Overview
- Seven provinces and the national water companies association commissioned CLM to map PFAS-containing pesticide use, reporting sharp growth in recent years, with usage rising by as much as 67%.
- Monitoring showed PFAS exceedances in more than half of river-water tests and about 10% of groundwater tests, while drinking water remains within standards as treatment efforts intensify.
- In Utrecht the study estimates roughly 1,000 kilograms of PFAS-containing pesticides are used annually, largely linked to hard fruit and silage maize, which is lower than several other provinces.
- Researchers detected the PFAS breakdown product TFA at locations where PFAS-pesticides are applied but did not establish a direct causal link with groundwater concentrations.
- Provinces say they will act on recommendations such as better parcel-level registration and expanded monitoring, while Vewin and water authorities press for stricter national and EU rules up to a total ban, with Utrecht set to brief its Provincial States later this month.