Participant's Fight Forever Chemicals Campaign & Mark Ruffalo Partner With North Carolina Enviro Orgs To Kick Off WHY WE FIGHT

In partnership with the North Carolina Conservation Network, Clean Cape Fear, the Center for Environmental Health, and Mark Ruffalo, Participant's Dark Waters campaign officially kicked off "Why We Fight," a two-day tour across North Carolina to showcase the stories of communities harmed by exposure to forever chemicals, and to engage with state lawmakers who have the ability to enact real change.

Recent reports show that North Carolina suffers some of the worst PFAS chemical pollution in the United States. "Why We Fight" aims to raise awareness of the dangers that these chemicals pose, while demanding stronger protections for the public from their leaders in office.

On Tuesday, February 18, Ruffalo was joined by environmental activists and organizations for a special screening of Dark Waters in Wilmington, a tour of the Haw River Watershed in Pittsboro to see industrial contamination sites firsthand, and continued the conversation around how environmental organizations and lawmakers can work together. Today, Ruffalo was joined by community members and advocates in Raleigh to urge state decision-makers to: address the public health and environmental impact as a result of exposure to forever chemicals, hold polluters accountable and take steps to end PFAS pollution in the state of North Carolina.

"What we saw in Dark Water's is just the tip of the iceberg - there are Parkersburg's everywhere. The PFAS pollution in North Carolina is some of the worst in the nation, leaving many communities afraid to drink their water," said Ruffalo in a statement. "By working with local organizations to shine a light on these stories, we hope to come together to demand stronger environmental protections. It is not a radical idea that Americans should be able to drink the water that comes out of our tap."

To coincide with this initiative, Participant also released a series of testimonial videos that highlight the stories of people across the nation who have been impacted by PFAS chemicals firsthand, from Massachusetts to Colorado. Watch the video here, visit the official Fight Forever Chemicals campaign here.

Forever chemicals, also known as PFAS, are a family of chemicals that do not degrade in the environment and accumulate in humans and animals over time. They have been linked to a variety of serious health problems, including infertility and cancer.[i] Despite mounting evidence of their dangers and calls for regulation, related forever chemicals are still produced in the United States. Today, forever chemicals are believed to be in the blood of 99% of Americans, with firefighters and men and women in uniform at even higher risks of exposure.[ii]

The Fight Forever Chemicals campaign was launched to coincide with the film DARK WATERS. Starring and produced by Ruffalo, the film is inspired by the true story of environmental attorney and author Rob Bilott, who risked his career and family to uncover a dark secret hidden by one of the world's largest corporations to bring justice to a community dangerously exposed to deadly chemicals for decades.

Fight Forever Chemicals is continuing to challenge companies in food packaging, grocery, home improvement, and outdoor apparel industries to remove forever chemicals from their products and shelves and has engaged a network of influencers to amplify key messages about industrial pollution.

To learn more about the "DARK WATERS: Fight Forever Chemicals" campaign, visit www.FightForeverChemicals.com.

 

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