Prosecutor launches criminal investigation into chemical company Chemours

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) has launched a criminal investigation into Chemours in Dordrecht. It is also investigating whether executives of the chemical company can be held liable for the massive PFAS pollution and the consequences thereof. The OM called the investigation “very complex, both factually and legally.”

On 4 September 2023, lawyer Benedicte Ficq filed charges with the OM on behalf of approximately 2,400 people against the chemical company DuPont/Chemours in Dordrecht. They accused the company and its executives of intentionally introducing harmful PFAS into the air, soil, and surface water from 1967 to the present.

“Following this report and a recent Zembla broadcast, the OM has decided to start a criminal investigation against DuPont/Chemours,” the OM said in a statement. The DCMR Environmental Service Rijnmond, the police, and the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate will jointly carry out the investigation.

The investigation focuses on the possible harmful effects of PFOA emissions on people and the environment around the factory site in the period up to and including 2012. The authorities will later decide whether to also investigate the GenX, another type of PFAS and successor to PFOA, pollution after 2012.

The OM said it needs time and expects the investigation to take at least a year.

PFAS is a collective name for thousands of artificial substances that are harmful to health and the environment. These substances don’t break down and, therefore, accumulate in the body.

Another criminal investigation against DuPont/Chemours is already underway and in its final stages. This investigation focuses on DuPont/Chemours employees’ possible exposure to excessive concentrations of PFOA in the period up to and including 2012. Several incidents of possible violations of environmental regulations are also under investigation.

The province of Zuid-Holland also recently asked the OM to conduct a criminal investigation after a court ruled in an interim judgment that Chemours and its predecessor DuPont are liable for damage caused by PFAS emissions in the four nearby municipalities between at least 1984 and 1998. The company then said it wanted to look at “concrete action” against PFAS damage with municipalities and stakeholders. The Rivierenland water board also wants to recover damages suffered by PFAS from Chemours.

Zembla revealed that in the run-up to the ruling, Chemours tried to settle the case with the four municipalities. The company offered millions of euros to cover all past, current, and future damages caused by PFOA and GenX. The State attorney advised the municipalities to consider the settlement but called the offered amount very low. The municipalities rejected it.