The three Brabant environmental services will help companies to switch to other fire extinguishing systems that do not use PFAS-containing extinguishing foam. If the companies do not cooperate, administrative fines may ultimately follow.
In North Brabant there are now more than a hundred companies where toxic PFAS is still used in fire extinguishing systems. This concerns companies with large fire extinguishing systems used in logistics, larger storage companies and companies in the heavy chemical industry. The companies are required to make a plan on how they will replace firefighting foam containing PFAS with more environmentally friendly alternatives.
Safety first
The reason for this plan is a European rule, which means that substances such as PFAS are banned or severely limited as quickly as possible. In the Netherlands, the national Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) monitors this and wants companies to limit the use of PFAS as quickly as possible.
The extinguishing agent must be replaced at the companies involved. Furthermore, the extinguishing systems themselves must be thoroughly cleaned and new designs and plans must be made. These plans and designs must then be checked by the fire brigade and the environmental department.
It is important for the three Brabant environmental services that the transition to fire-fighting foam without PFAS takes place safely. That is why the three environmental services are entering into discussions with companies to arrive at a realistic planning together. If companies do not comply with this, an administrative fine may ultimately follow.
PFAS
PFAS is a collective name for a group of thousands of chemicals that do not break down in nature. They damage the immune system and some types are carcinogenic with long-term exposure. The chemicals end up in the environment because companies discharge or emit them. PFAS is also widely used in fire extinguishing systems and by the fire brigade.