2023-08-17 15:09:09
People living near two polluted sites in East Flanders have particularly high levels of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, more commonly known as PFAS, in their blood, a survey commissioned by the neighborhood committees of five contaminated areas revealed on Thursday. Outliers were observed in Ronse, a Dutch-speaking municipality with facilities, and in Kruisem.
At the end of June, the environmental action group Climaxi called for blood samples to be taken from people living in the vicinity of PFAS-contaminated areas. The results were analyzed by Dutch professor Jacob De Boer, an authority at the Free University of Amsterdam.
At Kruisem, samples from 43 residents living near a landfill show high values with a median of 17 µg/L, whereas it should be 6.9. “High values were measured here. They represent 2.5 times the norm. There are also appalling values of over 800 µg/L. There is definitely something going on here.”
In Ronse, the samples from 15 people also contain values that are too high, with peaks of up to 351 µg/L. In May last year, Flemish Environment Minister Zuhal Demir imposed strict conditions on the textile company Utexbel. The permit granted had a duration of 18 months and will therefore be reassessed shortly.
That’s not all. People living in Ostend, near the airport, also have abnormally high levels of PFAS in their blood. In Kortemark and Stabroek, the values are of less concern, but are still higher than normal.
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