Focus Features · interview clip
Robert Bilott and Mark Ruffalo on The View
An interview clip about the real case and Dark Waters, not a full movie or full television episode.
1998–2017 · Parkersburg, West Virginia, and the Ohio River valley, Ohio
Robert Bilott & the DuPont/PFOA case
Environment & corporate accountability
Attorney Robert Bilott began representing a West Virginia farmer in 1998 and uncovered records concerning PFOA contamination near DuPont’s Washington Works plant. The wider litigation and environmental enforcement brought scrutiny to drinking-water exposure and the reporting of chemical risks. His work is dramatized in Dark Waters.
Content note
Content note: environmental contamination, illness and animal deaths.
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The Story
When1998–2017
WhereParkersburg, West Virginia, and the Ohio River valley, Ohio
In this collection6 resources
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Blogs & Essays
Read our articles here and explore outside perspectives, credited to their writers and publications. See this case in the Journal →
From the journal
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Blogs & essays
1 itemsAbout these sources
Outside essays and reading guides reflect their authors’ perspectives. Compare claims with reported and primary sources.
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Books
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Books
1 itemsRobert Bilott
Exposure: Poisoned Water, Corporate Greed, and One Lawyer’s Twenty-Year Battle against DuPont
Bilott’s memoir of the investigation and litigation. A firsthand companion account to the events portrayed in Dark Waters.
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Title search; Amazon availability is not confirmed. Check the edition, format, and viewing region.
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Movies & TV
Movies
1 itemsAbout these sources
Watch links, previews and title listings are identified below. Rentals or subscriptions may be required.
Todd Haynes · Mark Ruffalo · 2019
Dark Waters (2019)
Dramatized account of Bilott’s investigation. Official distributor page with film details and watch-at-home options.
Search Amazon · paid linkViewing options & film details
Title search; Amazon availability is not confirmed. Check the edition, format, and viewing region.
TV & documentaries
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Fiction Work · 1 adaptations & inspirations
Fiction Work
Browse all →Scripted stories and fictional inspirations. Scenes, characters, and dialogue can differ from the record.
Todd Haynes · Mark Ruffalo · 2019
Dark Waters (2019)
Dramatized account of Bilott’s investigation. Official distributor page with film details and watch-at-home options.
Search Amazon · paid linkViewing options & film details
Title search; Amazon availability is not confirmed. Check the edition, format, and viewing region.
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Podcasts & Audio
Podcasts
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Social Media
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News & Reading
Free & Library Reading
0 sourcesExplore free articles, book previews and library options. The label on each item explains what you can access; a catalog entry does not mean the whole book is free.
No additional case-specific reading source was confirmed in this review. The reporting and original summaries elsewhere on this page remain available.
Reading Access Notes
Search reviewed 2026-09-15. Sources searched: Google Books, Internet Archive, Open Library, Library of Congress, Smithsonian Magazine, The Atavist Magazine. Search indexing is incomplete; this is not an exhaustive list of the web. Access can change by edition, country and library membership. Library loans may require sign-in or a wait.
A separate Texas Monthly search was blocked by the publisher’s automated-access rules and could not be verified.
News & reporting
1 itemsTIME · 2019
The true story behind Dark Waters
Reporting on Bilott’s investigation and the film’s real-world background.
Newspaper clippings
0 itemsFeatured newspaper clipping
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Internet Archive
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Court & Files
Court records & documents
1 itemsAbout these sources
Documents are labeled by type and scope. Allegations in filings are not findings of guilt. This collection is not the complete case file.
Court document
DuPont consent agreements and final orders
Primary agency enforcement documents concerning failures to report PFOA risk information. Administrative orders, not the complete civil litigation docket.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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Roads Traveled
Roads Traveled
Open case map →Parkersburg, West Virginia, and the Ohio River valley, Ohio. The map provides regional context; individually verified historical places are listed below.
Where this story happened
Parkersburg, West Virginia, and the Ohio River valley, Ohio
Highlighted states show regional context, not exact addresses. Ontario and regions outside the contiguous U.S. are listed by name.
Explore the interactive case atlas →Boundaries: Natural Earth · public domain
Location research & source notes
This case was added after the September 14 map-source review and has not yet been checked against those sources.
The map shows regional context for this case. No individually sourced historical place is included below.
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Positive Outcome
Positive Outcome
1 itemsAbout these sources
Documented laws, advocacy and reforms. Listing a change does not claim it is effective or universally supported.
Federal environmental enforcement · EPA
2005: EPA settlement over PFOA reporting
EPA’s 2005 settlement addressed DuPont’s failure to report information about PFOA risks. This is a documented enforcement outcome, not a claim that one case created every later PFAS regulation.
Social Media
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