Splintering of responsibilities, administrative or political errors, culpable widespread carelessness: after a recent hearing of Céline Tellier, regional minister of the environment, we still do not know why around 20,000 inhabitants of Wallonia were able to consume, until last March, water contaminated by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), ultratoxic and very persistent chemicals, even though an alarm signal had sounded thirteen months later early.
Put in the spotlight on November 14, including by members of the regional majority (made up of socialists, liberals and ecologists), during an extraordinary debate convened in the regional Parliament, Mme Tellier defended herself at length by asserting that” At no moment ” she had not received information about an imminent threat to the health of the population.
Information ignored by the expert
The American army, which has a base in Chièvres, in the province of Hainaut, had nevertheless warned in 2018 of PFAS contamination following the use of firefighting foam. These “eternal pollutants” can disrupt the immune system, cause cancer and thyroid problems or threaten the development of the fetus. The soldiers only consumed bottled water but the inhabitants of the region knew nothing. The regional expert in charge of the file would have done nothing with this information. He still served as an advisor to the cabinet of Mr.me Tellier (who took office in the fall of 2019), but has just been dismissed due to his “lack of vigilance”.
The Public Service of Wallonia (SPW, the regional administration) had sent a report pointing out excesses of the future European standard which will come into force in 2026 and sets a limit of 100 nanograms (ng) of PFAS per liter of water. A peak of 410 ng was noted in certain places in October 2021. An email ” raw “a “transmission of information” without warning message, maintains the minister. And she would not have received this document directly in any case.
The Walloon Water Distribution Company (SWDE) and its president had also been alerted and invited by the administration to put in place an action plan for water filtration. They would have taken nine months to achieve it, while believing that it was in fact up to the SPW to act. In any case, no one ever thought of informing the mayors of the municipalities most concerned.
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