Dozens of Dutch Sites Found Heavily Polluted by "Forever Chemicals," with Many More Expected

A first official inventory has identified 57 sites in the Netherlands where pollution by PFAS is so serious that cleanup is needed as soon as possible, according to a new report from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. The number is expected to grow sharply in the coming years, as most of the country's municipalities and provinces are still mapping out where the substances may have spread.

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What are PFAS?

PFAS is short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a family of thousands of chemicals that have been used for decades in everyday products: non-stick pans (the "Teflon" coating), water-resistant clothing such as Gore-Tex, food packaging, firefighting foam, cosmetics and many industrial processes. They are nicknamed "forever chemicals" because they do not (or barely) break down in nature. Once in soil, groundwater or surface water, they stay there for hundreds to thousands of years unless they are actively cleaned up.

PFAS can be harmful to human health. According to the Dutch public health institute RIVM, they can damage the immune system, affect fertility and unborn children, and harm organs such as the liver and thyroid (a gland in the neck that helps control metabolism). They can enter the body through food, drinking water, or even through prolonged contact with polluted water and soil.

The 57 most urgent sites

Out of nearly 4,000 places in the Netherlands suspected of PFAS pollution, the new report identifies 57 as "PFAS-aandachtlocaties," or PFAS sites of concern. That means soil testing has shown the pollution is severe enough that there is an immediate risk to people or the environment, for example because the site is close to a drinking water source or a residential neighbourhood.

The largest single cause is firefighting foam, the kind of foam that has been used at airports, military bases and industrial sites to put out chemical fires. Of the 57 sites, 35 are linked to firefighting foam. Other sources include five PFAS production sites, one carpet and floor-covering company, one zinc-plating factory, and even one location of a so-called "foam party."

Of the 57 sites, four have been cleaned up, eight are currently being cleaned, and 45 are still waiting for cleanup to begin. The ministry has not published a list, and refers anyone interested to their local municipality or province.

"Only the tip of the iceberg"

The 57 are "just the tip of the iceberg," the ministry says, with the number of urgent sites expected to "rise sharply" in the coming years. Many municipalities and provinces are still in the inventory phase, the first stage in which they map out where pollution might exist, before any soil testing or follow-up research takes place.

That work is being held up by several practical problems. Local authorities say they often lack the staff, the specialist knowledge and the funds they need. They also have little legal power to force private companies to allow soil testing on their land. As the NOS reported earlier this year, some businesses are flatly refusing to cooperate, and the ministry, which initially denied this was a problem, is now unable to say what it will do about it. The provinces' joint body, IPO, called the situation "something that has to be solved."

A bill running into the billions

Cleanup, known in Dutch as "saneren," does not come cheap. The ongoing clean-ups alone already amount to at least €68 million, according to the IPO. "That is probably only a fraction of the total cleanup costs of the PFAS sites of concern," a spokesperson said, "not to mention purification costs, healthcare costs and the costs of delays to housing projects." A single site can cost €6 million on its own.

The central government has so far paid out €18.8 million in cleanup grants to local authorities, with another €11.1 million requested for 2026. The aim is to have a complete picture of the country's PFAS pollution by 2030, but officials already acknowledge that the actual cleanup will continue well beyond that year. A European Commission report has estimated that across the EU, PFAS cleanup could ultimately cost hundreds of billions of euros.

Who pays in the end?

A central legal question remains unsettled: who has to pay for cleanup when the company that caused the pollution decades ago is gone or unknown. "In the first instance, the polluter or the owner of the site is responsible," the ministry says, "but there are situations where the government will also have to contribute, or even take the initiative." For now, that uncertainty, combined with limits on forcing testing, is slowing down both the inventory and the actual cleanup of one of the country's most stubborn environmental problems.