Press release

Human rights complaint filed against Belgium over PFAS

8 July 2026

  • Lawyers have filed a complaint against Belgium over its failure to tackle widespread PFAS pollution across the country.
  • Belgium is the country with the highest PFAS pollution in Europe.
  • The complaint aims to force Belgium to adopt measures to stop this pollution.

Lawyers at environmental law NGO ClientEarth have filed a complaint to the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) over Belgium’s failure to protect people’s health from widespread per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) pollution.

PFAS – known as forever chemicals, due to the near impossibility of eradicating them from the human body or the environment – are sparking global discussion on the wide array of harms they cause, and the action needed to stop them.

According to the Forever Pollution Project, Belgium is home to the highest levels of PFAS pollution in Europe. High levels of PFAS have been found in all corners of the country, including around the 3M plant in Flanders and around an air force base in Wallonia, and in tap water in Brussels.

Evidence shows that public authorities knew about PFAS contamination years before taking action. Only after investigative reports and public pressure did authorities begin to respond – but not in all cases and not sufficiently. In 2024, a Brussels court ruled that the Flemish authorities failed to act as a “normal, diligent government,” despite knowing about the contamination years earlier.

Toon Penen, a resident of Zwijndrecht in Flanders, said: “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.

“The pollution has changed how I feel about my own home. A garden should be a place where you can relax, grow food, let children play and let your dog run around without thinking about danger. But that feeling is gone.”

Exposure to PFAS is associated with at least a dozen diseases including cancer, infertility and diabetes, and other health impacts. 

Prof. Dr. Jacob de Boer, Emeritus Professor in Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, said: “PFAS do not break down and instead steadily accumulate in the human body – with severe associated health impacts such as immune system suppression, thyroid disruption, and even cancer when levels are high.

“This complaint shows that no Belgian is untouched by PFAS. These chemicals pose real health risks, particularly for children and pregnant women.”

ClientEarth’s complaint against Belgium focuses on the state’s systemic failure to protect public health and the environment from the well-documented risks associated with PFAS, with a specific emphasis on children as disproportionately affected populations. 

ClientEarth lawyer Hélène Duguy said: “The Belgian government has a legal duty to protect people from harm, including safeguarding fundamental rights such as the right to health. Yet it is currently falling short in its responsibility to protect people in Belgium from PFAS exposure.

“Time and again, evidence of PFAS contamination has emerged, but authorities have responded with inadequate measures or inaction. In the absence of decisive government action, some communities, often the most vulnerable, are being left alone in this crisis, despite the fact that it is the authorities who should act.

“The solution is simple: the Belgian government needs to step up urgently and ban all PFAS as soon as possible. Alternatives exist. People’s health and human rights are on the line.”

The Committee is expected to make a decision on admissibility in 2027. The admissibility stage is a preliminary screening process in which the ECSR checks whether a complaint satisfies the procedural requirements before considering the substance of the alleged violation. A final decision is expected in two to three years’ time.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

The health impacts of PFAS

One of the key concerns with PFAS is their remarkable persistence. Once released, they can remain in the environment for years, moving between water, soil and air, contaminating ecosystems and entering food chains, with humans often exposed at the end of this chain through food and drinking water.

Many PFAS remain understudied, but those that have been researched in-depth have been linked with a host of significant health concerns including kidney, testicular, ovarian, prostate and thyroid cancers. They have also been linked with liver disease, obesity, Type 2 diabetes and reduced fertility in men and women. Early research also suggests a link between certain PFAS and neurological disorders, including autism and ADHD.

Foetuses, infants and children are particularly vulnerable due to their developing bodies – and children tend to have the highest PFAS levels.

PFAS pollution in Belgium

Contamination is high across the three regions of Belgium, and stems from factories, pesticides use, airports, military bases and fire stations.

The most well-known hotspot is the 3M factory in Zwijndrecht in Flanders, where PFAS were produced from the 1970s until 2024.

  • As early as 2001, PFOS concentrations in groundwater around the site were thousands of times above safe limits. 
  • A study showed that young people living within a 5km radius of 3M have more PFOS in their blood than their peers in Flanders. 
  • In 2021, residents living near the site were advised not to eat eggs from their gardens or home-grown vegetables, and to not use groundwater. 

While PFAS are not produced in Wallonia, contamination has been identified at several sites, including the U.S. military base in Chièvres and the TotalEnergies plastics site in Feluy. 

  • In Chièvres and nearby villages, between 2021 and 2023, PFAS concentrations in tap water were five times higher than the European safety level – something that public authorities never communicated to the public. Yet, the American Army had instructed its personnel not to drink tap water there as early as 2017. 
  • Wastewater from Feluy contained PFAS levels more than five times the EU’s drinking water legal limit that has yet to come into force. 

PFAS contamination has also reached drinking water sources in the Brussels-Capital region. 

  • One of the hotspots identified is the site of former fire extinguishers manufacturer Sicli. 
  • Since 2021, the water provider Vivaqua has almost systematically detected TFA – a persistent PFAS – in reservoirs supplying Brussels, at levels that exceed the upcoming EU legal limit.

ClientEarth’s complaint to the ECSR

ClientEarth is one of the few NGOs entitled to submit complaints to the European Committee of Social Rights because the organisation has participatory status with the Council of Europe and has applied to be placed on the list of organisations who can file collective complaints. 

The complaint argues that Belgium is in violation of Articles 11 (the right to protection of health) of the European Social Charter. The European Social Charter was established to support the European Convention on Human Rights, to broaden the scope of fundamental rights to include social and economic rights. 

While the European Committee on Social Rights does not impose fines, its findings carry significant political and legal weight and can compel governments across Europe to change course. The monitoring work of the ECSR has led to considerable changes in law and practice in the countries concerned, for example, in France, following the decision on International Movement ATD Fourth World v. France, the French Parliament passed an Act on the enforceable right to housing.

The complaint comprises testimonies from several scientific experts in the fields of toxicology, epidemiology and chemistry, as well as testimonies from Belgians impacted. 

About ClientEarth

ClientEarth works in over 60 countries across Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe. We shape, implement and enforce the law, to build a future for our planet in which people and nature can thrive. 

We are tackling climate change, protecting nature and stopping pollution, with partners and citizens around the globe. We hold industry and governments to account and defend everyone’s right to a healthy world.