Chemours Co. and its legal predecessor E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co will face a Dutch criminal investigation for the potential harmful effects of emitting forever chemicals in the Netherlands.
Prosecutors said it decided to start an investigation after receiving a report in September on behalf of around 2,400 people against Chemours and DuPont. The report concerned the deliberate release of polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, from the firm’s factory in Dordrecht during the period from 1967 to present.
PFAS, used to make products like raincoats, are known as “forever chemicals” because they are nearly impossible to get rid of. They accumulate over time in the soil, the water and in human bodies — and are associated with a range of health issues. Last month a Dutch court ruled Chemours and DuPont are liable for unlawfully emitting such substances in the Netherlands.
The investigation will focus on the potential harmful effects of these emissions on humans and the environment in the vicinity of the plant site in the period up to 2012 and will also consider whether the company’s executives could be held criminally liable, the prosecutor’s office said in a Thursday statement.
“This important first step may mean that managers will later have to answer for the sickening pollution caused by them,” Bénédicte Ficq, the lawyer who filed the report, said in a post on LinkedIn. “Welfare, the health of people and the environment should not be played with.”
Chemours takes note of the message from the prosecutor and will cooperate fully in this investigation, a spokesperson said. DuPont takes these matters seriously and is assessing the scope of the investigation.
The legal complexity of the probe means the prosecution will need time to carry out its investigations, the public prosecutor said. It therefore doesn’t expect to complete the probe within a year.
A separate criminal probe regarding possible exposure of Chemours’ employees to excessive concentrations of perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, is in the final stages. The chemical firm also faces investigations over a number of incidents concerning possible breaches of environmental regulations.
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