In 2001, attorney Robert Bilott filed a federal class-action suit against DuPont for polluting the drinking water of more than 70,000 people in and around Parkersburg, W.Va., with PFOA, a Teflon chemical known within the company as C8. Bilott also wrote to the Environmental Protection Agency, supplying thousands of documents detailing DuPont's decades-long coverup of the hazards of PFOA.

The court filing and the EPA docket drew the attention of the Environmental Working Group. Our scientists and analysts began poring through the documents, digging into the scientific literature and publishing reports that were the first to bring national attention to the history, widespread use and worldwide pollution of PFOA and a myriad of other per- and polyfluorinated compounds, or PFCs. These chemicals, now known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, have been linked to cancer, thyroid disease, weakened immunity and a still-growing list of other health problems.

Learn more about PFAS:
https://www.ewg.org/pfaschemicals/