About PFAS at Schiphol
How the PFAS-containing soil got here, how we deal with it and how we store it safely in temporary storage facilities at Schiphol.
PFAS has been used in all kinds of products, primarily to make them fire-resistant or water-repellent. From frying pans to raincoats and from cosmetics to pesticides. As a result, it is found in the soil throughout the Netherlands. At Schiphol, it got into the soil in several places due to the use of PFAS-containing foam during fire extinguishing activities. PFAS-containing firefighting foam was prescribed at airports for liquid fires from 1985 onwards. Our Schiphol fire brigade now extinguishes PFAS-free, but we do have a legacy from the past. More and more studies show that PFAS can be harmful to health. That is why we work carefully during excavation and construction work and remediate where necessary.
We have stored PFAS-containing soil in temporary storage facilities at Schiphol. Rather than transporting this soil to an approved processor, we are looking for a circular solution that is aligned with our goal of becoming a waste-free airport. That is why we have bought a soil remediation facility with which we want to clean the soil. The cleaning process produces 80% cleaned, reusable sand and 20% fine residual sludge. We want to reuse the sand at Schiphol and develop bricks from the sludge. We are currently testing this. High and prolonged heating causes the PFAS compounds to disintegrate, meaning the bricks can then be used at Schiphol. If this succeeds, the circle will be complete and we will have found a sustainable solution for our PFAS-containing soil.
How the PFAS-containing soil got here, how we deal with it and how we store it safely in temporary storage facilities at Schiphol.
We opt for a sustainable, circular solution. We want to clean and then reuse our PFAS-containing soil ourselves at Schiphol
View the measures, studies and initiatives that we use to implement the
want to further reduce nuisance.