European town of Zwijndrecht grapples with PFAS contamination, aiming for solutions | Tech Talks' coverage
In the picturesque town of Zwijndrecht, near Antwerp, a silent crisis has been unfolding. Resident Jeroen Van Reeth and his family, like many others, have had to make significant changes to their lifestyle due to the contamination of their surroundings by Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), also known as "forever chemicals."
PFAS, resistant to fire, grease, and water, do not break down in the environment or the human body. For over two decades, 3M, a multinational corporation, produced one such type of PFAS, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), despite being aware of its potential carcinogenic properties since the mid-1990s.
The garden, a source of joy for many families, has become a big sacrifice for Jeroen and his family. They had to discard all their pots and pans, avoid drinking tap water for three years, and pay close attention to details like keeping their windows closed when digging took place in fields behind their garden.
Remediation efforts to minimize PFAS contamination risks have come at a high cost. Generating the conditions necessary for their destruction demands a huge amount of energy and money, making the process costly. Destroying PFAS can be more challenging than containing them, as it requires extreme environmental conditions like heat or electric exposure.
In July 2022, 3M signed an agreement with the Flemish government to invest €571 million in remedial actions. However, three years after the agreement, the works to begin replacing the soil have not started. The company has engaged in digging up and replacing 70 cm of soil in the gardens of the residents in the heavily polluted "red zone," but the landfill site designated for the contaminated soil is already full.
The Forever Pollution Project estimates that remediation techniques could cost Europe up to €100 billion every year. Activated carbon, the most established technique for containing PFAS in water, needs careful monitoring and needs to be changed, as it can release compounds absorbed. Rain falling on the landfill can cause PFAS to leak back into the environment, according to Johan Van Leeuwen, an associate scientist at Utrecht University and the KWR.
Johan is critical of the "dig and dump" option for PFAS contaminated soil. Discussed measures to remove and destroy PFAS in the environment include advanced water treatment technologies like reverse osmosis, activated carbon filtration, and ion exchange, which can remove up to 99% of PFAS from water. However, these methods are resource-intensive and produce waste with high PFAS content that must be further treated or disposed of safely. Soil washing is another technique where sand and gravel are cleaned of PFAS, but fine soil fractions like humus still retain PFAS and require disposal by landfill or incineration.
Jeroen Van Reeth, the founder of the citizen collective Zwijndrecht Gezond, is a resident of the "red zone." He advises his neighbours to avoid eating home-grown eggs and small livestock, limit home-grown vegetables if vulnerable, and not use groundwater for drinking, cooking, or washing.
Despite the challenges, Zwijndrecht, with its prioritization of public transport and bicycles, colourful flowers on lampposts, and detached houses with beautiful rear gardens, continues to be a vibrant community. The resilience of its residents, like Jeroen, is a testament to their determination to live healthily amidst the ongoing struggle with PFAS contamination.
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