Universities have a critical role to play in the fight against “forever chemicals”

In this edition of Campus Green, environmental lawyer Robert Bilott — whose two decade battle against DuPont inspired the movie Dark Waters starring Mark Ruffalo — provides expert insights into the proliferation of PFAS (per and polyfluoroalkyl substances) and how universities are uniquely positioned to tackle the profound challenges these ‘forever chemicals’ now pose for our health and environment.

The postwar boom delivered pushbutton ease to North American households: frost-free fridges, automatic washers, vinyl records and the warm, fuzzy glow of television screens. It was an era that convinced a generation that a fresh new way of life had begun, with modern technology poised to make daily living feel effortlessly improved.

One of those “modern marvels” was a family of fluorinated compounds we now call PFAS – slippery, heat resistant and astonishingly durable. Discovered by accident in 1938 when DuPont’s Roy J. Plunkett uncovered PTFE (later known as Teflon), the polymer moved from wartime uses to home kitchens after Marc Grégoire bonded it to cookware and Tefal popularized nonstick pans in the mid 1950s. Around the same time, 3M chemists Patsy O’Connell Sherman and Sam Smith turned a lab spill into Scotchgard, a stain repellent for fabrics and carpets.

PFAS seemed like progress perfected, yet the very trait that made them so useful—their inability to break down—is now what makes them so dangerous. By the time public awareness caught up, PFAS could be found in cooking pans, carpets, jackets, firefighting gear, and ominously, in our blood and water.

“For a long time, these chemicals were essentially unregulated,” Robert Bilott explains. “Companies covered up a massive amount of information in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and it took decades to begin regulating them at the federal level.”

The U.S. only recently set its first enforceable drinking water limits for a small set of PFAS, even as industry challenges some hazardous substance designations in court. Many PFAS are linked to harms involving the immune system, liver, development and certain cancers — risks that argue for regulating these “forever chemicals” as a class, not one by one. As older compounds are restricted, replacements keep appearing and aren’t necessarily safer; in response, regulators in certain countries like Canada are moving toward class based approaches to keep substitutes from slipping through the cracks.

Breaking down academic silos

Tackling PFAS effectively will require universities to lead on truly interdisciplinary learning. Mr. Bilott’s decades of experience underscore the point: throughout his cases he worked with cross institution science panels and medical experts, and he now lectures in public health to help bridge gaps between academia, regulators and lawmakers. These worlds, he notes, are “interconnected,” yet too often “don’t communicate effectively,” slowing the translation of evidence into public understanding and policy. 

That makes the university’s role unmistakable. Training scientists to communicate clearly with decision makers and ensuring academic work is translated into actionable information is essential. Many Canadian institutions have already begun weaving sustainability into business, policy, design, and health curricula, but there is still room to do more to truly “break out of our silos.”

Mr. Bilott points to his own early lack of understanding of PFAS when he first took on the DuPont case as a reminder of what is at stake. Embedding an interdisciplinary approach that includes coursework, research projects and community partnerships, he argues, will better prepare future professionals to navigate complex challenges that cut across science, law, policy and practice.

Ethics that meet the real world

There should also be “a heavy focus on ethics, especially in engineering programs,” Mr. Bilott suggests.

What does ethics first mean in practice? Beyond durability, performance, cost, and efficiency, students learn to ask: What happens in 10, 20, 50 years? Does this compound persist or bioaccumulate? Who’s exposed across extraction, manufacturing, use, and disposal? Had those questions been embedded in 1955, PFAS might have remained a niche industrial aid rather than a global cleanup line item.

Ethics, however, can’t live only on the syllabus — it should also meet people where the impacts occur. That’s why universities should work more closely with communities, especially on environmental exposure and risk studies. Government agencies often lack funding for these efforts, while academic researchers have the access and expertise to design studies that reflect real world use and risk. As Mr. Bilott notes, “community support in designing and conducting these studies is essential, as affected individuals often bear the burden of proof themselves.” He points to a Notre Dame example of faculty helping firefighters test their gear for PFAS as a prime example of how academic knowhow can deliver timely, practical support for communities on the front lines.

Shaping the systems of tomorrow

Sparked by films, investigations and community coalitions, public awareness is accelerating and consumers are increasingly asking for PFASfree options. A variety of campaigns have helped move the issue from court filings into living rooms, catalyzing pressure for policy reform and product change. Yet companies still grapple with complex supply chains, unclear labeling standards and lingering uncertainty over what “PFASfree” really means or what level can be deemed as “safe”, if any.

For students charting paths in such fields as environmental science, policy and law, this is the moment to remember that there are many opportunities to improve our regulatory and scientific systems. As Rob Bilott puts it, “These systems were created by humans, which means they can be changed for the better by humans.” The most promising progress will happen at the intersection of science, policy and public engagement to strengthen how evidence informs decisions, how risks are communicated and how safeguards are designed and enforced.

The old soundtracks of the 1950s still delight, but the postwar faith that convenience equals progress can no longer hold. If universities take the lead — breaking silos, centering ethics and standing with communities — we can turn insight into action and keep the next “miracle material” from becoming the next environmental crisis.