The Devil We Know

For decades a chemical plant in Parkersburg, West Virginia released into the air and water a substance used in making Teflon. People living in the area noticed first that their animals were falling ill and then that their own health was going. A group of citizens brought a case against the company. It grew into one of the largest environmental lawsuits in the United States. Stephanie Soechtig's documentary rests on the company's own internal correspondence and on the accounts of its workers. The substance in question has been linked in research to kidney cancer, thyroid disease and other conditions. The film argues a hard case; the company's own defence stands separately from it. The telling keeps individual stories at the centre and gives the figures as well.