The PFOS scandal in Flanders reaches as far as the Netherlands, as Zeelanders are now being advised not to eat fish from the river Westerschelde. Research is in full swing, and so concerns are growing about the exposure of humans and animals to these persistent fluorine compounds. 

The Netherlands has now forgotten about halting all dredging and soil movement due to PFAS in 2019. In Flanders, on the other hand, the discussion about this fluorine-containing pollution is raging in all its intensity, in what some are calling the PFOS scandal. The reason is the construction of a ring road and tunnels to the north of Antwerp. This Oosterweel connection will be near the Antwerp municipality of Zwijndrecht. Substantial quantities of perfluorooctane sulphonic acid (PFOS) were found during soil investigations in 2017. 

The extent of the environmental pollution only came to public attention in 2021, when high concentrations of PFOS were found during excavation work in the area. At that time, it also became known that the Flemish government knew about the pollution but did not disclose it. In any case, during the summer of 2021 major concerns arose about the risks of moving contaminated soil, and the PFOS exposure of inhabitants of Zwijndrecht. The fact that PFOS was found in this area comes as no surprise: the 3M factory produced perfluorooctane sulfonic acid there for several decades, until the substance was banned by international environmental treaties.