The environmental inspection said this afternoon that it is not yet certain that there is indeed FBSA in 3M’s discharge water. That confirmation must therefore come from the measurement results.
“We are still waiting for the external advice of a toxicologist to get an idea of the impact of FBSA,” Brigitte Borgmans of the Flemish Environment Department told the Belga news agency.
Incidentally, 3M is not licensed to discharge FBSA and had not reported that it would discharge the substance.
During a hearing this afternoon, 3M provided more information to the environmental inspectorate. In that context, 3M provided all information about hazardous substances in their production process and the possible environmental impact last night. The environmental inspectorate will consider whether a fine should be levied and will transfer its findings after the hearing to the public prosecutor, which is already investigating 3M.
The American chemical company has remained silent for the time being. It was discredited a few months ago in the so-called PFOS scandal. During work on the Oosterweel connection, a contamination with large amounts of this toxic substance was discovered near Zwijndrecht. The source of the contamination turned out to be 3M.
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