Eternal poison on the Papieri site

The canton of Zug has detected elevated PFAS levels in the soil of the undeveloped northern part of the Papieri site in Cham. But there is no danger to the people already living there.

Excessive PFAS (per- and polyfluorinated alkyl compound) contamination has not only been measured at the Teuflibach children's playground in Cham (we reported on 3rd March). A few days ago, the so-called ‘eternal poison’ was also detected on the neighbouring, still undeveloped northern part of the Papieri site. All the test areas have been cordoned off, and the residents of the site have been informed. The findings raise questions about the future of the entire neighbourhood.

The Cham Group is the owner of the former Cham paper mill site, where a new urban neighbourhood with commercial space, apartments and green spaces is being built. The developed part of the Papieri site will be home to around 700 people in around 350 residential units by the end of 2024, and around 70 companies are also based there.

Katharina Sonderegger, Head of Communications at theCham Group, says that the ongoing investigations do not affect the buildings that have already been completed, or the existing buildings that are currently under construction or renovation. The latter include the ‘Kesselhaus’ (boiler house), the Durolux building and the Trafogebäude (transformer building),  as well as the associated outdoor areas.

View of the Papieri site with the Papieri-Platz. The so-called eternal poison was detected in the still undeveloped northern part of the Papieri site    Photo: Stefan Kaiser 
 

It’s not enough to simply build over the contaminated soil
Roland Krummenacher, Head of the Office for the Environment (Leiter Amt für Umwelt), gives the ‘all-clear’ for the people already living there. In response to an enquiry, he writes: ‘There is no risk to the residents of the built-up area because any contaminated material has already been removed. According to the current state of knowledge, there are also no indications that the PFAS contamination found could also be problematic for the built-up areas of the Papieri site’.

The situation is different for the undeveloped part, for which planning began at the end of 2023. Simply building over the contaminated soil does not automatically eliminate the PFAS contamination. Roland Krummenacher adds: ‘A threat to surface water or groundwater can also trigger a need for remediation.’ According to Katharina Sonderegger, the Cham Group assumes, based on the information currently available, that remediation work will have to be carried out on the contaminated sites in the north of the site. But the company does not expect future construction projects to be delayed.

Only the technical investigations will show whether and to what extent remediation work is actually required. According to Roland Krummenacher, the initial results are expected to be available at the end of March. Who will pay for the remediation costs has already been clarified - at least in theory. ‘As a rule, the costs are borne by the landowner and those who have caused the pollution through their behaviour,’ explains Katharina Sonderegger.
 

What to do with the PFAS?
In a soil remediation action, the PFAS-contaminated material is excavated. According to Roland Krummenacher, there is a cantonal information sheet (in German, see link below) that regulates the handling of the excavated material. This document states that PFAS should be removed from the material cycle as far as possible, and this is possible with a soil washing plant that largely separates the PFAS from the soil material. The residues then have to be heated to a temperature of 1,200 °C in order to destroy the stable compounds. Water can be purified with activated carbon, for example. According to Roland Krummenacher, talks are already underway regarding the construction of a soil washing plant. 
https://zg.ch/de/suche?q=20241015_Merkblatt+PFAS

PFAS in the environment
Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl compounds (PFAS) have been used in numerous industrial processes and everyday products since the 1960s, particularly in coatings and foam extinguishing agents. They give water-, grease- and dirt-repellent properties to surfaces. PFAS can enter the environment during their manufacture or during the production of goods containing PFAS, and they hardly degrade at all. PFAS can be detected in soil, surface water, groundwater and air.
Scientists are researching the long-term health risks posed by the regular intake of PFAS.