WFPL: ‘Dark Waters’ Puts Contaminants Saga for Ohio River on Big Screen

Louisville, Kentucky public radio station WFPL looks at the dangers of the drinking water contaminate, perfluorooctanoic acid or PFOA, in the wake of the Hollywood film “Dark Waters.”  The environmental thrillerdepicts the real-life story of the 20-year battle waged by Cincinnati attorney Rob Bilott against chemical giant DuPont. Bilott, played by actor Mark Ruffalo, as a young corporate defense lawyer living in Cincinnati. His grandmother, who lives in Parkersburg, West Virginia, gives his phone number to local farmer, Earl Tennant. Tennant lives next to a landfill. 

WFPL interviewed Susan Pinney, professor in the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine’s Department of Environmental Health, about the effects of PFOA and its possible presence in the drinking water of communities across the nation. One group estimates up to 110 million Americans drink water with dangerous levels of contaminants. Pinney said granular activated carbon filtration systems need to be installed in water treatment facilities to remove the PFOA threat from drinking water. “To me where we’re at right now, we’re soon going to find that there are a whole lot more communities with exposed people than anyone thought,” said Pinney.

Other media in Greater Cincinnati also covered the tie between 'Dark Waters' and Pinney's research.

Listen to the WFPL interview online

Read a Dayton Daily News interview online

View a Spectrum News Channel 1 interview online

Learn more about Pinney’s research on PFOA