Week 3 EOC: PG&E

How much money is your health worth?

In 1952 The small town of Hinkley California, located in the Mojave Desert, had its groundwater contaminated with hexavalent chromium. After many illnesses and deaths due to the intoxication, the situation ending up resulting in a multimillion dollar legal settlement against Pacific Gas and Electric  in 1996. The case was then dramatized in the Julia Roberts film Erin Brockovich who was the real life legal assistant that dug up all the dirt on PG&E making the settlement possible. all together a estimated 1,100 All together a estimated 1,100 people has serious effects due to PG&E that no amount of money can ever account for. 

PG&E was not only aware of the horrible effects that followed the use of chromium to the local residents but insinuated through the use of flyers that it could Benefit you health. The following was puled from the original PG&E FLYER 

Chromium occurs in  HYPERLINK "http://www.clwa.org/chromium.htm" \t "_blank" two forms. The form that is present in groundwater can cause health effects in high doses. The cleanup program, however, will result in chromium levels that meet the very conservative drinking water standards set by the EPA. In addition, the form of chromium that will be left on soils after irrigation is nontoxic. In fact, chromium in this form is a naturally occurring metal that is an essential ingredient in the human diet, one that is often included in multiple vitamin/mineral supplements.

Reading these words, one could reasonably think PG&E's hexavalent chromium was almost beneficial. Failure to properly identify the dangerous type of "chromium" it had dumped into the environment wasn't PG&E's only omission. The flyer made it sound like detection of contamination at the compressor station was a new development. It wasn't. PG&E first knew about plant contamination by at least 1965. (1)

PG&E did pay a multimillion dollar price for their actions but in reality no cost can compensation what the people had endure. "It wasn't just the people who lived by the (PG&E) plant who were affected but everyone living in Hinkley," said Stephen Wainer, an attorney for the defendants. (2) This case is pure cruelty the workers and local residence trusted PG&E, in the end got a some money and a life long fight for their health. Putting profits over humanity is a  typical and depressing level of greed. 

The case has become a landmark for other plaintiffs whose "Preconception" injuries would previously have been completely disregarded. (3) I can only hope this case continues to be a rock in the justice system, hoping that something positive could come from it. 

CITED BLOG LINKS:   

1.Erin Brockovich(Anderson v Pacific Gas & Electric)                                    

HYPERLINK "http://www.awesomestories.com/content/about_author.htm" \t "_blank" Author: Carole D. Bos, J.D. 

2.PG&E Settles final lawsuits over chromium 6 poisoning; Associated press
http://www.dailynews.com/20080404/pge-settles-final-lawsuits-over-chromium-6-poisoning

3.Erin Brockovich(Anderson v Pacific Gas & Electric)                                    

HYPERLINK "http://www.awesomestories.com/content/about_author.htm" \t "_blank" Author: Carole D. Bos, J.D.