Erin Brockovich Essays - Pacific Gas And Electric Company

Erin Brockovich The movie "Erin Brockovich" is based on a true story that happened in California during the year 1993. Julia Roberts wonderfully portrays Erin Brockovich as a single mother that is struggling to make ends meet. She is in a car accident and seeks legal help from Ed Masry and his law firm. After losing her court case, partially due to her foul mouth, Erin goes to work for Ed Masry filing papers as a simple job. Brockovich becomes curious about a particular case when she finds medical records in the same file as real estate matters. The case, which was a pro bono case for the law firm, involved Roberta Walker who lived near an industrial facility operated by Pacific Gas Electric (PGE) in a small town called Hinkley in California's the Mojave Desert. PGE was offering to buy her house at "fair market value," but Ms. Walker and her family were suffering from a variety of health issues and she did not want to sell. The legal files showed ongoing correspondence between PGE and Ms. Walke r about her medical conditions. The buy-out offer was unusual in that it was unsolicited and PGE was also offering to pay for doctor visits for her whole family. Erin Brockovich began digging through the county water board files to gather more information. The first paper Erin came across in the water board files was a notification by PGE to their plant neighbors informing the community that their facility was releasing chromium into the local water supply. PGE was issued Cleanup and Abatement Order No. 6-87-160 given by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board. This order stated that the company must clean up past waste discharges of hexavalent chromium at the Hinkley facility. Eventually, Erin learns that most of the people living near the PGE Hinckley plant are suffering from a range of health problems such as various forms of cancer, persistent nose bleeds, and constant headaches. Erin also discovers vital details that indicate that the illnesses are consistent with exposure to hexavalent chromium, the same material the company was emitting. This form of chromium was used in the facility to prevent corrosion of its water-cooling system. Unfortunately, this cancer-causing product leaked into the water table via the unlined water retention ponds of the plant thus contaminating the water in the Hinkley area. The people and animals that consumed the water were injured by the hexavalent chromium. Erin finds the direct link to the illnesses and the company through the local drinking water. The film explores many legal issues such as court procedures, alternative dispute resolutions, torts, and the ethics and business decision making of PGE. The torts brought by the injured parties in the film alleged that PGE ruined their health and devalued the land that they owned due to contaminated water. As a result of all the investigative work that Erin did, Ed Masry concedes that there is substantial evidence to link PGE to a liability and makes the decision to proceed legally on behalf of the Hinkley community. The legal team canvassed the community for victims affected by the chromium. Erin and Ed Masry found a total of 634 affected victims and proceeded to file a lawsuit suit against PGE for poisoning the Hinkley water supply. They purported that their chronic exposure to hexavalent chromium through the contaminated water supply damaged their health and left them susceptible to cancer and other maladies. The PGE Hinkley location was a gas compression facility. During operation, compression of gas generates extreme heat. The compressors must be cooled to keep them running. PGE used chromium-6 (hexavalent chromium) in the water cooling towers as a corrosion inhibitor. Hexavalent chromium is toxic to humans and animals. The wastewater from the cooling towers was sent out to the unlined retention ponds. Over the years the hexavalent chromium leached into the water table and eventually into the public's water wells. There was a plume of contamination that extended one-mile north of the plant which animals and humans both breathed into their lungs as well as consumed poisoned water from the groundwater supply. PGE told the Hinckley residents that non-hazardous chromium-3 was utilized in their cooling towers. Because