Document YG0VGeb9MGyN1MQZGLKEokXgE

federal public service HEALTH, FOOD CHAIN SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT 3M PFAS case Belgium Overview and ongoing actions 3M case Belgium timeline 1970s: 3M starts PFOS production at the Zwijndrecht site 2001: production of PFOS is stopped 2004: study on wood mice around the 3M site indicate high PFOS exposure (Hoff et al. 2004) 2017: Soil study for big infrastructure works indicates high values of PFOS in Zwijndrecht soil 2017: study on bird eggs finds highest concentrations of PFAS ever measured in eggs (Groffen et al. (2017)) May 2021: citizen alerts the media on PFOS pollution and potential spreading of pollution due to start of infrastructure works Follow-up after media attention Creation of a Flemish PFAS working group tasked to: Map the current pollution problem at Zwijndrecht and develop so called "no regret" measures Take blood samples of citizens living close to the 3M plant to assess exposure Map and identify other potential PFAS pollution sites in Flanders Produce a report and come with policy recommendations First results First "Interim" report has been published in September 2021 Multiple PFAS hotspots have been identified in Flanders "No regret" measures have already been communicated for those sites (no consumption of home-grown vegetables and eggs for example) October 2021: first results of PFAS in blood samples: On average higher concentrations of PFOS and PFHxS compared to other (EU) reference populations 92,7% of samples exceeded the EFSA guideline of 6,9 ng/L For PFOS: more then half exceeded the HBM-II value (20 g/L for general population; 10 g/L for pregnant women) PFAS (vlaanderen.be) Upcoming Zwijndrecht blood sampling will be extended to 5km radius Up to 7000 samples will be taken Several other studies are in the pipeline: Drinking water Food Air deposition Compost ... Final report of the WG is expected by June 2022 Will include policy recommendations Federal PFAS working group Bundle information and data being generated by different BE authorities In order to share data with EU colleagues to assist the development of regulatory actions on EU and international level References and further info Hoff et al. (2004) Biochemical effect evaluation of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid-contaminated wood mice (Adopemus sylvaicus). https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.6479 Groffen et al. (2017) Perfluoroalkylated acids in the eggs of great tits (Parus major) near a fluorochemical plant in Flanders, Belgium. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2017.05.007 https://www.vlaanderen.be/pfas-vervuiling https://www.zorg-en-gezondheid.be/bloedonderzoek-toont-hoge-waarden-van-pfos-bij-meer-dan-de- helft-van-de-deelnemers-%E2%80%93-no https://www.vlaamsparlement.be/nl/parlementair-werk/plenaire-vergadering-en- commissies/commissies/onderzoekscommissie-pfas-pfos https://www.vlaanderen.be/en/pfas-in-flanders https://www.vlaanderen.be/publicaties/personal-summary-of-the-first-interim-report-on-the-pfas- contamination Thank you for your attention Any questions? federal public service HEALTH, FOOD CHAIN SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT