THE HAGUE – The Dutch government said on Tuesday that it would hold US multinational 3M, the maker of Post-it and Scotch tape, responsible for damages caused by “forever chemicals” in the Western Scheldt estuary.

The company had already agreed in 2022 to a settlement of €571 million (S$828.77 million) with the Belgian region of Flanders over the polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemical discharges around its Zwijndrecht plant, near the Belgian city of Antwerp.

The Dutch government said in a statement on Tuesday that the chemicals had caused financial damage to fishermen and raised concerns among residents of the Dutch province of Zeeland, where the Scheldt river flows into the North Sea.

“There are too many PFAS in the Western Scheldt,” said Dutch Infrastructure and Water Management Minister Mark Harbers.

“I think it’s the polluters who have to pay, not the users and the administrators,” he said. “Holding 3M liable is consistent with that.”

PFAS are known as “forever” chemicals because they barely degrade in the environment, or in bodies.

3M said last December that it would stop manufacturing polyfluoroalkyl substances by the end of 2025 in the light of stricter regulation over the harmful health effects from their use.

In 2022, the Dutch authorities warned against eating fish, shrimp, mussels and other products from the Western Scheldt because of high PFAS levels.

The Dutch government said it still must be determined how much of the PFAS pollution is caused by 3M. AFP