Original subtitles

OCR'd and corrected by explosiveskull www.OpenSubtitles.org

I'll give you a boost if you want.

I don't need your help.

Ooh. Hell, she got you, buddy.

- Toss them beers. - Here you go.

- You got it? - Okay, let's go!

All right. All right.

Hold up, hold up! The beer.

Take this. Take this. Come on.

These damn shoes!

- Whoo! Come on in, it's warm! - Come on, buddy!

Look, you can even wash your hair!

I washed mine last month.

Whoo!

Laura, Keith, come here! Look what I found.

- Holy shit. - What the hell's that?

- What is it? - The hell you doing?

Get out of here, now!

- Geez! - Come on!

Goddamn kids.

Turn off the beam, fool!

Steve from Dow, Ted from Union Carbide...

Jerry from Exxon and Andy from Allied.

Welcome to Taft Law, gentlemen.

Before we get started, a little housekeeping.

Um, all of you know this young man

as the dedicated Taft associate

who for the past eight years has

buried himself in the Superfund law.

I'm not paying for that cleanup.

Still it is my pleasure to share with you

that just last week, Rob Bilott was welcomed as a partner

here at Taft, Stettinius & Hollister.

Good morning. Taft Law. One moment. I'll connect you.

Good morning. Taft Law.

One moment, please.

It's the Governor's office calling for uh,

calling for Mr. Burke.

May I help you?

Wilbur Tennant calling on Robbie Bilott.

EPA has saddled them with the whole bill

and given your client's history at that site,

that's a real possibility.

- I'll take it back to them. - Good. Tab 12, Middletown...

I know. I'm sorry.

- But they won't leave. - Who's they?

I don't know. They say they know you.

- Um... - Robert Bilott?

Um, yes.

They call it a landfill. A dump's what it is.

They told my brother and me no chemicals, just trash.

But we ain't stupid.

I made them videotapes myself. All the proof you need.

They're poisonin' the creek, killing my animals.

- I'm in the middle of a meeting. - So, I want a lawyer.

Every damn one in Parkersburg's too yella to take my case.

Rob. He wants you back in there.

They all scared shitless at DuPont.

Well, I ain't scared of nobody.

Okay. Kathleen is my paralegal.

She's gonna give you a directory of lawyers.

That's why I called your grandma.

- What? - My neighbor who tells me,

call Alma White.

Her grandson's some fancy environment lawyer down in Cincinnati.

Sir, I am a corporate defense attorney.

- So? - I defend chemical companies.

- Well, now you can defend me. - Rob!

Uh, 30 seconds, Tom.

- Uh, I'm sorry, Mr... - Tennant.

I can offer you a referral.

But I just don't see how I can be of any help to you.

You can start by watching them tapes for one thing.

Oh, let's go, Earl.

I'm sorry. I... I wish you all the luck.

I don't need your damn luck, boy!

- I need your help! - Rob!

Come on.

I'm not arguing with the overall analysis.

My only point is that whatever we decide upon...

Thank you, gentlemen.

Do you know where we're going?

There's a place right around the corner.

- Yeah? - What the hell was that all about?

- He knows my grandmother. - Really?

Well, my mom's from West Virginia.

Uh, from a town, Parkersburg.

Not us. My... my father was Air Force.

We... We moved around a lot,

but we spent the summers there.

- Come on, Terp. You're buying. - Of course I am.

You can be from West Virginia, Rob.

I won't tell anyone.

All right, gentlemen. Morton's it is.

Still deigned to eat with us lowly associates?

You can't drive an American car.

Taft-Hartley, union busting?

We practically invented it.

"We?"

Besides, I know a highly esteemed partner

who still drives American.

- Some real clunkers too. - Okay,

yeah, but he collects them.

That's different. Like his

no-name college and law school.

- No offense. - Are you listening to this?

Hey, you guys go ahead, all right?

- Look, I didn't mean anything by it. - No. I gotta make a call.

It's all right. I'll see you there.

Okay, we'll save you a fish log.

- You can be such an asshole. - Karla, it was a joke.

- Yeah. - We always joke.

Oh, yeah. You guys are a couple of jokesters.

You've reached the residence of Alma White.

I can't come to the phone right now...

He's good. He's home early tonight actually.

Tell him I said, howdy, partner.

She says, "Howdy, partner."

Are we ever gonna see him again on Sundays?

Yes, he can still come to Sunday dinners, Mom.

He's a partner, not the President of the United States.

I wanna make... Do you have my Bundt pan?

Returned it.

Where? I looked under the counter.

It's the right hand cupboard, in the plastic. Yeah.

Okay, well, we just sat down.

All right, dear.

So, I gotta go.

Love to Rob and Teddy.

All right, see you Sunday. Love to Dad.

Talk to you later.

Can you pretend to be surprised about the cake?

She wants it to be very special.

Oh, and the granite samples came in.

Can you pick them up on your way home tomorrow?

- Mmm. - Rob?

Hmm? Uh, sure.

You okay?

Yes.

Bless us, our Lord and thy gifts

which we are about to receive from thy bounty

through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Thank you, God. Thank you for our family.

Thank you.

- Hi, Grammers. - What on earth!

I tried to call, but you weren't picking up.

Oh, well, you know me. My two fake knees.

What are you doing here?

A farmer came to see me.

Wilbur Tennant?

You do know him.

I don't socialize with him, if that's what you mean.

Inez Graham owned the farm next to his.

I used to take you and Beth over there when you were little.

That's the place?

Hmm.

- You rode that pony. - Ah!

I loved that place.

Saw a cow for the first time.

Learned to milk it.

I remember you sittin' there for hours

making sure you got every last drop.

Just like you.

There.

Hmm.

So you gonna help him?

Huh?

You come up the holler, dump's up the hill.

Since I started complaining about my creek,

fence goes up. All blocked off.

Hi, I'm Rob.

Sandra.

The State, any veterinarian I've called in Parkersburg,

they will not return my phone calls.

Like I bite the hand that feeds.

- No, it's all right. I've already... - This here's a gall.

Look at the size of it. Ain't never seen

no gall that big. Bigger than the heart.

That your cows'?

Look at them teeth.

Black as night. Here.

Hoof, all turned in on itself.

Half my calves born with hooves like that.

Tumor, I done cut off the back a heifer.

How'd ya like that on your table?

What am I looking for?

You blind, boy?

Stones as white as the hairs on my head.

Bleached! That's chemicals, I'm telling ya.

My animals drink this water. Cool off in 'er.

Get them bloody welts, them dead eyes.

Charge at me, crazy-like.

Animals that used to eat out of my own hand.

Where are the rest of them?

Come on.

Beginnin', I'd bury 'em. Each one. They're family.

It got to be so many, pile 'em up, set fire to...

How many did you lose?

190.

190 cows?

You tell me nothing's wrong here.

And this landfill wasn't always here?

No. My brother Jim used to dig ditches over at the DuPont plant.

Got sick, couldn't do it no more.

One day they come to him, offering to buy his land right up that holler.

They promised no chemicals.

And I assume you reached out to DuPont?

DuPont, the State, the Feds.

I called everybody there is dozens of times.

- EPA finally comes out here. - Oh, they did.

- All for some report. - What did it say?

You think they're gonna show me?

Okay.

He's been like this all day. Okay. Go on.

Of course, you're a perfect angel for Daddy.

- Did you get the tile? - Um, I'm sorry. No.

Rob.

I didn't drive into town today. I'm sorry.

What do you mean you didn't drive into town?

I had to go to Parkersburg.

Parkersburg? Why'd you have to go to Parkersburg?

I may have a client there.

In West Virginia? What kind of a case would you have?

He's a farmer. He knows my Grammer. Not well, but...

So, you saw her? Was your mother there?

Oh, come on, Sarah. I didn't sneak off to see my mother.

- So, why did you sneak off? - I didn't.

Our speaker tonight's no Stranger to the Taft family.

Phillip Donnelly, Phil to us,

serves as in-house Corporate Counsel at DuPont.

Not only one of America's most revered chemical companies,

but one of the few giants of the industry

- that Taft doesn't represent. - Not yet anyway!

That's the spirit, James.

We asked Phil here tonight, not just to show him what he's missing,

but to hear how a renowned leader of our industry

stays that way. Please welcome Phil Donnelly.

- Wish me luck. - Go get 'em, Phil!

Thank you.

At DuPont, we're not producing chemicals for chemical's sake.

We're producing them for people's sake.

To make folks' lives easier.

Happier, longer.

That's why better living through chemistry

is not just a slogan at DuPont.

It's our DNA.

- Hey, Rob. - Hello, Phil.

- Is it true what Tom tells me? - Yeah, it's true.

- Well, good on them. They're lucky to have you. - Thanks, Phil.

Like I always tell my younger associates,

just keep your head down and do the work.

Thanks. Uh, Phil, can I ask you sort of an odd question?

Shoot.

Does the name Wilbur Tennant ring a bell?

- Tennet, did you say? - Tennant.

No. Not that I recall.

Mr. Tennant's a farmer from West Virginia.

His property abuts one of your landfills, Dry Run.

And his cows have been getting sick.

He thinks possibly because of the runoff from the landfill into his creek.

You're kidding me. How did this come to you?

- Hey, Phil! - He's a farmer. He's...

My grandmother's from Parkersburg.

Really? Washington Works. Great plant.

- Right. She knows the Tennants. - So Grandma's on your back?

Something like that. Anyway, uh...

The farmer said the EPA came out, took a look around. I wondered...

- The name of the landfill again? - Dry Run.

Dry Run. Dry...

You know, that does ring a bell, now that you mention it.

We may have even sent some folks out there.

If I remember correctly, help EPA check it out.

That's gotta be it. So, I'd love to share whatever came of that

with Mr. Tennant. Help settle his nerves.

Absolutely. Soon as I'm back in Wilmington, I'll take a look.

- Thanks, Phil. I really appreciate it. - Happy to do it.

Now, let's get a drink and toast you, my friend. You.

Okay.

Mr. Tennant!

Mr. Tennant, I have the report.

Sons of bitches! Who the hell they think they are?

- Who gives them the right? - It's an evaluation.

Evalu, Hatchet job's what it is.

I been farming my entire life. Entire life!

You read that. You tell me you recognize my farm.

- Mr. Tennant... - Read it!

"The herd health investigation revealed

"deficiency in herd management.

"Including poor nutrition,

"inadequate veterinary care and lack of fly control."

You see any flies here?

It's snowing.

Can't stop making excuses for 'em, can you?

It could be pests. They consulted a vet.

Whose vet? DuPont?

Look at yourself. Swallowin' whole, whatever they been feeding ya.

Can't tell truth from lie.

You even watch them tapes I gave you?

- Sir, I am trying to help! - Quiet.

- Trying to help. - Stop movin'.

Easy, now. Easy.

Get in. Slow.

Forgive me, girl.

Jesus.

Need something to warm you up right about now?

Well, how about this?

Almost heaven, West Virginia

Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River

Life is old there, older than the trees

Younger than the mountains Blowing like the breeze

Country roads, take me home

To the place...

I belong

West Virginia...

mountain mama

Take me home...

...this cow's eyes are cloudy with pink eyes is what they'll call it.

Anyway, her eyes are sunk way back in her head.

She's poor as a whippoorwill.

And I'm gonna cut her open and find out what caused her to die.

Because I was feeding her enough feed...

that she should've gained weight instead of losin' weight.

This is what her teeth looks like.

That's the upper one.

But this one here, I've never seen anything like it in my lifetime.

Even the veterinarian, he admitted...

he never saw anything like this before in his life either.

So, what are you proposing we do?

File a claim, trigger discovery and find out what's in that landfill.

- You wanna sue DuPont? - Targeted.

- Property dispute. Routine stuff. - Not routine. Not around here.

I know, but, Tom, if you'd actually seen it.

His farm is like a graveyard. There's something very wrong.

So, he should hire a local lawyer.

None of them will do it. They're all terrified of DuPont.

- Well, what does that tell you? - We know DuPont.

They're gonna wanna hear

if some of their local guys are screwing something up.

Oh, so they're gonna thank us for suing.

Better us than the EPA.

I mean, new partners are supposed to bring in business, right?

So, your farmer can swing 275 an hour?

It'd be on contingency.

Jesus. What are we, coupon chasers now?

It's a small matter for a family friend. I'll get in and I'll get out.

- Help a guy that needs it. - Who? The farmer or you?

Surgical. You hear me?

Absolutely. Thank you.

Come on, Rob. Of course, I'm gonna take your call.

Even though, I was, I admit, a little surprised.

I mean, getting sued by Taft Law.

It's not every day. Or any day, frankly.

I know. I'm sorry.

Look, you and I are friends. This is a minor issue.

No reason it should get messy.

Thank you. I totally agree. Yeah, I'm putting you on speaker phone.

So, you wanna know if we violated our permits.

Pretty much, yeah.

Okay, then. I'll have our guys send over anything...

related to hazardous wastes at Dry Run.

And I'll tell them to hurry it up this time. How's that?

- Thank you. That sounds great. - And don't stress. I forgive you.

Thanks, Phil.

You took your baby into the office?

- I needed a bigger trunk. - Why?

Discovery for the Tennant case came in today.

Oh. Oh, you started before me. You're so fast! Whoa.

Good boy.

Rob's missing such a lovely day.

Law's a jealous mistress, Mom. Means it comes with the territory.

Let's go over here!

Nice! Thank you! That's what I'm talking about right there.

All right. Let's go. One more. One more. All right.

Poly...

Is that...

No.

- How's my favorite plaintiff's attorney? - Hey, help me out, will ya?

You're a run of a mill dump, nothing but trash.

You sound like my first girlfriend.

Why a requisition order for 55-gallon containers?

Conspiracy. Standard size drums.

Ash, ash-byproduct, glass tubing, plastic, paper waste. It's just trash.

You pile it onto a truck, drive it away. You don't pack it into drums.

- So, they've got liquid waste. - Not hazardous.

Or they'd have to disclose it. So, what is killing these cows?

- It's not paper and ash. - Well, maybe it's human error.

They're dumping something in there they don't know is toxic.

Kim, it's DuPont. They know more than the EPA does.

Everyone knows more than the EPA does.

Why else would they let us regulate ourselves?

- What? - Do we?

Do we what?

The EPA only started regulating chemicals in '76.

Yeah?

They grandfather in every existing chemical, non-hazardous,

unless they knew it was hazardous or a company told them it was.

- We're saying the same thing. - No, we're not. I'm saying

what if a company didn't tell?

What if

the reason Phil Donnelly agreed to discovery on hazardous

is because he knows

whatever's in that landfill isn't even regulated?

Okay, now you are sounding like a plaintiff's attorney.

- I've got a meeting. - Hey, oh, wait, one second.

Have you heard of this, um, PFOA?

No.

You know, it's mentioned here, but I can't find anything about it

in any of the literature. I don't even know if it's a chemical.

- Ask Phil. - Well, thank you.

As I said, Mr. Donnelly is still out of town.

I called last week and left two messages and haven't heard back from him.

I'll be sure to tell him that you called again.

Okay. Damn it.

- Your tickets to the Chemical Alliance dinner. - Argh...

And, no, dark suit is not the same as black tie.

Wouldn't he be going?

I don't know if Rob told you, but I was a receptionist at Taft

- before law school. - Is that right?

But well, I think the right Bilott ended up there.

Harold, you're not getting away from me.

- Would you excuse me? - Sure, it was...

- It's great to see you. - When is the...

That's funny.

Right away, I saw a little of myself in Rob.

- Oh! - One black sheep to another.

- My dad was a steel worker, you know. - Was he?

Have you seen Phil?

No.

- So, you're an attorney? - Oh, recovering.

I represented employers in workmen's comp disputes.

But now, I stay at home with our baby.

Well, that's the thing with lady lawyers.

I wanna say hi to the Dow folks. Have you seen them?

No, I've been looking for Phil.

Did I tell you they sent me some work?

- Dow? That's great! - Just a small project. Like a try-out.

But if I impress them, can you imagine if I brought on Dow?

None for me, thank you.

You're not...

I'm, uh...

You're... She's...

I'm...

I'm gonna wait as long as I can to tell the firm. Obviously.

Would you excuse us for a moment?

These lady lawyers need a quick sidebar.

- Of course. - No. No.

- He signs your paycheck. Be nice to him. - Don't leave me.

- Congratulations. - I know. I can't believe it.

Excuse me.

Rob, how are you?

Phil, I've been trying to reach you.

So sorry, all this traveling. How about I give you a shout tomorrow?

We're gonna need to broaden discovery to everything

in that landfill, hazardous or not.

Excuse me.

You kidding me?

No.

I think whatever's causing the problems in there

isn't something the EPA regulates or knows to regulate.

Sorry?

I'm seeing things in your documents I don't understand.

You're seeing ghosts, is what you're seeing, and frankly,

you're making an ass of yourself.

Okay, then, help me out.

I mean, like this.

I mean, what is this PFOA?

What's that stand for?

Jesus.

You're on a goddamn fishing expedition.

You wanna flush your career down the toilet

for some cowhand?

Be my guest. I'm done helping you.

Phil, I need to insist on broadening discovery.

- Sue me! - Uh...

I'm already suing you.

Welcome, everyone,

to the 14th Annual Ohio Chemical Alliance...

- Fuck you! - ...awards dinner.

Hick!

So, let's get the fun started!

I'm sorry.

You're not the only one who's sacrificed.

I just hope you know what you're doing.

You know the difference between business and pleasure, right?

So, why on earth would you engage in business conversations

- at a public function? - Tom!

He's hiding something. You saw his reaction.

Yeah, me and everyone in that room.

Taft in a pissing match with DuPont.

I am gonna get a court order and force them

to tell me everything that's in that landfill.

Jesus Christ! Now you wanna actually take them to court.

And I'm gonna need local counsel in West Virginia.

What happened to routine stuff?

- Ask Phil Donnelly. - God!

Of course, I remember you.

Yeah, last time I saw you, I think Phil Donnelly was

trying to get you to go out on the links with us.

Yeah.

You what?

- Sir. - Thank you.

Good morning.

- Good morning, Larry. - Morning.

Morning, Miss Claire.

Don't you look nice.

Save it for the judge, Mr. Winter.

You're suing DuPont.

Yes, ma'am.

You represent DuPont.

My old firm did.

I've been out on my own for a while.

Good luck with that.

Just wanted to let you know personally

that your court-ordered discovery is on the way.

Thanks, Phil.

No, it's my pleasure.

Discovery.

Son of a bitch.

No admission of liability.

And non...

Non-disclosure of any and all terms.

Pardon me a moment.

Thanks.

Holy Jesus!

- What in the... - Thanks.

...world?

I guess the joke's on me.

Yeah.

No one can go through all this crap. Not in a million years.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what they're banking on.

- Oh, God! Damn it! - Oh, God, Rob!

- Here, let me... - No, no, no, you shouldn't be around this stuff.

- You sure? - I'm positive. Thank you, though.

Yeah.

Good luck.

1957.

Hey, Sally, what is the hold up back here?

- Hey, Bobby. How you... - What're you having?

Usual.

Eggs over bacon and grits.

Same.

I need two over, grits, fried.

Wilbur Tennant.

He's not in his office. Can I take a message?

- I been leaving messages. - I know, Mr. Tennant,

but he really can't get to the phone right now.

I want service!

I'll let him know that you called again. For Christ's sakes.

Is she getting accustomed to being at Mom and Dad's?

You know Grammer. She misses her own house.

- What? - She misses her own house.

I have a bad cell.

I said Grammer misses her own house.

Okay, can you...

Can I talk to her?

She and Mom are at the doctor's.

- Will you tell Grammers I called? - Rob, you're breaking up.

And Mom too?

- Let's try again on Sunday. - All right.

"C-8."

You know you look like a crazy person, right?

What was the name of that guy that you brought by the...

- What guy? - The chemistry expert.

- The guy who does the models. - Gillespie.

Here you go.

Thank you.

Kim Burke had an expense account.

Oh, sorry. It's not that kind of case.

Are you familiar with something called PFOA?

No.

- No. - No.

I did read something recently about a PFOS, I think it was.

- That sounds related. - And what was that?

Long-chain fluorocarbon, synthetic.

I'm sorry. Chemistry was my worst class in high school.

Boy, you in the wrong line of work.

Tell me about it. So?

So, synthetic. All right? Man-made.

Frankenstein.

And?

Long-chain fluorocarbon is a sequence of carbon atoms, add a fluoride.

- All right. In the lab you take a carbon atom... - Mmm-hmm.

...and then you add another carbon atom.

And then another

and another... Look.

You're making a chain. Right?

- Right? - Could it be...

Eight? Eight carbons?

Well, sure. Yeah, In the lab you can do almost anything.

And why would you want to? Make this, I mean.

Well, a chain like that's pretty much unbreakable, biochemically speaking.

So, uh, industrial uses, I imagine.

3M made it.

They don't anymore. That's what I read.

- Why did they stop? - Didn't say.

What if...

What if you drank it?

Drank it?

- You don't. - Well, what if you did?

- Ready to order? - Yeah, I think I'd like a...

But what if you did?

That's like saying, "What if I swallowed a tire?"

I don't know. You wanna be the guy that finds out?

Tuna melt.

Let us all begin with hymn number 452 in our hymnal books.

"Here I Am, Lord." Please rise.

I, the Lord of sea and sky

I have heard my people cry

All who dwell in deepest sin

My hand will save

Does it makes sounds?

Asteroid ahead.

You hold like that.

Are you ready to blast off?

I'm taking off that.

You said it had fluoride?

What? Mr. Bilott, it's Sunday.

That chemical, you said it had a fluoride atom.

It's a fluorocarbon, so, yes. Somewhere along the chain...

What would it do to your teeth if you drank it?

Don't tell me if you shouldn't, if you did.

If you drank a lot of it, what would it do to your teeth?

Well, in trace amounts fluoride hardens teeth.

But too much, it's gonna stain 'em. I mean, even turn 'em black.

So, can I get back to my family now?

What? Where are you going?

- It's in their water. - What? What is?

How long's the coughing been?

Couple... Couple of months.

A year.

- You a smoker? - No.

Roll up your sleeve. We're gonna take some blood.

- Thought you left him inside. - I did.

Oh, baby.

You move this?

What?

- Did you go through this? - No!

They been here.

They been here!

What happened?

Wash up.

Dad?

- What is it? - Quiet.

This is my land, damn you! You get out of here!

Go on!

Go on!

Sandra, girls, get on! Go on, get in! Get in!

I know youl!

Rob?

- Holy crap, Rob! - What?

I thought someone was breaking in, for God's sakes!

No, it's just me.

Rob, you need to tell me what in the hell's going on.

We're being poisoned.

- Rob. - What?

I mean it. DuPont is knowingly poisoning us.

You mean the farmer. His land.

All of us.

Please don't look at me like that.

They're already poisoning the baby.

- No. I'm not listening to this. - Sarah.

Stop it! Just stop it, okay?

Do you hear yourself? You are acting like a crazy person.

Tearing up our floor. Scaring me half to death.

I know it's my job to support you, but that does not mean

you get to come into our home, to our family

and tell me that our unborn child is being poisoned. No!

I'm sorry. Can I please explain?

- Explain what? - All of it.

And if you still think I'm crazy, I'll drop it. I swear to God.

I swear to you.

There is a man-made chemical

that was invented during the Manhattan project.

It repelled the elements, especially water.

So they used it to make the first ever waterproof coating for tanks.

It was indestructible.

Then some companies thought, "Hey, why just the battlefield?

"Why not bring this chemical into American homes?"

- Rob's here. - All right. Good.

He'll see you now.

DuPont was one of those companies.

So they took this chemical, PFOA.

They renamed it C-8.

And they made their own impenetrable coating,

but not for tanks. For pans.

They called it Teflon.

A shining symbol of American ingenuity,

made right here in the USA,

in Parkersburg, West Virginia.

But right from the start, something wasn't right.

The men, and workers who made Teflon

were coming down with nausea, fevers.

DuPont wanted to know why.

So they laced cigarettes with Teflon.

They told a group of their workers, "Hey, smoke these."

DuPonters did as they were told.

Almost all of those men were hospitalized.

That's 1962.

One year after Teflon launched and already DuPont knew.

The dust, they just sent right up the smoke stacks, released into the air.

The sludge, tossed it into the Ohio.

Or, uh, packed into drums and chucked it into the Chesapeake.

But then their drums started washing up.

So, DuPont starts digging ditches

on the grounds of the Washington Works plant.

And in those pits, they dumped

thousands of tons of toxic C-8 sludge and dust.

One of the men that they hired to dig those ditches

was Wilbur Tennant's brother Jim.

But they weren't the only ones covering their tracks.

3M who pioneered these chemicals for Scotchgard,

they were testing them on monkeys.

Most of the monkeys died.

It wasn't like DuPont didn't know that because

they were doing their own tests on rats.

Watched their organs balloon.

Now the rats are getting cancers.

Tested them on pregnant rats and watched them give birth

to pups with deformed eyes.

So, they yanked all the young women off the Teflon line

and never told them why.

Sue Bailey's job was scrubbing these huge steel vats

where they held the liquid C-8. She was pregnant.

- I love you! - Would you stop?

She gave birth to a baby with one nostril and a deformed eye.

Remember how DuPont had seen those deformities in the rats?

Oh, God. What about his eyes?

Blue. Just like all newborns.

But they're normal, the lids, the pupils?

Mr. Bilott, relax. He's perfect.

Hey. Hi, Charlie.

So Sue goes to DuPont.

She says, "Why did you pull me off the Teflon line?

"Did C-8 make my baby this way?" "No," they tell her.

Then all of her records from her time at Teflon disappear.

One year later, they put all of the women back on Teflon

and never say a thing.

He's here.

DuPont knew everything.

They knew that the C-8 they put into the air

and buried into the ground for decades

was causing cancers.

They knew that their own workers were getting these cancers.

They knew that the consumers too were being exposed

and not just in Teflon. In paints,

in fabrics, in, uh, raincoats, boots.

To this day...

For 40 years you knew C-8 was poison.

You knew the "Happy Pan" was a ticking time bomb.

And you knew exactly why.

Because C-8, it stays in us forever.

Our bodies are incapable of breaking it down.

And knowing all of this, still you did nothing because

doing something,

"would essentially put the long-term viability

"of this product's segment on the line."

You were making too much money.

One billion dollars a year just in profits, just in Teflon.

And so you pumped millions more pounds

of toxic C-8 into the air, into the water

so much so you could actually see it foam.

C-8 was everywhere. There was nowhere left for you to contaminate.

And that's when they came to Jim.

They knew he was sick and needed the money and they needed his land.

And when they got it, they dug up all the C-8

from every single pit at Washington Works.

Fourteen million pounds of toxic C-8 sludge

and they dumped it, again. This time right up there.

Steps from your creek, from your house.

That's what your cows have been drinking, Earl.

Put 'em behind bars.

Whole damn lot of 'em, right in jail.

I understand, believe me.

But this is a civil case. The most we can hope for is damages.

Don't want no money! Whole damn world need...

- Needs to see what they done. - You're right. They should.

And it kills me that they won't.

But that would mean going to trial

and proving that C-8 killed your cows.

And every scientist who knows anything about any of this

already works for these chemical companies.

That's not an accident, Earl.

Earl, these companies, they have all the money all the time,

and they'll use it. Trust me.

I know. I was one of them.

You're still one of 'em.

You can't be serious. You know what I put on the line here?

You want a prize? Some medal 'cause for once in your life

you took the side of the little guy?

Sorry, no prize. All you get is your share of this blood money.

- And you sleep real good tonight. - Talk to your family.

It ain't just my cows was poisoned.

What do you think I fed my family on?

Wilbur, please.

Leave this place!

Start over. Give your family a fighting chance!

Too late for that.

We got it, Sandra and me. The cancer.

Surprise, surprise.

In here.

How'd it go?

What's wrong?

Rob?

Rob, what is it?

What happened? What happened?

Oh, honey, honey, honey.

You saw a man hurting and

you did the Christian thing. You helped him.

How? How? Either he dies penniless

or he lets DuPont just keep pillaging his community.

How is that helping?

Gotta get some sleep.

I can't believe a freaking case settlement could shut this up.

Have you read their confidentiality agreements?

You've uncovered a threat to the public.

This goes beyond lawyering.

That's... That's all I know is lawyering.

Fine. Then be the lawyer.

You know DuPont better than anyone.

What haven't they thought of?

God. Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

What is that?

Uh, a memo and 136 exhibits.

Wil, Sandra, this is your copy.

The EPA announced a public hearing into this family of chemicals

- I've been looking into. - I heard about it from Tucker.

- Monsanto Tucker? - Union Carbide now.

He says to me, "Is it true

"that a Taft lawyer sent a phone book's

"worth of confidential DuPont documents

"to the entire Federal government?"

Internal documents, not confidential. Very different.

- So you're testifying. - I signed up to testify.

And the next thing I hear

is DuPont has petitioned a judge

to stop me from testifying, from flying to D.C,

from even picking up the phone

They filed for a gag order.

Yes! This is what we're up against.

- Jesus. - David.

Come on, Tom. What do you expect?

Where do we stand?

Well, the judge rejected the gag order,

so I fly out Monday.

Nice. I guess we'll just watch on C-SPAN.

You ever do anything like this again,

I will cut your balls off and serve them to DuPont myself.

Get out of here.

Good luck in Washington.

Thanks, Tom.

This material is a perfluoro...

or a PFOA.

It's also known as FC 143,

ammonium perfluorooctanoates.

It has been shown by DuPont's own science

that PFOA C-8

is possibly life threatening to human health.

We are asking this agency to do something.

...the Presidential election in four decades.

Just look at these latest polls.

Did you forget to pay the water bill?

What?

You forget to pay the water bill?

No.

We got a notice.

What's it say?

"PFOA is a persistent chemical

"that is slow to be eliminated

"from the blood stream of people who have been exposed to it.

"The DuPont company has advised

"the Lubeck Water District that low concentrations

"have been found in the district's wells.

"DuPont has advised the district

"that it is confident these levels are safe."

What the hell does that mean?

A letter came last fall.

Made no sense to me, so I started making calls.

I told Joe don't kick that hornet's nest.

It's not like we didn't know what we'd signed up for.

What do you mean?

Oh, I was married before Joe

to a chemist at DuPont.

Dream job. Paid real well.

And the perks! Presents for no reason.

We'd get this catalogue. Just pick whatever you want.

And little stuff.

Like he'd bring home this soap,

this miracle powder.

You puttin the washing machine or the dishwasher,

just wipes stuff clean like you would not believe.