Unlike other Dutch companies, Schiphol is allowed to emit an unlimited amount of so-called ‘substances of very high concern’ each year. Companies in the Netherlands have an obligation to limit the emission of these substances to a minimum. They are carcinogenic or harmful to reproduction or DNA. But that obligation does not apply to Schiphol, according to internal documents from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.
Out documents published earlier this month thanks to an appeal to the Open Government Act, it appears that no rules apply to 99.9 percent of the emissions of harmful substances at Schiphol. The emissions from taxiing, take-off and landing fall under the Aviation Act, which does not regulate the emission of substances of very high concern.
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The Aviation Act does include rules on various types of particulate matter and volatile organic compounds that cause local air pollution. But nothing has been regulated for the emissions of the more than two hundred ‘substances of very high concern’, with the exception of carbon monoxide.
Surprise
This is also a surprise for officials, according to the documents: “That is actually the first time that the strange situation became clear to several parties involved that Schiphol has an obligation to minimize the 0.1 percent of its emissions of substances of very high concern, but that nothing has been arranged for the other 99.9 percent,” an official writes in 2021 in a memo to the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management.
The environmental rules only apply to factories and other fixed installations. Emissions from mobile sources, such as airplanes and trucks, are not included. For Schiphol, only the 0.1 percent emissions released during engine test runs and during fire drills fall under environmental legislation.
Environmental regulations do not apply to ‘mobile sources’, such as aircraft
Member of Parliament Lammert van Raan (Party for the Animals) is outraged by what he reads in the documents. At the beginning of last year, he asked parliamentary questions about the emission of ‘substances of very high concern’ by Schiphol, to which Minister Harbers replied that aircraft emissions are regulated by the Aviation Act. It now appears that for most substances nothing is regulated in that law. The minister said during a parliamentary debate last Wednesday that he meant emissions in a general sense, and that he was not specifically talking about ‘substances of very high concern’.
More benzene than Tata Steel
It is unclear how many harmful substances Schiphol emits. Companies must submit a report on their emissions to the Environment Agency every five years. This obligation does not apply to 99.9 percent of Schiphol’s emissions. RIVM therefore makes estimates, a spokesperson said. According to that estimates In 2020, Schiphol emitted more than 20,000 kilos of formaldehyde, a substance that is possibly carcinogenic. No only other company emitted so much formaldehyde in that year. The number two, stone wool producer Rockwool in Roermond, releases less than half of Schiphol’s emissions. An estimated 2,900 kilos of carcinogenic benzene was also released at Schiphol. Schiphol emits slightly more benzene than steel producer Tata Steel in IJmuiden, but less than the refineries of Esso, Shell and BP or chemical complexes such as Dow Benelux and Chemelot.
The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management said in a response that consultancy firm TNO is currently investigating the precise emission of substances of very high concern by Schiphol and the effects on staff and local residents. When that investigation is completed, the ministry will decide in the third quarter of 2023 whether measures should be taken.
Research program Zembla explained in 2021 how some 20,000 ground employees at Schiphol are exposed to hazardous substances on a daily basis. As early as 2007, occupational health and safety experts warned of an increased risk of heart problems and lung cancer among employees of Schiphol and KLM, research by Zembla showed. The occupational health and safety experts advised reducing exposure to exhaust gases as far as possible.
Schiphol says in a response that it is trying to reduce air traffic emissions by giving the most energy-efficient aircraft a discount on port charges. Schiphol also encourages the use of sustainable fuels.