ClientEarth against Belgium: the country with the most PFAS in Europe knows it, and isn’t acting

Brussels – “Belgium is home to the highest levels of PFAS pollution in Europe – and it’s poisoning entire communities and workplaces,” warns ClientEarth, a non-profit organisation of legal experts defending the environment, which accuses the Belgian government of failing to tackle pollution. “We’ve launched a landmark human rights legal complaint against the Belgian government over its failure to tackle this pollution and protect citizens’ rights to health.  We want to force Belgium to adopt stronger measures to stop ongoing pollution and better protect communities across the country,” the non-profit organisation said in a statement.

Among the most polluted sites in Belgium are: the area defined as 3M plant  in Flanders, where PFAS are believed to have been produced from the 1970s until 2024 and where, in 2001, levels were reported to be thousands of times above safety levels; another plant in Flanders; and una base an air force base in Wallonia; and even in tap water in Brussels that has been found to be contaminated. According to investigative reports, in 2017, the US military had already identified contamination in the local water supply and alerted the Belgian authorities, who, however, did not inform the public. Consequently, residents were not informed and only learned years later, thanks to media investigations.

The lawyers argue that the country is violating the right to health enshrined in the European Social Charter (Article 11), as “the government’s systemic failure has resulted in public health and the environment being harmed, and children disproportionately so.” They have therefore lodged a complaint with the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR), a legal mechanism that allows trade unions, employers, and non-governmental organisations to report violations of the principles of the ⁠Charter. “While the European Committee of Social Rights cannot impose fines, its decisions carry significant political and legal weight and have previously led governments across Europe to change laws and public policies,” said ClientEarth’s lawyers. “The solution is simple: the government needs to ban all PFAS as soon as possible,” said ClientEarth’s lawyer, Hélène Duguy. 

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a family of over 10,000 synthetic chemical compounds that have been used since the 1950s to make products water-repellent, grease-resistant, and heat-resistant. They are known as “forever chemicals” because they do not break down naturally and accumulate in the environment and in the human body. Ongoing scientific research shows that exposure to certain PFAS can cause serious health conditions, including cancer, infertility, liver disease, obesity, and diabetes.