Rob Bilott (Uncovering the PFAS Contamination, Dark Waters and Firefighting PPE) - Episode 631
Behind The Shield
James Geering
4.9 • 667 Ratings
🗓️ 18 October 2025
⏱️ 89 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Rob Bilott is a veteran Environmental Litigator and the lawyer portrayed by Mark Ruffalo in the movie Dark Waters. We discuss his journey into law, navigating environmental law, how a farmer's dying cattle burst open the unethical practices of Du Pont, the diseases and deaths attributed to "Forever Chemicals" and so much more.
A seasoned and internationally-recognized litigator, advocate, and author, Rob represents a diverse range of clients on a wide variety of matters involving federal, state, and local environmental laws. For more than 30 years, he has handled environmental issues of regulatory compliance, permitting, and corporate/real estate transactions, as well as all aspects of litigation arising from such issues, from administrative hearings to multi-party, complex multi-district litigation, mass torts, and class actions.
Rob has gained international prominence in connection with uncovering and disclosing the world-wide impact of environmental contamination by the “forever chemicals” known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkylated substances), particularly PFOA and PFOS. To date Rob has secured benefits in excess of $1 billion for a wide array of firm clients adversely impacted by PFAS contamination, including through key leadership positions in the nation’s first class action, personal injury, medical monitoring, and multi-district litigations, and jury trials involving PFAS.
Because of this experience and knowledge on PFAS issues, Rob is frequently invited to provide keynote lectures and talks at law schools, universities, colleges, communities, and other organizations all over the world, including testimony before federal and state Congressional subcommittees, parliaments of the European Union, individual member states, and the United Kingdom, and committees of the United Nations.
In 2017, Rob received the International Right Livelihood Award (also known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize”) for his decades of work on PFAS “forever chemicals,” and was the 2020 recipient of Taft’s “Legacy Award,” which is bestowed upon a Taft attorney who has made a significant and lasting contribution to the firm, resulting in an overall positive impact on the legacy of Taft. Rob’s story is chronicled in his book, “Exposure: Poisoned Water, Corporate Greed, and One Lawyer’s Twenty-Year Battle against DuPont,” and is the inspiration for the feature film, “Dark Waters” and documentary, “The Devil We Know.”
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This episode is sponsored by 511, a company that I've used for well over a decade and continue to use to this day. |
| 0:07.3 | And 511 is offering you guys the audience of the Behind the Shield podcast a discount on every purchase you make with them. |
| 0:14.4 | Before we get to that code, I want to highlight a couple of products that, again, I personally use today. |
| 0:19.7 | One of the most impressive products they just |
| 0:22.6 | released is their Rush Backpack 2.0. Now, for many of you, whether you're going to the fire |
| 0:28.0 | station, the police station, whether you're traveling, with your family, whether you're taking |
| 0:31.6 | training courses, we have to fly, we have to drive, we have to take trains. And I have to say, |
| 0:37.3 | I own multiple backpacks, |
| 0:38.9 | many of 5-11s, different ones, but as far as a day pack, this one was the most impressive. |
| 0:44.3 | There are so many different compartments. The way it sits on your back is incredibly comfortable. |
| 0:49.1 | If you are a concealed carry person, there's also a spot for a weapon. So they've thought of multiple, multiple |
| 0:55.5 | things that a man or woman would have to do on a daily basis. That is in addition to all of the |
| 1:01.0 | products that I talk about a lot. Their uniforms fit for men or fit for women in the first responder |
| 1:07.4 | professions. The footwear that they offer, whether it's the Norris sneaker or the |
| 1:11.5 | Atlas system that is designed for foot health and therefore knees and back and hips and shoulders |
| 1:16.9 | and neck. As a civilian, I live in a lot of their clothes as well. Their jeans stretch. You can actually |
| 1:22.3 | squat down in them. We live in Florida here, so I wear a lot of their shorts, which again, very, |
| 1:27.4 | very lightweight material. |
| 1:28.3 | You can get it wet and it will dry almost immediately. |
| 1:31.3 | And then moving to the fitness and tactical space, I used to have just a regular weight vest. |
| 1:36.3 | Recently I switched to a 511 vest and actually bought ballistic plates as well. |
| 1:40.3 | My thinking was simply, if I'm going to have a, why not I have one that protects me as well. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from James Geering, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of James Geering and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.