The Devil We Know
Director Stefanie Soechtig
Producer Kristin Lazure
C8 is a chemical in the bloodstream of 99.7% of Americans – how it got there and why it took a cattle farmer and a PE teacher in West Virginia to expose the chemical is both a fascinating and timely tale.
Under the terms of the class action settlement in 2004, a science panel was established by DuPont and the plaintiffs to study the effects of C8 on humans. The panel linked expo- sure, even in small amounts, to kidney cancer, testicular cancer, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, and pre-eclampsia. Additional studies have found an association between the chemical and prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, lymphoma, birth defects, and attention deficit disorder in children.
The issues covered in this project are part of the cultural zeitgeist right now – more than ever before, people are taking notice about what they’re putting in their bodies and becom- ing active participants in their own healthfulness. We eat organic, we limit junk food, and we buy natural beauty products. To think all of this may be moot because we’re unknowingly being exposed to countless dangerous chemicals – through everyday prod- ucts, our water, and our air – is unnerving and we hope will be a poignant wakeup call about the chemical industry, the historical power of its lobby, and the lack of government oversight.
“The story we tell in The Devil We Know has all the makings of a thriller: a cover-up spanning decades, a quintessential David and Goliath pitting deceitful and callous executives against regular folks, a protracted and bitter legal battle, and government apathy that borders on conspiracy.”
“First she took on BPA. Then sugar. Now, documentary filmmaker Stephanie Soechtig is going after Teflon.”
“How can we trust corporations and the government to do right by us when, as early as 1961, DuPont knew its Teflon chemical was causing damage in lab animals, yet it continued to use it with impunity for more than five decades?”