Stakeholders interested in cost-efficient remediation of large CAH groundwater contamination

Agoria

Agoria is Belgium’s largest employers’ organization and trade association for 1,500 Belgian companies in the technology industry approximately 800 in Flanders. The federation employs 230 people who provide the member companies with information, services and advice. The technology industry is arisen from the metal processing industry. In this sector a lot of trichloroethylene has been used before attention has been given to soil contamination. Therefore a lot of industrial companies in metal processing industry are confronted with – often historical – soil- and/or groundwater contamination due to their degreasing processes.

Vlabotex

Vlabotex is the Flemish soil remediation fund of the Belgian Textile federation FBT for the dry clean sector. The fund was created in September 2007.
The soil contamination in the dry clean sector is mainly caused by the solvent perchlorethyleen (CAH). From the ninety’s onwards the old dry clean machines have been replaced by cleaning machines of the 5th generation with a closed circuit and from that time the sector is nearly clean without emission. But there is a huge historical soil contamination that has to be cleaned. However, the dry clean companies do not have sufficient funds for the remediation. Therefore FBT set up an organisation which will take care of the remediation cost. The dry cleaning SME’s, who join the fund, are able to transfer the remediation obligation and execution of the remediation to Vlabotex and at the same time receive financial subsidies for cleaning. This way the cleaning is affordable for the SME’s. Because of this, Vlabotex is interested in best practices and new innovative demonstration projects who can help them to reduce remediation cots and find solutions for contaminations that can not be remediated until now. See recommendation letter in annex 4.