How do we prepare for contaminants that science is only beginning to understand—like PFAS, microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and pesticide residues? And what happens when legacy pollution meets updated standards and public concern?

At the 2025 AquaConSoil conference in Liège, the EmConSoil initiative—led by OVAM (Public Waste Agency of Flanders)—hosted an interactive session that dove deep into these pressing questions. Drawing on real-world experiences from Flanders and Denmark, the session revealed how crisis situations, such as PFAS contamination on firefighting training grounds, have triggered innovation, regulatory reform, and unprecedented collaboration. 

Attendees explored how:  

• Strategic alliances turned contaminated sites into living labs in Denmark.  

• Flanders developed temporary legal frameworks and funding schemes to rapidly assess over 8,000 potentially contaminated sites.  

• Regions are leveraging non-target analysis (NTA) to detect thousands of previously unknown substances in soil and water.  

• Risk communication, even in the face of scientific uncertainty, is becoming a core skill for public authorities.  

The session also highlighted urgent challenges: the need for flexible legislation that can evolve with scientific knowledge, the difficulty of managing diffuse pollution in urban environments, and the critical importance of international cooperation. 

Want to know how these lessons can shape European policy, innovation in remediation, and risk governance? 

Read the full article for an in-depth overview of the discussions, poll results, and reflections that are setting the direction for EmConSoil—and for the future of emerging contaminant management.