About 200 activists demand closure of Teflon company due to groundwater pollution in Dordrecht

About two hundred people demonstrated in front of the main entrance of the chemical company Chemours in Dordrecht on Saturday morning. They want the plant to be closed as soon as possible following revelations on the television program Zembla. "Chemours must be closed now, get out," said Kees van der Hel on behalf of the action group Health Above All.

Dit is een van de gevoeligste document dat we in handen kregen over de PFAS-doofpot. We lezen dat DuPont in 1984 al bang is voor de aansprakelijkheidsgevolgen voor de schade van PFAS.#Chemours pic.twitter.com/PWYh5AQdsZ

— Zembla (@ZEMBLA) June 15, 2023

Previously, the large majority of the provincial council of Zuid-Holland had also announced that they wanted to hold the management of Dordrecht chemical company Chemours accountable in a hearing. The television program Zembla reported on Thursday that the Teflon manufacturer - formerly controlled by U.S. company DuPont - concealed for years that the groundwater around the factory and landfills in Dordrecht was heavily contaminated with a PFAS variant (PFOA). This was already known to be harmful to people’s health in the 1990s.

The demonstrators have been carrying out weekly actions in front of the gate of the Teflon manufacturer for some time. Some activists then make a cross on the asphalt with what they think is polluted soil from the area and douse it with water. Each time they do this, they demand that Chemours reduce PFAS emissions to zero.

According to Zembla, the company's management kept this quiet for fear of legal consequences and high costs. The broadcast led to angry reactions in the political arena. For example, many of the parties in the provincial council want to hold a hearing. "At least that will be our proposal," said ChristenUnie parliamentary group leader Steven Datema, confirming AD reports on the matter.

At the meeting of the Climate, Nature and Environment Committee on June 28, the parties will formally submit a request for a hearing. This should then take place shortly after the summer recess before the provincial council debate on Chemours, which was decided earlier.