The book was eventually translated into many languages and has. Hinkley groundwater remediation program home a website for. Exsitu treatment involves extracting contaminated groundwater and removing all. By december 2014, more than 630 monitoring wells were installed in the area fig. Chromium in drinking water causes cancer scientific american. The town erin brockovich rescued is basically a ghost town now. On tonights newshour, miles obrien reports on the decline of hinkley, calif. Hinkley a new background study to determine the naturally occurring level of hexavalent chromium, or chromium 6, found in the hinkley valley has been commissioned by pacific gas and electric and the regional water board overseeing the groundwater cleanup. Groundwater volumes shall be recorded in a permanent log book at the frequency and. Heres the notsohollywood version of what really happened in.
The chromium affects an area of groundwater at least eight. She is best known for building the 1993 pacific gas and electric company litigation case. Erin brockovich town in second battle over pollution environment. The contamination levels were significantly greater than the maximum amount allowed by law at that time, established by environmental protection agency epa in 1991 of 100 ppb parts per billion. Hinkley groundwater remediation program home a website. Crvi contamination near hinkley since the late 1980s. Brautbar was the treating physician of the first cases of the famous hinkley water contamination case, which is known as the movie erin brockovich. The contamination levels were 10 times greater than the maximum amount allowed by law at the time. Erin brockovich is an american environmental activist and legal clerk. Groundwater contamination with chromium6 in hinkley. Hinkley point b currently provides 945 megawatts to the national grid, employing approximately 535 full time edf energy employees, plus over 220 full time contract partners.
Dec 01, 2010 erin brockovich town in second battle over pollution this article is more than 9 years old residents of hinkley, made famous by julia roberts film, fight to stop history repeating itself over. Erin brockovich bio, facts, family life of environmental. Aug 06, 2014 the plant was joined by hinkley point b in 1976, which is still operational under the frenchowned company edf energy. Some of the contaminated wastewater, however, percolated into the groundwater underneath hinkley, affecting an area approximately two miles long and nearly a mile wide. News articles archive hinkley groundwater remediation.
An empty house sits in the path of the plume of tainted groundwater in hinkley in 2010. Whether you want to know about hinkleys history, census information, data or when the library is open, these key links make it easy to get around hinkley. This webpage contains information from state and federal public health agencies, including fact sheets for chemicals of concern at hinkley, available public health assessments, and information from the california cancer registry. Hinkley compressor station chromium contamination cleanup.
Check out this biography to know about her birthday, childhood, family life, achievements and fun facts about her. A powerful scene from the oscarwinning movie erin brockovich. California repudiates erin brockovich on hexavalent chromium. Erin brockovich wikimili, the best wikipedia reader.
Since the hinkley groundwater contamination lawsuit, a group of californiabased scientists with organizations such as the desert sierra cancer surveillance program dscsp and chemrisk have argued against the claim that chromium 6 is genotoxic, downplaying the number of cancer cases and challenging a cancer cluster in the hinkley area. Erin brockovich movie what is the true story behind it. According to sedina banks, author of the erin brockovich effect. Hinkley ca census records community information for hinkley. Mar, 20 on tonights newshour, miles obrien reports on the decline of hinkley, calif.
Water and air pollution have altered the course of the earths history. References to published books, academic articles, movies or published documentaries. Groundwater contamination with chromium6 in hinkley, california. Hinkley groundwater contamination project gutenberg self. Hinkley chromium cleanup lahontan regional water quality.
A component of pnls work is providing regulatory briefings regarding global project progress, as described here. No hollywood ending for erin brockovichs tainted town. Hinkley groundwater contamination hinkley had its groundwater contaminated with hexavalent chromium starting in 1952, resulting from a compressor station for natural gas transmission pipelines. Groundwater pollution also called groundwater contamination occurs when pollutants are released to the ground and make their way down into groundwater. The creeping plume of chemically laced drinking water that plagued the mojave desert town of hinkley and led to a major motion picture about the scandal has continued to spread despite a longstanding order for pacific gas and electric co. Environmental report issued on groundwater cleanup. Residents of hinkley, made famous by julia roberts film, fight to stop history repeating itself over contaminated water supply.
She used a common rhetorical trick, known as the texas sharpshooter fallacy, to claim that a cluster of cancer and other diseases in the small town of hinkley, california was the result of groundwater contamination by hexavalent chromium. Between 1952 and 1966, hinkleys groundwater was turned toxic by hexavalent chromium. Brockovich used junk science to score a jackpot settlement. Environmental justice litigation in california scholarship. Hinkley groundwater contamination case and the kettleman hills waste facility. Hinkley was a small farming community in the 1990s when residents learned that groundwater was polluted with chromium 6, a cancercausing heavy metal. Some of the wastewater percolated to the groundwater, resulting in hexavalent chromium pollution. This aquifer serves as a significant source of water for domestic, industrial, and agricultural uses. Welcome to the heart of hinkley city data where you can quickly find the key hinkley detailed data and census information you need. The case alleged contamination of drinking water with hexavalent chromium also written as chromium vi, crvi or cr6 in the southern california town of hinkley. With tainted groundwater, some of the families that bathed in, drank, and cooked with water from the aquifer became sick. The erin brockovich town is still toxic and nearly abandoned grist. The purpose of the background chromium study was to determine what concentrations of chromium naturally occur in groundwater in the hinkley area. Erin brockovich town in second battle over pollution this article is more than 9 years old residents of hinkley, made famous by julia roberts film, fight to stop history repeating itself over.
Learning about hinkleys poisoned water erin brockovich. Successive rounds of real estate buyouts have reduced the population to less than half of what it was in 2012. Shes touched by the story, and stirs her recalcitrant law firm into action. To facilitate understanding of geology, hydrology, and the occurrence of natural and anthropogenic cr vi, for the purposes of this study the site has been divided into the western, northern, and eastern subareas ch2mhill, 20b. Erin brockovich is a woman that had a very difficult life until she worked with lawyer edward l. There she discovered that people of the town of hinkley were sick because of groundwater contamination. At the center of the case was a facility, the hinkley compressor station, built in 1952, a part of a naturalgas pipeline connecting to the san francisco bay area. Geological survey hydrologist to research natural levels of chromium 6. One line in here says it all about empathy and securing relationships with people.
Mar 14, 20 pbs newshours miles obrien travels to hinkley, ca, the town whose multimillion dollar settlement for groundwater contamination inspired the movie erin brockovich. Hinkley water tainted by chromium 6 spreading sfgate. Nov 08, 2010 the creeping plume of chemically laced drinking water that plagued the mojave desert town of hinkley and led to a major motion picture about the scandal has continued to spread despite a long. Activist returns to aid town erin brockovich is back in hinkley, calif. As the history of environmental justice and environmentalism as a whole have. The erin brockovich town is still toxic and nearly. In 1991, the water board issued permits to treat the contaminated groundwater using land treatment units. This type of water pollution can also occur naturally due to the presence of a minor and unwanted constituent, contaminant or impurity in the groundwater, in which case it is more likely referred to as contamination rather than pollution.
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