The Hollywood film ‘Dark Waters’, which uncovers a PFAS pollution scandal in the United States, is now available on Netflix in several countries including the US, UK and Germany.
Based on a true story, the film, which premiered in 2019, depicts lawyerRob Bilott’smore than 15 year-long fight to secure compensation for thousands of people affected by a huge PFAS pollution scandal in the United States.Starring actor Mark Ruffalo and directed by Todd Haynes, ‘Dark Waters’ shows how Bilott took on chemical giant DuPont after discovering that the company was polluting drinking water with the harmful PFAS forever chemical, PFOA (also referred to as C8 in the film).
PFAS are a family of over 10,000 chemicals known as ‘forever chemicals’ because they will last for generations in the environment. They are used for their water and grease-resistant properties in various industrial processes, as well as in everyday products – from cookware to clothing and cosmetics.
PFOA, which has been linked to developmental issues, immune system disruption, and other serious health conditions, has been globally banned since 2019. However, it will stay in the environment for decades. There are concerns that we are repeating past mistakes by continuing to use other PFAS chemicals that could also be harmful.
Unfortunately, PFAS pollution scandals are not confined to the United States and have been unfolding across Europe. The European biomonitoring project, HBM4EU,found that the general public is widely exposed to harmful chemicals, including PFAS, and a PFAS pollution hotspot map from the Forever Pollution Project has highlighted known and presumed PFAS pollution hotspots across Europe – see the map here. Blood testing has revealed that even high-level EU politicians have PFAS in their blood, showing that no one is immune.
CHEM Trust is calling forMembers of the European Parliament to instruct the next EU Commission President to commit to promptly presenting the universal PFAS restriction. The restriction proposes to phase out PFAS in the European Union and is currently being considered by EU decision-makers. We are also calling for PFAS to be phased out in the UK, and alongside NGO colleagues put together a PFAS action plan with suggested actions for UK policymakers.
Read more about ‘Dark Waters’ and PFOA on our webpage.
