Questions and answers – PFAS
PFAS is a group of several thousand substances used in a wide range of common products, such as fabric, cosmetics, paint, and paper packaging. Increasingly, research links various PFAS substances to health problems, such as cancer and hormonal disruptions, but only a few have been banned.
The price of buying 1,000 grams of a common PFAS chemical now stands at less than 10 euros − a fraction of the price of making sure that it does not end up in our environment, our food, or our drinking water. Those who profit from using PFAS must foot the bill! It requires new legislation that imposes requirements on manufacturers.
Today, PFAS is everywhere in society. We are working in several ways to remove PFAS from cycles and prevent it from spreading from our facilities.
- We have coordination functions working on knowledge, actions, and approaches to manage PFAS in a consolidated manner and continuously evaluate its effectiveness.
- We take initiative to sample waste coming in and advocate for stricter requirements on sampling and standardized measurement methods.
- We separate PFAS and stabilise it to be able to store it safely.
- We actively work to avoid water coming into contact with PFAS-contaminated waste. Water that has been in contact with PFAS-contaminated waste is purified.
- We actively work with our customers to obtain information about the risk that their waste contains PFAS.
- All waste facilities with proper permits must allocate funds for post-treatment of the area even in the future when the facility is closed. When PFAS-contaminated waste is disposed of elsewhere, there are no such requirements.
We take initiative to sample waste coming in and advocate for stricter requirements on sampling and standardised measurement methods. We also actively work with our customers to obtain information about the risk that their waste contains PFAS.
We understand that handling PFAS can raise concerns among those living near our facilities. The problem is that PFAS is already spreading uncontrollably in society. By collecting PFAS-contaminated material in a few places and handling it in the safest possible way, we can remove as much as possible from the cycles.
The more PFAS-contaminated waste that ends up at modern facilities with the best available technology, the less PFAS remains in the environment.