The soil in the Gilze-Rijen air base and 11 other defence ministry locations is seriously polluted with PFAS, according to current affairs show Pointer.

The pollution is worse than in the area around the Chemours chemical plant in Dordrecht or 3M in Belgium, which are thought to be responsible for a lot of the PFAS pollution in some parts of the country.

Almost all the samples taken in Gilze-Rijen exceed the permitted levels for PFOS, a type of PFAS, and in one case was 56 times the maximum level.

“These values are incredibly high” toxicologist Jacob de Boer. “This is the highest level of PFOS pollution in the Netherlands, apart from the Leeuwarden airbase.” The problem there was identified earlier.

The findings date from 2019 and 2020 but Pointer says the defence ministry was aware of the problem as early as 2013. Officials did not report the finding to the regulators until 2022 and Gilze en Rijen local council did not inform its residents either.

The PFOS originated from foam used to put out fires during training exercises. The clean up operation, which is now being planned, is expected to cost millions of euros.

In the Netherlands, there is mounting concern about contamination by PFAS, a complex group of chemicals linked to cancer and other health issues.

The “forever chemicals” have been found in the eggs of hens kept as a hobby all over the country. Dutch water companies are also worried that new projected EU guidelines to combat PFAS chemicals do not include a ban on their use in pesticides and say this is threatening drinking water quality.

The EU plans to stop the use of the harmful PFAS in many industries but not their inclusion in pesticides because these fall under separate EU regulations.

Two years ago the Dutch public health institute RIVM warned people who go fishing as a hobby to sharply reduce their consumption of fish, shrimp, oysters and mussels caught in the Westerschelde estuary because of chemical pollution.

Fish and shellfish caught in the estuary can contain eight to 10 times the amount of PFAS found in similar products sold in the shops, the RIVM said at the time.