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| William Bucky Bailey |
Hey! I want you to see a movie about toxic waste
and a deadly, manmade chemical that is, right now, inside your body, like a
timebomb, and will possibly someday cause you or your loved ones to contract
cancer or endocrine disorders!
No, really, it's a good movie. "Dark
Waters" had my attention throughout, and it wasn't depressing as one might
think. That's because the center of the film is a real hero, Robert Bilott, a
high-priced lawyer who sacrificed much of his personal and professional life,
and his health, to researching the deadly chemical, DuPont's manipulation of
the public, and to getting some financial compensation for victims.
Bilott's own book is titled "Exposure:
Poisoned Water, Corporate Greed, and One Lawyer's Twenty-Year Battle against
DuPont." That title offers a good plot summary.
Mark Ruffalo stars as Robert Bilott. Wilbur
Tennant (Bill Camp), a dairy farmer from Bilott's grandmother's West Virginia hometown,
asks Bilott to discover why his cows are dying horrible deaths. Another lawyer
might walk away, But Bilott, urged on by Tennant, does research and discovers
that DuPont, as part of the manufacture of Teflon pans, produces a chemical
that harms and kills humans, that never breaks down, and that is found, now, in
the bodies of virtually all living things on earth, including humans.
DuPont knew this but hid the information. Bilott's
research uncovered DuPont's own extensive reports that detailed exactly how the
chemical damaged human bodies. Bilott is shown meeting with DuPont employees
who talk frankly about working on Teflon and giving birth to defective babies
and needing to have hysterectomies.
A few of the real people involved in this horror
show appear in the film. These include William "Bucky" Bailey who was
born with one nostril and a deformed eye. He had over thirty surgeries during his
childhood. In a YouTube video, Bucky talks about his fears of fathering his own
children. He was told he might pass his deformities on.
I grew up near DuPont sites in New Jersey. Higher
rates of cancer are reported there. Four members of my immediate family died
from cancer and I've had cancer twice. Even so, I was compelled by and
appreciated this movie. Watching the dedication of Robert Bilott and his
tireless efforts was refreshing. The script and direction maintain a fast pace
and I was never bored. In fact the film is a fascinating glimpse into power,
the legal system, the rigors of research, evil, and virtue. I didn't have time
to sink into despair.
Read William Bucky Bailey's testimony here:
From his testimony:
I was
born in Parkersburg, West Virginia in early 1981 with numerous birth defects. I
only had one nostril, a keyhole pupil, and a serrated eye lid all on my right
side. I struggled to breath normally immediately after birth and the doctors
told my family it was likely I wouldn’t make it through the night. My mother
who was in shock at the time of my birth had no idea what could have caused my birth
defects. While pregnant, she was a full-time employee of Dupont at the
Washington Works plant in Parkersburg, WV. Her role at the Dupont plant was to
control the production of the Teflon chemical PFOA or C-8 in a confined area:
keeping the bubbling chemicals under control and pushing excess chemicals, in
her words, “out back”.
After
my birth and recovering in the hospital my mother recalls receiving phone calls
from Dupont representatives inquiring about my health. Upon returning back to
work she found evidence that other pregnant women were removed from the Teflon
line. She also found studies from 3M, a former manufacturer of Teflon, which
found the same birth defects after being exposed to the chemical. Nevertheless
, she was told by Dupont that C8 was not the cause of my birth defects.
After
dozens of reconstructive surgeries between the ages two and five, my family
moved to Virginia as my parents felt called to start a church in the Northern
Virginia area. With no health insurance at that time my parents went to court
to demand that Dupont to simply pay for the medical expenses for more
reconstructive surgeries. However door after door was closed to us by lawyers
who refused to take a cases against a corporate giant like Dupont.
Around
the age of 25, I came into contact with Rob Billot and was made aware of the
litigation, settlement, and scientific study that was happening. I was so glad
to hear this and knew the results of the study would show the disposal and
contamination of the water and air would be made known publicly. I was
disheartened to find out that some of the sickness and disease my mother was
facing was caused by this contamination. Knowing that other friends and
acquaintances who were battling these sicknesses and diseases, including some
who had lost their lives, broke my heart.
My
deformities were not determined to be a
result of the contamination, despite admissions by Dupont scientists stating
evidence that C8 could harm fetuses. Upon further testing, scientists concluded
that my children would have a 50% chance of having the same deformities that I
had. Being newly wed it nearly destroyed all hopes I had of building a family
with my wife. I knew there was no way I could subject my children to the looks
and ridicule, years of medical procedures, and other battles that I faced I
knew they would encounter.
The
decision to trust my faith in God took approximately 10 years before my wife
and I pursued pregnancy. With my son (now 3 years old) and daughter (now 3
months old) completely whole and healthy, I am so thankful they have been
spared the issues I have dealt with my entire life. However, today I have
another reason for trepidation. With my high levels of the C-8 chemical in my
blood, will I have to endure kidney cancer, testicular cancer, ulcerative
colitis, thyroid disease, and/or hypercholesterolemia? Will I lose my life to
one of these diseases?
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