Press release 3M deal: promising, but not the end of the story

06.07.2022 | Press release 3M Deal:

3M deal: promising, but not the end of the story

Antwerp, 06.07.2022

The clean-up agreement announced by Environment Minister Zuhal Demir is a step forward in making polluter 3M pay, according to citizen collective Grondrecht, environmental activist Thomas Goorden, Bond Beter Leefmilieu and Greenpeace. But that is not the end of the story.

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“As local residents, we are pleased with this first step towards making polluter 3M take responsibility by paying for the clean-up,” said Eva Frooninckx of Fundamental Rights. “More than half a billion euros, of which 350 million for the remediation of gardens and the Oosterweel shipyard may seem like a hefty sum, but we are also dealing with the largest PFAS pollution in Europe in, among other things, residential and natural areas. The Descriptive Soil Research drawn up by 3M is substandard, because it does not even map the entire pollution plume. There is also no certainty about which safe soil standards will be used, so it is impossible to put a fixed price on the costs to be incurred at this stage.”

“This is an important step forward in making the polluter in the PFOS scandal pay, but this is not the end of the story. On the positive side, it seems that the deal does not release 3M from all other costs and liabilities that are not yet fully visible: the broader clean-up, including the Oosterweel shipyard, the liability for health costs and other damage suffered by residents, farmers, etc. That is already important,” says Joeri Thijs from Greenpeace.

“This remediation agreement is important. But at the end of the day, 3M will have to rethink its production systems and phase out all PFAS. We hope that this will be enforced soon, to avoid a similar scandal in the future,” concludes Tycho Van Hauwaert of the Association for a Better Environment.

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