Award-Winning Documentary How to Poison a Planet Exposes the Chemical Industry’s Toxic Secrets and its Global Human Cost

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, February 28, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The groundbreaking documentary "How to Poison a Planet" debuts previously unseen sworn testimony from 3M scientists and employees discussing what the company knew about PFAS danger for decades. PFAS chemicals, unable to break down, now contaminate global waterways, farmland, and the drinking water of 200 million Americans.

The film features Oscar nominated actor-activist Mark Ruffalo and environmental lawyers. Mark Ruffalo says: “This documentary exposes one of the biggest environmental disasters in human history. Without a concerted effort from all levels of business and government, ongoing contamination will continue to endanger the environment and our health.”

The Trial of the Decade

The documentary provides behind-the-scenes access to one of the largest environmental lawsuits in U.S. history. It follows the legal team putting together the case as they prepare to represent communities affected by PFAS contamination from firefighting foam.

Gary Douglas of Douglas & London underscores the magnitude of the crisis, stating: "If you wanted to deliberately contaminate the planet with PFAS, you couldn’t have invented a better delivery device than firefighting foam... And just let it leach into the aquifers, into people’s drinking water, and do nothing to clean it up.”

3M settled the lawsuit for up to $12.5 billion in mid-2023, just days before the trial was set to begin. The film draws on unsealed materials gathered as part of the lawsuit, including never-before-seen depositions and documents detailing what 3M knew about their products' toxicity, and when they knew it.

Ned McWilliams of Levin Papantonio conveys that at the trial, the litigation team planned to reveal that 3M was aware their proprietary, man-made chemicals had found their way into the blood of literally everyone on the planet. “Rather than disclose this important matter of public health, 3M engaged in a decades-long campaign of deceit and cover-up,” McWilliams says.

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are 14,000+ chemicals, first synthesized by 3M in the 1930s for heat-, oil-, and water-resistant products. These chemicals gained notoriety after environmental attorney Rob Bilott’s story inspired a New York Times article and the film Dark Waters, starring Ruffalo.

“A lot of the information that has come out over the years has focused on what DuPont knew about these chemicals, and how DuPont had covered up information about the health threat here. Until now, there hasn’t been as much information available about what 3M knew about these chemicals. This is the company that actually created these at the beginning,” explains Rob Bilott, partner at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP.

Douglas, McWilliams, Bilott, Wes Bowden and Rebecca Newman worked together for over a decade to hold DuPont and 3M accountable for PFAS damage.

Communities Devastated by PFAS Call for Greater Awareness of Health Risks

PFAS chemicals have been linked to serious health effects such as cancers, reproductive issues and impacts on the immune system.

The documentary illustrates the human impact of PFAS contamination in stories from the First Nations community of Wreck Bay, Australia, and Oakdale, in suburban Minneapolis, both of which have been devastated by health concerns linked to PFAS contamination.

Last year, the EPA set limits for only six of 14,000 PFAS chemicals in drinking water. There are currently calls to ban the entire class all across the world and further scrutinize how they enter our drinking water, food chain and fertilizers. Although the future of federal PFAS controls in the United States is unclear, multiple initiatives are being considered in states around the country.

Internationally, this documentary has helped ignite a Senate Inquiry into PFAS contamination in Australia and has been screened at the French Senate in Paris.

More about the documentary

Directed by Katrina McGowan and produced by Janine Hosking, Katrina McGowan, and Mat Cornwell, ”How to Poison a Planet” has already garnered critical acclaim. The film won the Documentary Award at Australia’s prestigious Walkley Awards.

How To Poison A Planet,' an iKandy Films and Stan Originals production, is supported by Shark Island Foundation, Screen Australia, and Screen NSW, with Cailah Scobie and Amanda Duthie as executive producers.

The film made its international premiere in New York City and is represented for international distribution by TVF International. For more information on how to see the film go to: www.howtopoisonaplanet.com.

Kit Mention
How to Poison a Planet
kit@kitmention.com
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