By SchipholWatch, March 28, 2025
The PFAS pollution by Schiphol is much greater than previously assumed. A toxic cocktail of carcinogenic substances ends up in the region around the airport, especially under the approach routes, via (partly burned) lubricating oils.
This is evident from a new report by the Environmental Front Eijsden , which, based on existing research, comes to the shocking conclusion that PFAS pollution via fire-fighting foam is only the tip of the iceberg.
“We have been lied to for years. While the focus in the PFAS dossier is stubbornly on the ‘firefighting foam story’ cleverly staged by Schiphol, the true extent of the toxic pollution caused by aviation is many times greater,” according to the Front.
Grossly underestimated
The report points to the millions of litres of partially burned jet engine lubricant that are dumped on residential areas each year. Up until now, the aviation lobby – supported by renowned institutes such as TNO, RIVM and NLR – has claimed that aircraft emissions are only a local and negligible problem. For example, it is stated that 96 percent of the pollution with ‘substances of very high concern’ remains within the airport grounds and therefore has little effect on public health.
Aircraft emissions mainly involve incompletely combusted sulphurous kerosene and the additives it contains. A study by the European Union in 2015 already pointed out the presence of carcinogenic substances in the lubricants for aircraft turbines. Another study at Frankfurt Airport showed PFAS compounds in the additives of this oil.
It is known that jet engines use, burn, leak, lose and distribute lubricating oil through combustion. This involves large quantities, estimated at around two million tons per year for the whole of the Netherlands.
This means that these emissions are not a marginal problem, as TNO and others would have us believe, but rather substantial quantities of toxic substances are released from air traffic above residential areas.
Airborne dispersion
Schiphol is trying to distract attention with the fire-fighting foam story, in which it deliberately and knowingly blames the PFAS pollution on years of practicing with fire-fighting foam. This pollution has indeed been demonstrated and is causing major problems, such as the construction of a controversial remediation plant for 200,000 tons of contaminated soil at Schiphol. However, the airport blithely claims that there are no emissions into the air.
This claim is now being vehemently refuted by Milieu Front Eijsden. The report convincingly demonstrates that the PFAS pollution does indeed bear the signature of Schiphol, but that it is many times greater than the pollution caused by the fire-fighting foam. The almost 500,000 annual flights spread enormous quantities of PFAS and other toxic substances through the air day in, day out.
According to the report, in 2023, no less than 64 tons of lubricating oils were contaminated with PFAS. That is more than 300 full oil drums of toxins, not including the contamination from the fire-fighting foam.
PFAS, or poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances, are known as ‘forever chemicals’ because they do not or hardly break down in the environment. They spread worldwide via the water cycle and even via rainwater. Substances such as PFPE, PFOA, PFOS, GenX and PTFE (Teflon) are substances of very high concern that cause serious soil and groundwater pollution.
Aviation out of the picture
The EU is trying to restrict the use of PFAS in more and more products, but aviation seems to be out of the picture. Manufacturer Chemours touts the benefits of its Krytox PFPE oil for lower fuel consumption, but makes no mention of the disastrous health effects.
Lubricant emissions do not just contain PFAS. Research has shown that they contain a cocktail of other toxic substances. The EU’s 2015 AVOIL study showed the presence of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) such as naphthalene, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. These are created by partial oxidation (combustion) of the lubricants.
PAHs have long been associated with an increased risk of several types of cancer, including prostate, kidney and testicular cancer, and a reduced immune system.
Banned elsewhere for a long time
In addition, neuroactive pyrolysis products and the nerve agent tricresyl phosphate (TCP) are found in the exhaust of the lubricating oil. TCP can account for up to three percent of the total volume of the oil and is known for its damaging effects on the nervous system. It can lead to permanent muscle paralysis, among other things. Seen in this light, it is incomprehensible that this substance is still allowed to be used in aircraft engine oil, while it has already been banned in most other applications due to its toxicity.
Aromatic amines, highly toxic derivatives of ammonia with neurotoxic effects, have also been identified in the emissions. These substances can not only affect the nervous system, but in animal studies they also have harmful effects on the testicles and sperm and lead to increased mortality in pregnant animals.
In the ultrafine dust
The toxic substances are largely distributed in the form of ultrafine particles (ufp) with a diameter of only 10 to 30 nanometers. The research around Frankfurt airport has shown that no less than 21 percent of the total mass of the ufp particles consists of turbine lubricating oils. These particles are so small that they easily penetrate deep into the respiratory tract and from there enter the body and can cause serious health damage.
The distribution of these substances is also not even, but is concentrated in the areas below the approach routes. The use of the new, concentrated flight paths in particular leads to a high level of pollution below these routes. Residents in these areas are exposed directly and in high concentrations to the toxins. Landing aircraft spread the pollution via air eddies (vortex) up to fifteen kilometers away.
The report calls the situation around Schiphol ‘catastrophic’. The estimated 58 tonnes of PFAS-contaminated turbine oils emitted by commercial aircraft in 2023 are a gigantic and chronic source of poisoning for hundreds of thousands of residents.
Cover-up
Schiphol’s repeated denials that it is ‘merely a user of fire-fighting foam’ and does not spread PFAS through the air are refuted by this report. The PFAS pollution is many times more serious than that caused by the fire-fighting foam alone. It looks like this is a cover-up of unprecedented scale to hide the true extent of the pollution.
The report leaves no room for doubt: the aviation industry and the responsible authorities have been lying for years about the true nature and extent of the emissions. The focus on the fire-fighting foam turns out to be nothing more than a misleading diversionary manoeuvre to conceal the bulk of the pollution.
SchipholWatch has been calling for years to hold Schiphol to the minimization obligation for toxic emissions that applies to all other industries in our country, but not to Schiphol. With the facts from this report in hand, it would be good to conduct an independent and transparent investigation into the exact composition, size and distribution of all aircraft emissions. And into the consequences of this for the health of local residents.
This health must not be deliberately and knowingly sacrificed permanently to the commercial interests of the airlines and Schiphol Airport.
PFAS compounds are generating a diverse array of costs for Maine that could grow over coming years and linger for decades. Credit: Jynto/Wikimedia (Labels added).
