The Flemish government, environmental organizations Natuurpunt and Bond Beter Leefmilieu and the municipality of Zwijndrecht have reached an agreement on tackling PFAS pollution around the Oosterweelwerf. That reports news agency Belga. The Flemish waste company OVAM has also given the green light to the soil remediation plan of chemical company 3M for a first zone around the company site in Zwijndrecht.
The agreement is on the agenda of the city council in Zwijndrecht on Thursday and on the agenda of the Council of Ministers on Friday.
The Flemish government has been negotiating with the municipality and the organizations for several months in an attempt to stop the legal disputes surrounding the yard.
However, two of the three members of the so-called PFAS coalition, which initiated the legal proceedings, have left the talks. Fundamental right and Greenpeace were concerned, among other things, with a confidentiality clause. Activist Thomas Goorden also withdrew from the negotiations because, like Grondrecht, he received no financial support.
The talks were then continued with a so-called ‘coalition of the willing’. These include the municipality of Zwijndrecht, citizens’ movement Zwijndrecht Gezond, Natuurpunt, Oosterweelbouwheer Lantis and Bond Beter Leefmilieu. The municipality will vote on the agreement on Thursday evening, Mayor André Van de Vyver confirms.
Cleaning up PFAS in Zwijndrecht gardens
3M must begin work to clean the grounds of the PFAS contamination as soon as possible and no later than May 1, 2023.
OVAM has also imposed additional conditions on the execution of the PFAS clean-up. For example, samples must be taken from vegetables and eggs for three years to check PFAS concentrations. The condition of trees and plants should also be examined.
On Thursday it turned out that apple juice made from apples from a historic orchard in the heart of Zwijndrecht is seriously contaminated with PFAS.
OVAM expects the remediation work to take three to four years. In all unpaved zones, the top 70 cm of soil is excavated and replaced. An estimated 245,000 cubic meters or 441,000 tons of soil will need to be excavated and replaced.
This concerns the residential and agricultural areas, accessible paths and open spaces of recreational areas of zone ‘1A’ between the E34 in the north, the Polderstraat in the east and the south and the Molenstraat in the west. OVAM reports on its website.
In the week of November 7, OVAM will send a letter to all owners and users of land within the zone. There will also be an information meeting in Zwijndrecht.
Before the works start, a contractor and garden specialist will visit at the expense of 3M. They will look at the condition of the garden and which plants can be preserved and potentially moved temporarily. Plants and garden elements that cannot be preserved, owners receive a compensation of 3M.
An appeal can still be lodged against this remediation project. There is a period of 30 days for this. For zone ‘1B’ a little further on and the much wider zone ‘2’, 3M has until the end of this year to submit a file.
Return to sender: Velt will deliver apple juice contaminated with PFAS to polluter 3M. “But don’t drink more than two glasses a week” (+)
Oosterweelbouwheer Lantis questions the costs of cleaning up PFAS water that will be discharged in the Scheldt
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