# Source note — Dark Waters / PFAS movie shelf card

Prepared: 2026-08-13

## Social lead
- Instagram Reel: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Db8b-QRRvzp/?igsh=MWJoZTl4ZnB2a2J1eA==
- Account: healthjourneythroughfood / Bailey
- Visible caption: “I’m mind boggled. This scares me for the people of this area and especially the ones who are buying food produced in this area of Cherryfield, Maine…”
- Visible hashtags: #pfas #watersystem #teflon #wildblueberries #mainecoast
- Browser video duration: about 175.47 seconds.
- Download limit: yt-dlp returned “Instagram sent an empty media response.” The video was browser-playable; frame sampling was used.

## Identification caveat
The logged-out frame samples did not visibly show the words “Dark Waters.” The movie identification is based on the Reel’s PFAS/PFOA/Teflon subject matter and the user’s request to find “the movie mentioned.” Public search/source results consistently identify the PFAS/Teflon/DuPont movie as Dark Waters (2019).

## Verified movie facts
- Official Focus Features page: Dark Waters, PG-13, Nov. 22, 2019, drama/thriller, 2 hr 7 min.
- Directed by Todd Haynes.
- Written by Mario Correa and Matthew Michael Carnahan.
- Stars Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins, Bill Camp, Victor Garber, Mare Winningham and Bill Pullman.
- Focus describes it as inspired by a shocking true story in which a tenacious attorney uncovers a dark secret connecting unexplained deaths to one of the world's largest corporations.
- Science & Film identifies the attorney as Rob Bilott and frames the film around his legal battle against DuPont over PFAS/PFOA contamination.
- TIME describes the real-life Bilott/DuPont legal fight and the PFOA/Teflon context.

## PFAS context
- EPA says PFAS are widely used, long-lasting chemicals that break down very slowly; PFAS are found in water, air, fish and soil; exposure to some PFAS may be linked to harmful health effects.
- Maine DACF says Maine has a PFAS response program for impacted farms, with technical/financial support and a focus on human health and farm viability.

## Editorial caveat
Dark Waters is a dramatized legal thriller, not a complete documentary record. It is useful on the Managing Expectations movie shelf because it tests the expectation that convenience products, regulators, corporations and paperwork will protect people before harm becomes visible.

## Preserved artifacts
Additional captures are stored in `research/movies/dark-waters-pfas-teflon-movie-source-card-2026-08-13/`.