Zuid-Holland approves Chemours permit to emit toxic PFAS byproduct

The province of Zuid-Holland plans to grant chemical company Chemours a permit to emit trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a variant of PFAS linked to health and environmental risks. Despite strong objections from municipalities, government inspectors, and residents, regional environmental agency DCMR says the emission levels are too low to significantly affect air quality, AD reports.

Chemours, based in Dordrecht, reported in 2023 that TFA was present in its air emissions as an unintended byproduct of its production processes. The company informed DCMR and submitted a request for legal permission to release the substance into the air. The initial request allowed for the release of 19.5 kilograms per year, but Chemours later reduced the proposed amount to just over 10 kilograms.

Opposition to the permit has been widespread. The municipalities of Dordrecht, Molenlanden, Papendrecht, and Sliedrecht, along with the national Inspectorate for the Environment and Transport (ILT), issued formal negative recommendations. They argued that Chemours had not adequately justified the application and demanded additional supporting information.

Nevertheless, Zuid-Holland and DCMR say the permit request now meets all legal requirements and includes new conditions to minimize existing emissions. DCMR determined that the small quantity of TFA does not constitute a "significant influence" on air quality, and therefore there is no legal basis to reject the permit. Parties still have the opportunity to file formal objections.

Local residents expressed anger and disbelief. “We assumed the province also supported the goal of ‘zero out the pipe,’” the chairman of the activist group Stop PFAS, Stop Chemours, told AD. “Now Chemours is being allowed to emit more toxic substances that weren’t previously permitted.” In 2023, Chemours was fined for discharging TFA into water without a permit and has since also applied for authorization to continue those water emissions.