Contamination
This film explores one small town’s unlikely fight — and even more improbable victory — for clean water and environmental justice.
After Michael Hickey’s beloved father, a factory worker and school bus driver, succumbs to a rare kidney cancer, Michael tests the local water supply on his own and discovers extraordinarily high levels of a cancer-causing “forever chemical” used in the manufacturing of Teflon. Meanwhile, a young, determined mother, Emily Marpe, having learned that the plant next door is poisoning her small children, decides to take on the manufacturing giant responsible for the pollution, beginning a one-woman crusade to protect her family and her neighbors.
Led by Michael and Emily, we tell the story of Hoosick Falls, an American town that ultimately bands together through its own scrappy insistence on survival. Despite intense infighting, long odds and rampant illness, they confront the powerful chemical industry that is responsible.
Not only do they secure a permanent water solution for their town, but they also win a massive monetary settlement that includes compensation and health monitoring that sets precedents for communities across the country.
Ariel Ritchin
Director, ProducerZahra Rasool
ProducerDonate to this Fiscally Sponsored Project
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