Forever Chemicals: Earth Day screening unveils PFAS crisis

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This Earth Day, Pensacola residents have a rare opportunity to understand an environmental crisis affecting our own backyard. On April 22, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., the Levin Papantonio law firm will host at the Pensacola Little Theater a screening of “How to Poison a Planet,” a revealing documentary about PFAS chemicals and their devastating impact on communities across America, including our own.

In a recent interview, Levin Papantonio’s Ned McWilliam explained why this issue deserves our urgent attention. “This is second only to global warming in terms of the magnitude of the problem,” McWilliams stated, highlighting how these “forever chemicals” have contaminated drinking water supplies nationwide.

Why this matters: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are man-made chemicals that don’t break down in the environment or in our bodies. According to McWilliams, these chemicals have been linked to several severe health conditions, including testicular cancer, kidney cancer, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, liver disease, and potentially many others.

The EPA estimates that over 100 million Americans have been exposed to PFAS in their drinking water at levels exceeding safety guidelines. Here in Pensacola, these chemicals have likely been in our water for decades.

The Local Connection: Fire Training and Our Water Supply

One major PFAS contamination source is firefighting foam used at airports and military installations. As McWilliams explained, “The vast, overwhelming majority of every bit of the stuff that was ever used and released into the environment was for training the firefighters.”

This hits particularly close to home for Pensacola residents. NAS Pensacola hosts a major naval fire training school, and several ECUA wells are located near the airport. The contamination has been significant enough that ECUA has implemented special cleaning procedures to remove these chemicals from our drinking water.

The documentary showcases the legal battle against PFAS manufacturers that has been ongoing since 1998. McWilliams and the Levin Papantonio team have been at the forefront of this fight, achieving over $10 billion in settlements for drinking water providers, including our own ECUA.

“It’s what these companies knew, when they knew it, and what they did and didn’t do in response to that information,” McWilliams revealed about the documentary’s focus. “It goes all the way back to the sixties. It got really juicy in the seventies and eighties, and then they kept it secret for 20 years while they continued to increase production.”

Join the Conversation

Following the film screening, attendees can participate in a Q&A session with experts, including McWilliams. This represents a unique chance to learn directly from those fighting on the frontlines of this environmental justice battle.

As McWilliams noted, the documentary allows them to tell the story they had prepared for trial before settlements were reached. For our community, it’s a window into understanding not just a national crisis, but one affecting our local water supply and health.

WHO: Free and open to the general public
WHAT: Free screening of award-winning documentary “How to Poison a Planet”
WHEN: April 22, doors open at 5:30 p.m.; the film starts at 6 p.m.; a Q&A will follow with Levin Papantonio environmental attorney Ned McWilliams, who is featured in the documentary.
WHERE: Pensacola Little Theatre – 400 South Jefferson St.
HOW: Get more info and FREE tickets at HOW TO POISON A PLANET – Tue, Apr 22, 2025 at 6:00 PM CDT | Kinema

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Forever Chemicals: Earth Day screening unveils PFAS crisis

The Local Connection: Fire Training and Our Water Supply

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