the water that poisoned an entire village.
Ronneby, Sweden, suffers the worst PFAS contamination ever recorded. The court recognizes the exposure as personal injury, without the need for illness.
In Ronneby, a small town in southern Sweden, thousands of residents discovered in 2013 that their drinking water was contaminated with PFAS, toxic chemicals known as “forever chemicals.” The discovery came after decades of military training using firefighting foam at Kallinge Air Base, the substances of which silently seeped into the soil and water system. The case led to an unprecedented legal battle, with residents challenging the municipality in court for over a decade. Finally, in December 2023, the Swedish Supreme Court recognized that having PFAS in blood constitutes personal injury.
The largest documented water poisoning
For years, firefighters at Kallinge Air Base used PFAS-laden firefighting foam, which leaked unchecked into the ground. These fluorinated compounds, resistant to heat and degradation, accumulated in the drinking water without emitting odor or taste. When the contamination was discovered in December 2013, the municipality’s water had been recognized for its purity, a stark contrast to the actual levels: up to 2.450 times above the safe limit fixed years later.
PFAS, also present in pans, cosmetics or packaging, They do not degrade and accumulate in the human body for decades. A blood test conducted on schoolchildren in February 2014 revealed levels up to 37 times higher to those in uncontaminated areas. But despite the magnitude, the official response was lukewarm: the acute risk was denied and the population was reassured without any concrete preventive measures.
One of the first to react was Herman Afzelius, a father whose young daughter had drunk the contaminated water. Upon receiving the results of his test—nine times above the external threshold—he founded a Facebook group, which led to the PFAS Association, and organized a mass meeting with authorities and scientists. “People were shouting, ‘We’re poisoned!’” recalls one resident. Tensions erupted in a country rarely given to public conflict.
The neighbors banded together around a legal strategy: suing the municipality, which owns the water company. In 2016, 165 people filed individual lawsuitsIn Sweden, there is no such thing as a class action lawsuit or a “no win, no fee” system. Each party had to risk their own money and, if they lost, also pay the defendant’s costs.
Lost decade, justice delayed
Scientific research began to demonstrate the long-term effects. Women with higher levels of PFAS had more cases of polycystic ovary syndrome, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and a reduced immune response. Children, who were particularly affected, showed higher rates of infections, language disorders, and developmental problems. However, in 2022 the appeals court dismissed the case, finding that Having PFAS in the blood was not a demonstrable harm if there was no clinical diagnosis.
The blow was brutal: the residents had to pay both sides’ legal fees. Many withdrew due to exhaustion or financial fear. Others insisted: “If we leave it here, we’ll die of poisoning and then pay for it,” Afzelius said. In parallel, more than half of the association’s founding members developed cancer between 2018 and 2023, including extremely rare types such as inflammatory leiomyosarcoma, with hardly any documented cases in the world.
A historic ruling, but without a happy ending
On December 5, 2023, the The Swedish Supreme Court has recognized that the mere presence of PFAS in blood constitutes personal injury.The unprecedented ruling became a landmark and attracted international attention. Lawyers like Robert Bilott (whose fight inspired the film Dark Waters) hailed it as a paradigm shift. Organizations in Italy and the United States saw Ronneby as a guide for their own legal battles.
But the victory was symbolic. It didn’t involve automatic compensation or medical treatment. New lawsuits were filed—150 in total—in the hope that this time they would be successful. resources for public health and environmental cleanupMeanwhile, science is moving slowly: new PFAS are discovered in human blood every year, while older ones continue to persist.
Wounds in the blood, wounds in time
Ronneby’s story isn’t just about pollution, but about how a state can fail its citizens for decades without taking responsibility. The Supreme Court’s ruling was a moral victory, but it doesn’t erase the years of exposure or the diseases that could still emerge. The children of those affected will be born with these chemicals in their bodies, transmitted through the placenta or breast milk..
The case also reveals the cracks in current legal and scientific frameworks, which are incapable of act preventively against substances whose risk has been known for yearsAs regulations slowly tighten, manufacturers replace banned compounds with equally harmful, but still legal, ones. For scientists, it’s a never-ending persecution; for citizens, it’s a silent condemnation.
In a world saturated with invisible substances, Ronneby’s story is a warningProof that justice can come, but too late. And that, compared to the so-called “eternal chemicals,” perhaps what is truly eternal is the damage they leave behind.
