ClientEarth Communications
8th July 2026
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Belgium is home to the highest levels of PFAS pollution in Europe – and it’s poisoning entire communities and workplaces.
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.
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a large group of human-made chemicals used in products ranging from non-stick cookware to yoga mats to firefighting foams and industrial manufacturing.
They are often called "forever chemicals" because they do not naturally break down and can remain in the environment and the human body for an extremely long time.
Growing scientific evidence has linked exposure to certain PFAS with a range of serious health conditions, including cancer, infertility, liver disease, obesity and Type 2 diabetes.
Researchers are also studying possible links between some PFAS and developmental conditions such as autism and ADHD.
Children and babies developing in the womb, are particularly vulnerable because developing bodies are more sensitive to accumulating toxic components.
While we can try to limit our intake of PFAS through lifestyle choices, we cannot avoid it completely. Our bodies also absorb PFAS from our drinking water, food, and environment.
One of the country's best-known contamination hotspots is the 3M factory in Flanders, where PFAS were produced from the 1970s until 2024. As early as 2001, PFAS concentrations in groundwater around the site were reported to be thousands of times above safe limits.
Research has shown that young people living within five kilometres of the site have higher levels of PFAS in their blood than their peers elsewhere in Flanders. In 2021, residents were advised not to eat eggs from their gardens, consume home-grown vegetables or use groundwater because of contamination concerns.
PFAS contamination has also been found around the 3M plant in Flanders, an air force base in Wallonia, in tap water in Brussels, and around the Sicli site – near a company manufacturing fire extinguishers.
In certain parts of the Wallonia region, PFAS concentrations in tap water between 2021 and 2023 were reportedly five times higher than the level that is safe for water.
According to investigative reporting, the US Army had identified PFAS contamination in the local water supply as early as 2017 and raised the alarm with the authorities. But the authorities failed to inform residents, who found out about the contamination years later through media investigations.
This complaint shows that no Belgian resident is untouched by PFAS. Even below guideline levels, these chemicals pose real health risks, particularly for children and pregnant women.Professor Jacob de Boer, Emeritus Professor of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology
We’re arguing that Belgium is violating the right to protection of health guaranteed by the European Social Charter. The government’s systemic failure has resulted in public health and the environment being harmed, and children disproportionately so.
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.
Our lawyer, Hélène Duguy said:
"The Belgian government's duty is to protect people from harm, but it is failing when it comes to PFAS pollution.
Communities, especially the most vulnerable, are being left exposed.
"The solution is simple: the government needs to ban all PFAS as soon as possible. Alternatives exist. People's health and human rights are on the line."
Scientists and engineers have already identified safe alternatives to PFAS in many sectors including for air conditioning, frying pans, solar panels, and other items.
Belgian communities have had enough of the PFAS pollution, and its impact on their health.
Our legal complaint has the support of affected communities across the country, some of whom live close to factories where PFAS are made.
“I wish I had known about these risks during my pregnancy in 2018. If I had, I would have certainly taken precautions to protect my unborn child against PFAS exposure.
My daughter was exposed, just because of growing in my belly and drinking polluted breastmilk.
Three generations have been exposed: my mother went to secondary school near 3M, when PFAS production started. I was exposed, just by living near the petrochemical industry and in a rural area.
A whole population has been exposed, the whole country, for more than 50 years.”
— Hedwig Rooman
Toon Penen lives in Zwijndrecht, about 1.2 kilometres from the 3M factory, where forever chemicals were produced until 2024.
“For a long time, I had no idea that I was living in one of the worst PFAS pollution sites in Europe. I trusted that if there was a serious risk, the authorities would tell us clearly and in time. They did not.”
“It is inevitable that my body is contaminated, particularly by the tap water, but not exclusively. I am deeply worried about the contamination of my children.
The government should prioritize banning the production and use of PFAS and advocate for a complete ban at the European level.
Budgets should be allocated for soil and water contamination.
I am deeply concerned about the contamination of the entire environment, and the lack of any known decontamination solution.”
— Jean-Baptiste Godinot
We expect to hear about the admissibility of our complaint in 2027. This step is to confirm whether our complaint can be heard in court. We then expect a final result in two to three years’ time.