NOS
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 05:20
The Public Prosecution Service has started a criminal investigation into chemical company Chemours in Dordrecht. The reason is, among other things, the declaration that lawyer Bénédicte Ficq filed against the company and its managers on behalf of approximately 4,000 people. They accuse the company of deliberately releasing PFAs into the air, soil or surface water from 1967 until now.
The judicial investigation will also examine whether managers can be held liable.
Dordrecht, Sliedrecht, Papendrecht and Molenlanden already held Chemours, formerly part of DuPont, liable for the pfas damage in their municipalities in 2018. A judge ruled in an interim judgment that Chemours is liable for damage caused by the emissions of PFOA, a type of PFAs, between 1984 and 1998. It is not yet known when the final judgment in this case will follow.
Pfas (an abbreviation of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances) pose a health risk. Overexposure to pfas can damage the immune system and cause cancer.
First research into emissions up to and including 2012
In the criminal investigation, the Public Prosecution Service is looking at the possible harmful effects of PFOA emissions up to and including 2012. It will be determined at a later date whether the use of GenX, the successor to PFOA, will also be investigated for the period after 2012. The investigation will be carried out by, among others, the police and the Rijnmond Environmental Service. The Public Prosecution Service expects that the investigation will last at least a year.
A criminal investigation is still ongoing against the company. This concerns the possible exposure of company employees to excessively high concentrations of PFAs up to and including 2012. That investigation is in the final phase, the Public Prosecution Service reports.
DuPont/Chemours has probably known for decades that the production of PFAs poses a risk to personnel and the environment, as was revealed in June. a broadcast of BNNVARA program Zembla.
Would you like to know more about pfas and Chemours? Watch this video from NOS op 3:
A non-stick coating in your body? PFAS explained
2023-10-19 03:20:50
#Public #Prosecution #Service #starts #criminal #investigation #Chemours #residents #report
