Sierra Club and Radium Girls Launch New #StopForeverChemicals Campaign

WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, the Sierra Club and Radium Girls are launching #StopForeverChemicals, a new social impact campaign aiming to ban toxic forever chemicals that never break down and are still used in household products today.

The campaign will be supported by:

• Digital PSA’s inspiring viewers to sign the #StopForeverChemicals petition. Found here and below.

• Interviews with talent and filmmakers (Lily Tomlin, Lydia Dean Pilcher, Abby Quinn, Colby Minifie, etc).

• Facebook Live conversation on Thurs Jan 28 at 10AM/1PM EST with Executive Producer Lily Tomlin, Activist Erin Brockovich, Sierra Club Toxics Expert Sonya Lunder, and more. Please RSVP here: sc.org/rsvp

Radium Girls -- starring Golden-Globe nominee Joey King, Abby Quinn and executive produced by Lily Tomlin -- premiered on Netflix on Jan 16th. Based on a true story, the film follows a group of young women who overcome powerful obstacles including deadly chemical exposure and fighting corporate interest. The impact campaign will channel viewers’ inspiration into real world action via a petition demanding the Environmental Protection Agency outlaw and clean up forever chemicals.  

PFAS chemicals -- formally known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) -- are commonly used in heat-,water-, and grease-resistant household products, like non-stick pans and durable rain gear. PFAS chemicals are also contaminating people, water, and food. Children are facing immune system damage, healthy pregnancies are in danger, and kidney, thyroid, and testicular cancer are on a disturbing rise. 

“We were inspired to make this film because these brave teenage whistleblowers are part of our collective history,” said filmmakers Lydia Dean Pilcher and Ginny Mohler. “Now we can begin to understand what their story truly meant.”

"I was drawn to this powerful story that highlights many of the major issues we still face today," said Lily Tomlin, an Executive Producer of Radium Girls and Sierra Club member. "I'm thrilled that we are able to use this story as a tool to join forces with the Sierra Club and bring awareness about toxic chemicals, workplace safety, and the role women have and continue to play in leading the way toward a safer environment for everyone."  

“The Sierra Club is thrilled to partner with Radium Girls to bring attention to this public health crisis and call on the EPA to ban forever chemicals, such as PFAS, that rampantly contaminate our communities and our environment,” said Sonya Lunder, Sierra Club Chemicals and Toxics Expert. “Even though we don’t use radium anymore, other notorious forever chemicals — which don’t break down in the environment and accumulate in our bodies — have yet to be completely banned and are still found in products today. It's a public health crisis, and it needs to be urgently addressed.”

Available for interviews upon request:

• Lily Tomlin, Executive Producer, Radium Girls

• Lydia Dean Pilcher, Producer and Co-director, Radium Girls

• Colby Minifie, Actress, Radium Girls

• Abby Quinn, Actress, Radium Girls

• Sonya Lunder, Chemicals & Toxics Expert, the Sierra Club

Pull Quotes from Theatrical Release Reviews:

“You can feel the urgency fueling Lydia Dean Pilcher and Ginny Mohler's historical drama about a little-known, shameful episode in our country's past. Despite taking place in the 1920s, Radium Girls feels particularly relevant in these times when the current administration has devoted itself with a passion to rolling back protections for workers.”(HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, Frank Scheck)

“A worthy entry in the category of workers’ rights movies“Radium Girls,” like “Silkwood,” is based on actual events.  “Directors Lydia Dean Pilcher and Ginny Mohler reveal a little-known part of history with a loudly beating feminist heart and a narrative grounded in reality.”  (NEW YORK TIMES: Kristen Yoonsoo Kim)