Harmful substance emissions increased around 125 Netherlands businesses

Since 2016, the Dutch government has obliged companies to “minimize” the amount of harmful substances they emit. Despite this, the emission of one or more highly toxic substances has increased at 125 companies between 2015 and 2022, RTL Nieuws reports after analyzing emission figures of Substances of Very High Concern from 224 companies.

The broadcaster compared the emission figures of 672 substances at 225 companies from 2015 to 2022. In just over half of the cases, the reported emissions were lower in 2022. But in almost 40 percent, they increased. This concerns carcinogenic substances like benzene, formaldehyde, mercury, and lead, among others. These substances are particularly harmful to babies and young children, affecting their brains, nerves, and development.

“I’m shocked by this,” Paul Scheepers, a toxicologist at Radboud University, told the broadcaster. “You want to prevent these substances from entering the air. Every additional emission contributes to an increase in the risk. Especially because toxins are emitted in many different places in the Netherlands, many people are exposed to them and then every increase, even an increase of 1 percent, is already very serious."

He is specifically concerned about the increased emissions of four different PAHs - harmful substances created during incomplete combustion. Tata Steel’s emissions of these PAHs have increased by 58 percent since 2015, amounting to 41 kilograms more PAHs in the air, according to RTL. "PAHs are toxic. In the long term, they can lead to an increased risk of cancer, such as lung and bladder cancer. Even the smallest amounts in the air, which you cannot see with the naked eye, can be harmful."

Some companies are also emitting more metals like lead and mercury. At the tile factory Koninklijke Mosa in Maastricht, for example, mercury emissions rose from 2.3 to 6.3 kilograms between 2015 and 2022, an increase of 174 percent.

At the end of 2018, the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate concluded that companies were “not making any serious efforts to phase out or minimize emissions.” Enforcement of the “minimization obligation” also proved difficult. The responsible provinces and environmental services told RTL that the law is vague when it comes to reprimanding companies that emit more, not less, toxic substances.

State Secretary Chris Jansen (PVV) of Infrastructure and Water Management told RTL that he does not know why the emissions of harmful substances increased at many of the studied companies. “Whatever the cause, it is important that the emissions of Substances of Very High Concern decrease. We are also convinced that we will achieve this and that the responsible authorities and companies involved are working hard on it.”