Belgium’s Zwijndrecht, a small town near Antwerp, has been labeled as the “worst European hotspot for PFAS.” For 25 years, the American company 3M produced perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in this town, a highly toxic substance harmful to health and the environment. Across Europe, there are an estimated 2,300 similar “hotspots” and a total of 23,000 polluted sites. A recent collaborative survey estimates the annual cost of decontamination to be 100 billion euros. But how is decontamination conducted in practical terms? And what is the cost for residents already affected by one of the biggest environmental scandals? Alix Le Bourdon, Anna Joris, and Dave Keating investigate.

Source: https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/focus/20250310-forever-pollution-zwijndrecht-a-belgian-town-contaminated-by-pfas