Response to interpellation 2023/24:766 on PFAS emissions from the Swedish Armed Forces' activities
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns PFAS emissions from the Armed Forces' activities and the responsibility for those affected in Kallinge. M believes that the government and authorities must take responsibility for the poisoned individuals 1 2 and that the Armed Forces have taken responsibility for direct costs 3. M claims, however, that the Armed Forces is not legally obligated to compensate for personal injuries 4 and argues that the issue is broader than just the Armed Forces 3. S believes that those affected have been left without support and that the public sector has collectively failed them 2. S wants a center with experts for health checks 2 and argues that the state has a large collective responsibility 5. V believes it is unacceptable that residents are forced into legal processes 6 and demands that the government takes greater social responsibility through compensation and redress 7.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Försvarsministern Pål Jonson (M)
Madam Speaker! Magnus Manhammar has asked me if I intend to initiate a dialogue with the Armed Forces regarding the issue of compensation for emissions from the Armed Forces' activities.
The question is posed against the background of an email exchange that P4 Blekinge has become aware of, regarding the fact that the Armed Forces has informed Ronneby's water company, Ronneby Miljö och Teknik AB, that the authority will not pay damages to the residents in Kallinge.
Drinking water is one of our most important foodstuffs and a prerequisite for us to be able to maintain the basic societal functions in our country. The Government takes the contamination of chemicals, for example PFAS, in our environment very seriously.
The question of compensation due to PFAS contamination is, at the current moment, neither a question for me as a minister nor for the government, but a question for the relevant authorities and potentially the judiciary.
Magnus Manhammar (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister, for the answer!
PFAS chemicals are something that unfortunately exists in all of us. They are in all of our blood, in those of us sitting in this room right now, and also in the blood and bodies of everyone listening to this debate.
These are chemicals that can cause cancer. They can cause problems with the thyroid and not least with the immune system. But they can also cause many other problems with diseases for both humans and animals and also for nature. These are forever chemicals that are used in different types of industries but which we now know are life-threatening for us. In high concentration, they become extra dangerous.
In Sweden and Europe, we will in the future have a minimum level in drinking water, because that is how one can easily ingest PFAS. It can easily accumulate with 4 nanograms per liter of water. When they began investigating the drinking water all around in, among others, Blekinge in the autumn of 2013, they discovered that in Kallinge it was not 4 nanograms per liter of water, but it was 10,380 nanograms per liter. That was the highest they had been able to measure anywhere. And this was, therefore, in the drinking water in Kallinge, where approximately 5,000 people live.
For several decades, children, young people, and old people had been consuming this water, and God knows what health effects it had already had on the population. It naturally caused an outcry in Sweden and in the world. PFAS poisonings have been seen earlier in other parts of the world, but not on this scale and magnitude. In the mass media and the research world, this is said to be probably the largest PFAS scandal, and perhaps the largest poisoning scandal, we have had in Sweden in modern times.
This is so serious that we must talk much more about it. This is just one of many debates we need to have, and I would also like to say that I do not think this should be a debate but a conversation. Together with the minister, with the government and with different parties, we shall try to find constructive solutions moving forward. That involves, for example, what we are talking about here – what the defense's role and the defense's responsibility shall be when it concerns precisely this PFAS poisoning.
The reason for the PFAS poisoning in Ronneby was that a fire-fighting foam was used during exercises to extinguish aircraft fires. This fire-fighting foam contained a lot of PFAS, and the fire-fighting site was located very close to a magnificent terminal moraine which was one of Sweden's best water sources. It has now become filled with PFAS to the extent that, for the foreseeable future, and probably for a very long time, it can no longer be used. Since these are forever chemicals, this beautiful place and the valuable groundwater are probably ruined.
The question is whose responsibility this is. It was the Armed Forces' fire brigade that released this, but it is clear that they did not do it with full knowledge. They were not aware of the danger. The firefighters themselves have been exposed and will probably suffer shortened lives and many diseases because of this. But someone must take responsibility for what has happened, and above all, someone must stand up for all the exposed people, for the children, for the adults, and for the elderly. Everyone must receive support.
That is what the question is about today. What can the defense do? It is actually broader than just damages. It is about people's health, and it is about their future.
Andrea Andersson Tay (V)
Madam Speaker! Many have been deeply moved by what the residents of Kallinge have gone through. In 2013, they were informed that for several decades they had been drinking water contaminated with sky-high levels of PFAS, and they now have the highest measured levels in the world in their blood.
The source of the discharge is the Swedish Armed Forces' fire drill site, where fire foam containing PFAS was used for a long period. Research is ongoing regarding what health impact this has had and will have, but so far, an increased incidence of, among other things, kidney cancer and elevated cholesterol levels has been established.
It is 5,000 people who have been poisoned by PFAS in Kallinge. A small group of residents has formed the PFAS Association, which for many years has pursued a legal process where they have demanded damages. We have the PFAS Association's chairman, Herman Afzelius, with us here in the gallery today.
In December, the Supreme Court announced that those who have drunk the contaminated water in Kallinge are entitled to damages. It is a very pleasing decision, but fundamentally it is not acceptable that people are forced to resort to long and costly legal processes to request compensation. The judgment also only means that it has been clarified that they are entitled to damages. To determine how each individual shall be compensated, a new legal process or a settlement is required. It could take many more years, in addition to the ten years they have already spent on this.
The judgment in the Supreme Court does not either remedy the main problem, namely that all 5,000 affected run an increased risk of a number of diseases such as cancer and impaired immune system. The judgment also only applies to those persons who are members of the PFAS association, and they constitute only a fraction of all people who are affected.
Children are being born in Kallinge today with sky-high PFAS levels in their bodies even though they have never drunk the poisoned water. The poison is passed from parents to children. What those affected need most of all are regular health check-ups, but they will not receive those either through the ruling in the Supreme Court.
During the more than ten years that have passed since the contamination became known, the affected individuals have not been offered anything other than a blood test to find out how high levels of PFAS they have in their bodies. The local health center lacks knowledge about the health effects of PFAS, and it is unreasonable to expect Region Blekinge to be able to manage such a large group of patients with complex health problems on its own. Furthermore, as has been said, it is the state that fundamentally bears the responsibility for them being poisoned.
My question to the Minister for Defence here today is this: Will the government do something so that those affected in Kallinge receive the care they need? I recently asked the Prime Minister the same question during the question period, and it turned out that he had not heard about what had happened in Kallinge. That makes me a little concerned. To begin with, it is not reasonable that individuals should be forced to fight to get the right care when they have been poisoned due to state activity. And when they do so, because no other means are available, I do not think their struggle for justice can go unnoticed. It is not worthy of a welfare country like Sweden.
Here we have perhaps the biggest chemical scandal in Sweden since the 70s, and 5,000 people have been poisoned. They have fought for over ten years for redress, and until now, the government has not acted to rectify this injustice. I sincerely hope that there can be a change now. I hope that the Defense Minister can give the word to Herman and all other Kallingebor residents who are affected that the government takes responsibility for what has happened and that those affected shall receive health checks.
Försvarsministern Pål Jonson (M)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Manhammar and Andersson, for your remarks! I share your assessment regarding the profound tragedy linked to the PFAS leak, which is also well-documented.
I shall attempt to reproduce what has been presented to me from the Armed Forces. The starting point is that neither I as Minister nor the Government shall enter into matters linked to courts or such as constitute the exercise of public authority. That is the practice we have.
I have received this information from the Swedish Armed Forces: The Swedish Armed Forces claim that the use of fire-fighting foam containing PFAS at a fire training site at F 17 in Kallinge has caused contamination of water in the Brantafors water source. So, that is indisputable. Regarding the contamination damage itself, the Swedish Armed Forces have, it is claimed, taken responsibility for costs that were a direct consequence of the contamination damage, such as the cost of constructing a new raw water pipeline to the waterworks in Brantafors in Kallinge.
The Swedish Armed Forces' position is that the question of compensation at this stage is a matter for the relevant authorities and potentially the judiciary. The Swedish Armed Forces' assessment is that they only consider themselves responsible for costs that do not have an indirect connection to the pollution, regardless of the fact that the authority has taken responsibility for the pollution damage and other costs. The Swedish Armed Forces are, after all, obligated under the Environmental Code.
I can state that the Swedish Armed Forces' position is that the authority is not legally obligated to compensate Ronneby Miljö och Teknik for legal costs or to meet demands for compensation for incurred personal injuries.
This is the Swedish Armed Forces' view. This is a question at the agency level and potentially for the judiciary.
Let me also say that the government takes the spread of highly fluorinated substances seriously. The government's work to protect people from exposure to PFAS is taking place in two parallel tracks. It is partly about trying to limit the continued spread, and partly about managing the consequences of previous spread. The Armed Forces are working in the same way with the agency's PFAS contaminations.
It is important to remember that for a long time, there have been no technical possibilities to find solutions on the market for post-treating PFAS beyond carbon filter purification of contaminated water and incineration of contaminated soil masses. That is the reason why we find ourselves where we do.
Now I know that initiative has been taken. An attempt has been made to establish a testbed for PFAS, which the members surely are aware of. It is a task that is carried out between Rise, the Armed Forces, the Defence Materiel Administration and the Fortification Agency. The purpose is partly to find functioning purification technologies, and partly to be able to evaluate PFAS-free extinguishing agents to replace PFAS-based firefighting foams. It is the basis of the further work that is taking place and has taken place in the form of a testbed.
Magnus Manhammar (S)
Madam Speaker! I would like to thank the Minister for the answer and for the constructive tone that is common to all those involved here. It is incredibly important that we find solutions. There are no scapegoats here. There are victims, and their side we shall all stand on together, of course, and do our absolute best.
I believe it is important that we all try to look up a bit and see that the defense does not necessarily have to do everything. This can be a state matter where the defense can be part of the solution.
This was discovered in 2013, and what is clear here is that the 5,000 people who were poisoned have stood completely alone since then. They have not received any support from society in any way, except for a blood sample. Only at the PFAS association's first board meeting can one see what the consequences became. There, everyone has been affected by cancer or by serious thyroid diseases. One of them has died of cancer. They are also representative of the entire group, because it is an incredibly large number of the 5,000 who have had major problems. Still, they have been left without help.
Herman, who is sitting in the gallery, has two children of his own who were born and raised in Kallinge. His daughter was one of the children who was worst affected. She had 7,000 percent over what the target value for PFAS should be in the blood - not in the drinking water, but in her own body. It is clear that this has consequences for her entire life and for her opportunities to start a family of her own.
We heard the second debater Andersson speak about how many who are now born in Kallinge have PFAS in their bodies without even having drunk the water. Lovis, a child born in 2016, now has just under 300 nanograms per milliliter in her blood. It will have consequences for her entire adult life.
The state must in some way take responsibility and be there. I believe that many agencies must take that responsibility together.
Recently, a parent contacted the health center, was worried and wanted tests for their child: What can be done? Can we get a screening? The parent was told: We have no knowledge about this. You have to call the PFAS association.
An ideal association with a few enthusiasts who in no way have researched or are medically trained is thus to give advice here. There should, of course, be a responsibility for us as the public sector, quite simply, to be there and be able to offer support. Above all, the health center in Kallinge should be able to have a department where one was an expert on this and where one could have continuous health checks for all these 5,000 and their children so that they did not have to be worried: Is this that I am about to get cancer? Is my health under control?
One needs to feel security. The ten, soon eleven years that have passed since this was discovered have unfortunately been characterized by insecurity. One has felt abandoned by the municipality. The region has not either made any particular effort, and neither has the state, except for the blood test that has been taken.
This is happening in Sweden. Such a horrific poisoning scandal occurs, and then people turn their backs on these people. The public has collectively done it. We are all responsible for it. I and everyone in this room have a responsibility to ensure that we bring this to an end. We must stand on their side.
There are several things that, among other things, the PFAS compound and many of those affected are talking about. The compensation is one thing, and just as the minister says, it is a separate process. But the other thing is how we can be there for them. It is not at all about the compensation, but it is about being able to have a center on site, perhaps a part of the health center, that can perform continuous health checks and that, above all, has competence in these issues and can handle PFAS. Just as we have experts on heart disease or on cancer, we shall also have experts on PFAS.
Of course, continuous funding is also needed for research on PFAS. Since 2013, the few research funds that have existed for PFAS have been project-led. There has been a little bit one year and a little bit another year, but nothing continuous.
I want to appeal to the Minister that we together try to take responsibility for creating safety for those who are affected and move forward together in this.
Andrea Andersson Tay (V)
Madam Speaker! I am pleased that we agree that there is a problem here. It has been over ten years since the pollution was discovered. It has been half a year since the judgment in the Supreme Court. The Government must now decide how to compensate the people of Kallinge for the injustice they have been subjected to.
We need to lift our gaze from the Armed Forces' responsibility and see the larger social responsibility the government has in this issue. Individuals who are harmed by the state should not have to fight for their rights. The government must step in and offer compensation and redress to all who have been affected, regardless of whether they have had the opportunity to pursue a legal process or not.
The chairman of the PFAS association, Herman Afzelius, says that his wish is that everyone who has high levels of PFAS in their blood due to the contamination in Kallinge should be compensated and that they should receive the care they need. He also wants to see changed legislation so that people who are affected can avoid having to resort to legal proceedings to receive compensation.
It is the state that has caused the release of PFAS, and therefore the state must also take responsibility. I hope that the Minister for Defence can take the issue further within the government and ensure that the residents of Kallinge get justice.
Försvarsministern Pål Jonson (M)
Madam Speaker! I would like to thank you for the moving stories.
The spread of PFAS is, just as Manhammar says, a problem that is broad across the entire society. It is not just a problem linked to the Armed Forces. But the Armed Forces own a debt in a number of places. At around 70 operational sites, for example, air flotillas, several air bases, there have been problems with managing PFAS. But I want to emphasize that the issue is broader than just the Armed Forces.
Let me also say that the Armed Forces' exercise of fire and firefighting operations has, for a number of years now, taken place virtually exclusively with water. Last year, the Air Force began using PFAS-free extinguishing agents.
I also wondered why PFAS was used, when it is toxic. Just so the interpellants are aware, I can say that it is about being able to extinguish fires in very cramped spaces, for example in a fighter jet. In that case, one must extinguish a fire in up to 90 seconds. That substance was a way to handle that problem, so that the fires would not spread.
But now the Air Force has stopped using PFAS. This is, of course, very welcome from our side, so that one can address the serious problems with PFAS.
I would, however, like to say again that I believe the issue is broader and more important than just the Armed Forces. The Armed Forces have indicated to me that they have taken responsibility for the direct costs but that they do not want to take the costs that are outside the immediate measures that they have taken.
I am, in light of the poignant stories that the members have recounted here, willing to look further into the issue. I may have reason to return, either here at the rostrum or in another form.
Magnus Manhammar (S)
Madam Speaker! I would like to once again thank you for the very constructive tone from the government and the Minister for Defence. It feels good that we can together try to solve these problems we face.
I agree that the defense obviously has a responsibility, but we all have a responsibility in this. And the state has a large collective responsibility. It would be exciting if we could, for example, raise the issue so that several different agencies can step in to solve it.
At this moment, as we stand here, water from the groundwater reservoir in Kallinge is still leaking into the surrounding stream, which then flows into the Ronnebyån, which flows into the Baltic Sea. It is leaking right now. After eleven years, nothing has still been done to plug it.
We must find funds to be able to remediate. For example, Naturvårdsverket could receive a fairly large pot of money at the national level to be able to help and remediate locally and be a support, so that the defense is not left alone in this. Socialstyrelsen could receive a support to be able to step in and help regions, such as Region Blekinge, to strengthen the competence at a health center, so that one can have PFAS competence at those types of vulnerable locations.
More authorities and more departments need to be involved. But someone must take the lead. I ask the Minister for Defence to kindly take that responsibility. Otherwise, please feel free to raise it with the Prime Minister, and come down to Kallinge with the Prime Minister. Meet the PFAS association and the youths who are there, and visit the creek where it is still leaking. See this! Then we can work together to solve it. I am happy to extend a hand for that.
Försvarsministern Pål Jonson (M)
Madam Speaker! I also want to thank Magnus Manhammar for the constructive tone.
I cannot again enter into the current case and the dispute. But we can take the question further, as a broader grip on the Armed Forces' environmental work. It is something that the department follows closely and that we can influence in a broader perspective, linked to the budget, directive and regulation letters, and also our recurring agency dialogues.
I still want to emphasize that the Armed Forces have made a journey and are deeply committed to much of their environmental work. This applies in particular to the sustainability work, which maintains a high international level. I want Manhammar to know that.
I take this interpellation with me in my further work, and I thank you for the constructive tone.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.