PFAS, forever chemicals: the new scandal
52 min / EN, FR / HD / 2025
PFAS, or forever chemicals, are emerging as a global public health scandal. These chemicals are ubiquitous in industry, but they impact ecosystems and human health and do not degrade. For over a year, an international consortium of journalists has been investigating the tactics and strategies used by manufacturers to defend these substances. What did they know about the toxicity of their products? What did they hide from health authorities and exposed populations?
Today, the issue of a global ban on PFAS in Europe is on the table, but manufacturers are calling the shots. Using the example of Arkema, which regularly makes headlines for environmental contamination south of Pierre-Bénite, we will decipher the concealment and lobbying strategies that PFAS manufacturers have been using for nearly 70 years.
Thanks to internal and confidential documents, previously unpublished testimonies, and the work of around thirty journalists from across Europe, we will reveal what could well be the biggest environmental scandal of the past and coming decades.
Production
Emilie Rosso
Pierre-Stéphane Fort
Editor-in-chief
Delphine Lopez
Production
StudioFact Presse & Docs
Distribution
France Télévisions
RTL-TVI
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