Dozens of Dutch companies refusing PFAS investigators access to their premises

Dozens of companies where provinces suspect hazardous PFAS contamination are refusing investigators access to their premises. The provinces can’t force their way in and are unsure how to proceed, NOS and the regional broadcasters found.

Last week, the RIVM reported that every single Dutch person has PFAS in their blood, and for almost all Dutch, the level exceeds the health standards. Provinces and municipalities are currently mapping out where PFAS contamination is present in the Netherlands, starting with historical research in the archives to determine which PFAS-related activities took place where.

The researchers have already identified thousands of suspected locations with PFAS contamination, often landfills or locations where paint, textile, or chemical plants were located. Several provinces have started the next phase of the research, taking soil samples at locations where there is a high risk of health or environmental damage. But companies are balking.

In Zeeland, almost half of the 50 companies approached have refused PFAS investigators access to their premises. In Overijssel, it involves nine of the 14 companies, and in Gelderland, over 20 of the 220. And there is nothing further they can do, the provinces say. “It’s legally impossible,” Zeeland provincial executive Dick van der Velde told NOS. “If you want to enforce it and they resist, we’re stuck.

According to Gerrit van der Veen, a former professor of environmental law, the problem lies with the current law only allowing the authorities to enforce soil sampling if the company knew or should have known that it was causing contamination. And the provinces’ current research mainly concerns contamination that occurred in the past, when much less was known about PFAS and its dangers. “Moreover, the current user may not be the culprit. Also then, sampling is not enforceable.”

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management told the broadcaster that provinces have options for enforcing soil sampling. “If it turns out that decisive action cannot be taken, additional legal options will be explored where necessary,” the Ministry said.