ClientEarth invite you to an exclusive screening of the documentary In Our Blood: The Forever Chemicals Scandal.
Event Details:
Described by scientists as the worst pollution crisis humanity has ever faced, PFAS “forever chemicals” are everywhere – with potentially dire consequences for the environment, public health and the economy.
‘In Our Blood’ follows a community in Yorkshire as it’s grappling with the discovery that PFAS pollution may have contaminated them – and what it means for their health.
The evening will begin with drinks and light bites on the Barbican’s Conservatory Terrace, followed by the screening and a panel discussion.
Speakers:
Pippa Neill, Environment Reporter, The Guardian
Pippa Neill is an Environment Reporter at The Guardian and formerly News Editor at The ENDS Report. She was an Associate Producer on ITV’s In Our Blood: The Forever Chemicals Scandal, created after her investigative reporting revealed Bentham in North Yorkshire to be the most PFAS‑polluted place in the UK.
Hélène Duguy, Lawyer, ClientEarth
Hélène joined ClientEarth’s chemicals pollution team in August 2020, where she focuses on matters related to the implementation of the EU’s main chemicals regulation, REACH. Before joining ClientEarth, she worked as a legal adviser at the US law firm Squire Patton Boggs, specialising in EU environmental regulatory issues including circular economy, chemicals and sustainable product policy. Hélène graduated in Public Law and Political Science from Université Jean Moulin in Lyon and completed a joint Masters at Université Toulouse Capitole and Maastricht University. She also holds an LL.M in Environmental Law from McGill University.
Georgia Elliott-Smith, Founder and Director, Fighting Dirty
Fighting Dirty is a non-profit using legal action to tackle pollution at source by strengthening UK environmental policy and regulation. With a 30-year career as an engineer and corporate sustainability consultant, Georgia has successfully challenged Government, including paving the way for waste incinerators to be included in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme, and forcing an international overhal of regulations that allow 55 million UK waste tyres to be illegally burned in India every year. She is currently leading a High Court case against the new "fast track" introduced in Chemicals Regulations 2026, arguing that it weakens scrutiny of new chemicals and creates unacceptable risks to human health and the environment from novel substances, including PFAS.
Rachel Woolerton, Bentham Resident
Rachel has lived in Bentham for over thirty years; she raised her children here and worked as a Practice Nurse at the GP Surgery for over twenty years. Her job gave her a close understanding of the sensitive challenges people face around their health and wellbeing. She is a neighbour of the Angus Fire site, giving her a direct, lived perspective on how PFAS contamination affects local families and communities. She brings a compassionate, humanistic voice to today’s discussion on PFAS in Bentham and the human impact of environmental exposure locally, nationally and worldwide.
