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Zuid-Holland Pilot Finds Low PFAS Risk as Province Sets 2030 Mapping Goal

New legal action against Sabic highlights mounting pressure on industrial PFAS dischargers.

Overview

  • Testing at 24 locations found PFAS present mostly at low concentrations with no identified health risks, so no remediation is required at those pilot sites.
  • Two localized hotspots in Alblasserdam and Zwijndrecht exceeded indicative thresholds for serious contamination but were limited in extent and not near vulnerable locations, and a ditch in Spijkenisse prompted advice not to use the water for vegetable irrigation.
  • Zuid-Holland will expand investigations this year using the pilot approach and aims to complete a provincewide soil inventory by 2030, with major municipalities conducting their own comparable work.
  • Four organizations filed a criminal complaint on Thursday accusing Sabic of years of illegal PFBS discharges into the Westerschelde; the company had not provided a substantive response.
  • A court previously ordered Sabic to cap PFBS releases at 2.75 kilograms per year after earlier discharges of about 51 kilograms, and a separate Berenschot review in Helmond reported serious contamination and oversight gaps linked to Custom Powders.