3M chief comes to discuss PFAS dossier in Belgium

Michael Roman, the CEO of the American chemical giant 3M, is coming to Belgium next week, reports De Tijd. According to Environment Minister Zuhal Demir (N-VA), he will be discussing the PFAS pollution around the 3M plant in Zwijndrecht.

So far, contacts between Demir and 3M have been through European managing director Peter Vermeulen and Rebecca Teeters, the company's vice president of environmental affairs. Both also appeared a number of times before the PFAS investigation committee in the Flemish Parliament, which will present its final report at the end of March.

Last September Demir declared 3M in default. Bailiffs visited the Zwijndrecht site with a formal notice of default, demanding that 3M come up with resources to clean up the PFAS-contaminated land in and around Zwijndrecht. 3M headquarters in Minnesota, including Roman and Teeters, also received bailiffs.

Demir's cabinet emphasizes that Roman's arrival is not the precursor to a "final negotiation. 'The minister and Michael Roman will discuss the whole PFAS issue,' it sounds. 'Although it may lead to an acceleration in the talks, which are still ongoing and moving in the right direction.'

It remains unclear whether 3M will come up with any money. Demir does not want to say anything about this as long as the waste disposal company OVAM has not finished its report on the ongoing soil investigation. There have already been contacts between the 3M top and Demir about the cleanup, in which the minister has emphasized that "the polluter must pay".

The cleanup is also crucial for the nearby Oosterweel construction site. Construction manager Lantis wants to store heavily contaminated soil in a 3M safety berm, but this is opposed by action groups. Through proceedings before the Council of State they succeeded in temporarily blocking the construction of this verge. Lantis hopes, however, that the action groups will drop their resistance when there is a prospect of a clean-up.

Meanwhile, according to Demir, an agreement has already been reached with 3M on compensation for farmers who have land around the factory in Zwijndrecht. In cooperation with the Department of Agriculture and the Boerenbond, the loss of income for those farmers is estimated, which 3M would then compensate. According to Demir, about fifty farmers have already come forward.