"Sabic heeft veel gedaan in de afgelopen periode om de lozing van PFBS te beperken en is hierin al grotendeels geslaagd," ruled the Oost-Brabant District Court.
Despite the restriction, the province of Noord-Brabant issued a conditional fine of 500,000 euros two months ago after the plant discharged 50 grams over its legal allowance.
This was reportedly caused by an accidentally ruptured vacuum cleaner bag containing PFBS.
Local media BN DeStem and NRC reported that Rijkswaterstaat planned a separate penalty of up to 2.5 million euros against Sabic after discovering PFAS-contaminated rainwater draining into the nearby Bergsche Diep.
"Vervuilers aanpakken" appeared to be the guiding principle for prosecutors, who simultaneously announced the criminal prosecution of steel manufacturer Tata Steel in IJmuiden for intentional hazardous emissions on the same day.
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The OM has not yet announced a timeline for concluding the Sabic investigation or making a final decision on criminal prosecution.
