In the case of Erin Brockavitch against PG&E
over contaminated water “Chromium 6” according to Erin made the pollulation of Hinkley
, California sick, ill, with severe
chronic nose bleed and possible cancer because of the water over the last 32
years, The company had detected the
chemical in a monitoring well north of its compressor station in Hinkley,
California. The
levels were ten times greater than the maximum amount allowed by law. Known as
a cancer causing, since the 1920s, chrome 6 is especially dangerous to lungs. Since
many of the Hinkley residents were reporting respiratory problems, a link to
chrome 6 contamination seemed possible. The case dated to 1951, when spent
chromium, added to cooling water to reduce corrosion, leaked from unlined
retention ponds and seeped into the groundwater under Hinkley, making its way
into community wells. The plaintiffs' attorneys claimed that some of the town's
water supply was tainted with 140 times the amount of chromium allowed under
government standards. They suggested that most of the cancers were caused when
children played in the water and inhaled particles. PG&E used chromium-infused
water as a coolant at some of its natural gas compressor stations. It allegedly
discharged that tainted water into local groundwater supplies. Gloria
Darling, 58, a small business owner in Barstow, Calif., who lived in Hinkley
during the 1960s, said Monday, "There was a realization that chromium
contamination by PG&E very well could have been the cause of the medical
problems of so many people: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2006-02-06-pge-settlement-brockovich_x.htm
During the case Erin Brockaovich interviewed many people, found
a way to get copies of incriminating records and discussed the whole situation
with her law-firm boss, Ed Masry (Albert Finney). They decided to file a
class-action lawsuit. It ultimately led to a huge settlement - $333 million -
for the area residents. This became the biggest lawsuit in the U.S history but
before wining the case the case stood in arbitration and finally settled in
court for the 33 million. Which according to many on about 189 million was left to 634 families of Hinkley, California an some were even given as little as 50
thousand.
The issues of weather the
water contaminated or not according to Micheal
fumento argued that there is
no significant evidence to prove that Chromium-6 was the cause of the variety
of the ailments suffered by the people of Hinkley, California. Erin Brockovich
then responded to his article by trying to support the claims of the lawyers,
saying that Chromium-6 kills. "No data were located in the available
literature that suggested that it is carcinogenic by the oral route of
exposure." http://fumento.com/brockovich/erinwsj.html
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