''The Devil We Know'' is a 2018 investigative documentary film by director
Stephanie Soechtig
Stephanie Soechtig is an American director and filmmaker who is known for documentaries such as '' Tapped'' (2009), '' Fed Up'' (2014), ''Under the Gun'' (2016) and '' The Devil We Know'' (2018).
Education
Soechtig earned her BA in Broadcast Jo ...
regarding allegations of health hazards from
perfluorooctanoic acid
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA; conjugate base perfluorooctanoate; also known colloquially as C8, for its 8 carbon chain structure) is a perfluorinated carboxylic acid produced and used worldwide as an industrial surfactant in chemical processes a ...
(PFOA, also known as C8), a key ingredient used in manufacturing
Teflon
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that has numerous applications. It is one of the best-known and widely applied PFAS. The commonly known brand name of PTFE-based composition is Teflon by Chemo ...
, and
DuPont's potential responsibility.
["Should we be scared of Teflon? A new Sundance documentary investigates"]
''Los Angeles Times'', Jan. 27, 2018["Film Review: ‘The Devil We Know’"]
''Variety'', April 12, 2018 PFAS are commonly found in every household, and in products as diverse as non-stick cookware, stain resistant furniture and carpets, wrinkle free and water repellant clothing, cosmetics, lubricants, paint, pizza boxes, popcorn bags, and many other everyday products.
Two of the most common types (PFOS and PFOA) were phased out of production in the United States (US) in 2002 and 2015 respectively, but are still present in some imported products, and were replaced by the similarly toxic
GenX
The General Electric GEnx ("General Electric Next-generation") is an advanced dual rotor, axial flow, high-bypass turbofan jet engine in production by GE Aviation for the Boeing 787 and 747-8. The GEnx is intended to succeed the CF6 in GE's pro ...
in Teflon products. PFOA and PFOS are found in every American person’s blood stream in the parts per billion range, though those concentrations have decreased by 70% for PFOA and 84% for PFOS between 1999 and 2014, which coincides with the end of the production and phase out of PFOA and PFOS in the US.
The film premiered at the
2018 Sundance Film Festival
The 2018 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 18 to January 28, 2018. The first lineup of competition films was announced on November 29, 2017.
Awards
The following awards were presented:
* U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize Award: '' Th ...
. The director, Soechtig, has also produced similar documentary exposés including
''Tapped'' (2009), about the pollution caused by bottled water,
''Fed Up'' (2014), dealing with the obesity-promoting food industry, and ''Under the Gun'' (2016), about the
gun lobby
Gun politics within American politics is defined by two primary opposing ideologies about civilian gun ownership. Those who advocate for gun control support increased regulation of gun ownership; those who advocate for gun rights oppose incre ...
.
[ The documentary was also shown on BBC Four in November 2018 as ''Poisoning America – The Devil We Know'' as part of the BBC Storyville documentary series.]
Synopsis
The story centers on Parkersburg, West Virginia, where the DuPont facility that manufactured Teflon
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that has numerous applications. It is one of the best-known and widely applied PFAS. The commonly known brand name of PTFE-based composition is Teflon by Chemo ...
was located, and follows the personal stories and tribulations of several people who worked at the facility. The film includes footage of public hearings, news reports and corporate ads, along with input from scientists and activists. The film's title refers to an internal DuPont memorandum of sticking with "the devil we know" in the continued use of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), rather than spending funds to develop a safer alternative.
Teflon was originally created in 1945, and soon found its way into products including stain-resistant carpets, carpet-cleaning liquids, microwave popcorn bags, outdoor furniture, baking pans, and frying pans. 3M originally created the PFOA compound, the key substance in Teflon, before selling it to DuPont. Despite a memorandum from 3M to specifically avoid dumping the substance into water, DuPont "dumped, poured and released" at least 1.7 million pounds of PFOA between 1951 and 2003.
After DuPont began dumping PFOA into the water, local farmer Wilbur Tennant's cattle began dying off, though he was unaware of the cause. Their teeth would turn black and calves would be born with very specific facial deformities. Ken Wamsley, a Parkersburg resident, says in the film that his neighbors began reporting that their children's teeth were turning black. Sue Bailey, one of two women working at the Parkersburg DuPont facility, gave birth to a son, Bucky, who suffered the same type of facial deformity as that of Tennant's cattle. The other female DuPont worker, not shown but mentioned in the documentary, gave birth to a child with deformities as well. Ken Wamsley relates to how at least fifteen of his DuPont work colleagues all died of cancer, specifically testicular, thyroid and rectal cancer - in the years since, studies have shown a correlation between high PFOA exposure and six health outcomes: kidney cancer
Kidney cancer, also known as renal cancer, is a group of cancers that starts in the kidney. Symptoms may include blood in the urine, lump in the abdomen, or back pain. Fever, weight loss, and tiredness may also occur. Complications can include sp ...
, testicular cancer
Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle, or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility.
Risk factors include an ...
, ulcerative colitis
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a long-term condition that results in inflammation and ulcers of the colon and rectum. The primary symptoms of active disease are abdominal pain and diarrhea mixed with blood (hematochezia). Weight loss, fever, and ...
, thyroid disease
Thyroid disease is a medical condition that affects the function of the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland is located at the front of the neck and produces thyroid hormones that travel through the blood to help regulate many other organs, meaning ...
, hypercholesterolemia
Hypercholesterolemia, also called high cholesterol, is the presence of high levels of cholesterol in the blood. It is a form of hyperlipidemia (high levels of lipids in the blood), hyperlipoproteinemia (high levels of lipoproteins in the blood), ...
(high cholesterol), and pregnancy-induced hypertension.
Footage of Charles O. Holliday
Charles Otis "Chad" Holliday, Jr. (born March 9, 1948) is an American businessman, former chairman of Royal Dutch Shell, former chairman of Bank of America, former chief executive officer and a former director of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Com ...
, the CEO of DuPont at the time, Bruce Karrh, DuPont's corporate medical director, and Kathleen Forte, DuPont's public relations officer, is shown where they admit knowingly polluting the local water. DuPont had been conducting its own medical studies for more than four decades, which had shown that PFOA caused cancerous testicular, pancreatic and liver tumors in lab animals.
The documentary touches on the detection of PFOA in the blood of more than 98% of the general US population in the low and sub-parts per billion (ppb) range, with levels much higher in chemical plant employees and surrounding subpopulations. The only samples clean of PFOA were found in US Army blood samples taken at the beginning of the Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
in 1950.
See also
* ''Dark Waters'' (2019 film)
* Perfluorooctanoic acid
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA; conjugate base perfluorooctanoate; also known colloquially as C8, for its 8 carbon chain structure) is a perfluorinated carboxylic acid produced and used worldwide as an industrial surfactant in chemical processes a ...
* GenX
The General Electric GEnx ("General Electric Next-generation") is an advanced dual rotor, axial flow, high-bypass turbofan jet engine in production by GE Aviation for the Boeing 787 and 747-8. The GEnx is intended to succeed the CF6 in GE's pro ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devil We Know, The
Water pollution in the United States
2018 films
American documentary films
DuPont
Documentary films about West Virginia
2010s English-language films
2010s American films