so. 

However, this legal procedure against 3M should not be an excuse for the Flemish government to do nothing in the meantime. The creation of an illegal dumping ground on the 3M site and the transfer of heavily polluted sludge to the Netherlands must be stopped in order to prevent further spreading of the pollution. The environmental movement also expects that the excavation works for Oosterweel will be halted and that the permits issued for 3M will be urgently adjusted in accordance with the strictest discharge standards.

What have we learned?

At the same time, it should never have gotten to this point. Further investigation is needed into who bears what responsibility in this case and where the Flemish government failed. Not only was the environmental permit for 3M issued without an environmental impact report being drawn up, the Flemish government also failed to inform the population (they have been aware of this for years) and the company was insufficiently monitored and followed up. Due to the shortage of people and resources, enforcement was virtually non-existent.

The PFAS research committee still has a few months to go. After experts, 3M and the unions have already passed in review, the Flemish government will also have to come up with an explanation. In doing so, they will have to release more than 3M did. The biggest question: why was no action taken earlier?  

A thorough investigation is needed to prevent this from happening in the future. The 3M PFOS scandal is perhaps just one of many historical environmental files that will surface in the coming years. The bad tradition of shifting industrial environmental pollution onto society must stop here and now.