It was 2013 that the water plant Brantafors in Kallinge was closed when elevated levels of the substance PFAS were discovered in the drinking water. The Swedish Armed Forces assumed responsibility when the chemicals came from fire foam used at their training site at F17 in Kallinge.
Kaliber's review shows that several authorities knew about the risks of PFAS substances, and that the Armed Forces knew that drinking water could be contaminated for several years before it was discovered in Kallinge.
At a fire practice site in Halmstad, elevated levels of PFAS substances were detected in groundwater in 2008 and 2009, according to the review. Nevertheless, the water at the training site in Kallinge was not examined.
- The reference given in the element of the discovery in 2008 and 2009 is that the general practitioner should have discovered it in some form of examination and unfortunately I have not, and have not found anyone else, who has that evidence. So I have a little trouble commenting on that specifically, says Jakob Gille, Chief of Staff at the Executive Staff's Total Defense Department.
How do you see the responsibility of the armed forces with regard to the victims?
- When it comes to the responsibility issue for those who have been affected in Kallinge in particular, I cannot comment on it right now as it is the subject of a dispute between the water company and the individuals, says Jakob Gille.
Do you think that you took steps to stop PFAS from leaking into the groundwater?
- Yes, based on the state of knowledge that existed then and definitely based on what we know today, we have done enough. Then you think you should have done more. With what we know about these topics today, one would have liked to see a different development, but that was the situation at the time, he says.