Over 150,000 tonnes of soil have been removed from Dublin Airport and transported overseas due to the presence of PFAS chemicals, which have been linked to various human health issues.
PFAS (per-and poly-fluoroalkylated substances) are a legacy problem worldwide, including airports, due to their past use in firefighting foam.
Geminor, a Norwegian waste-treatment company, was brought in to handle the removal and disposal of tens of thousands of tonnes of soil from Dublin Airport by shipping it to Norway for appropriate treatment.
This issue was initially raised by the Santry Forum committee, expressing concerns about the potential risk of these chemicals entering the Santry River. Three years ago, committee member Paddy Fagan highlighted the issue during a meeting of Dublin Airport’s Environmental Working Group, emphasizing its potential significance.
Bjorn Haland of Geminor said the PFAS “challenge” in Europe was greater than most realise. “The main culprit at airports is firefighting foam from fire drills. Today, there are millions of tons of PFAS-contaminated materials waiting to be handled properly,”
Daa media relations manager Graeme McQueen said “An area where we are currently building a new apron was found to contain evidence of the presence of PFAS chemicals at low levels. However, regardless of how much PFAS is found in sample results, strict rules apply which require the soil to be dealt with.”
