‘A worldwide public health threat’: Rob Bilott on his 20-year fight against forever chemicals

Chemical companies hid their knowledge of the damage caused by PFAS for decades. With a new class-action lawsuit, Bilott intends to hold them accountable

Last month, an Ohio court certified a class action lawsuit brought by lawyer Rob Bilott that would cover 7 million people - and at some point possibly everyone living in the United States - who have been exposed to certain hazardous forever chemicals" known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS.

The chemicals have been linked to cancer, birth defects, kidney disease and a range of other human health problems. They are called forever chemicals" because they do not naturally break down, persisting indefinitely in the environment.