Brockovich II? Activist Returns To Aid Town

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Brockovich II? Activist Returns To Aid Town

http://www.npr.org/2010/12/13/131967600/erin-brockovich-ii-activist-returns-to-a\

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by Kahn

December 13, 2010

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Al Cuizon/Courtesy of The Sun, San Bernardino County

Advocate Brockovich meets with Hinkley, Calif., residents during the

Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board presentation earlier this month.

Al Cuizon/Courtesy of The Sun, San Bernardino County Advocate Brockovich

meets with Hinkley, Calif., residents during the Lahontan Regional Water Quality

Control Board presentation earlier this month.

text size A A A December 13, 2010 Brockovich is back.

Brockovich famously took on utility Pacific Gas & Electric over contamination of

drinking water in Hinkley, Calif., a saga chronicled in a movie that won actress

an in 2001. Thanks to Brockovich's efforts, in the 1990s

PG & E settled a multimillion-dollar lawsuit with hundreds of residents and

pledged to clean up the contamination.

But it appears the plume of contaminated groundwater is spreading. And

Brockovich finds herself again in Hinkley, fighting for residents who say the

toxic chemical chromium 6 is still in their water supply.

a is one of Hinkley's concerned residents. She used to live about 4

miles away from where she lives now. Back in 1993, PG & E bought her old house

after discovering high levels of chromium 6 contamination in the water wells.

PG & E used the toxic chemical in the 1950s and '60s to clean equipment at its

local station.

wanted to stay in Hinkley, so she picked a 7-acre lot of dry brushland to

build a home for herself and one for her daughter's family. She says she was

told the plume of contaminated groundwater would never migrate this far.

" They were taking care of it, they were containing it, " she says. " I thought I

was safe. Why would I think differently? Why would I bring my kids here if I was

not safe? "

But this summer, tests on 's wells showed they were contaminated with

chromium 6. , who has had numerous tumors and cysts removed, as well as a

hysterectomy, said she was stunned.

" Oh, my God, they are doing it again. I couldn't believe it, " says. " And

I just called right then and there. I said, 'Matter of life or death. I

need you to call me.' "

Brockovich came right away.

The two have been friends since the early 1990s, when Brockovich, then a legal

assistant with a bodacious style and wardrobe, came to Hinkley and began a

years-long fight against PG & E.

At a restaurant in nearby Barstow, Calif. — there are no restaurants in Hinkley

— reflects on how Brockovich has changed since they first met.

We are absolutely committed to the cleanup of the plume and the control of the

area.

- PG & E Spokesman Jeff

" When I saw her a couple of weeks ago, I said, ', where are your boobs and

your heels?' She goes, 'Well, I'm older now and wiser,' " says with a

laugh.

" Wise enough not to trust PG & E, that's for sure, " Brockovich says.

In 1996, Brockovich helped win a record $333 million settlement from PG & E on

behalf of hundreds of Hinkley residents.

Brockovich says she can't believe that after all this time, the contamination

has spread. She blames state and local regulators for not supervising PG & E's

cleanup, but she mostly blames the utility.

" PG & E are the ones that know where that plume's moving. They have the money,

they've got the experts, they've got the maps. They should have been warning

these people a long time ago: 'The plume is coming your way and you've got to

go,' " Brockovich says.

For its part, PG & E says it has been closely monitoring the contamination and has

had a lot of success containing it.

At PG & E's Hinkley office, spokesman Jeff says he understands that many

residents are anxious, but he says it's not clear that the contamination plume

is growing.

" I think it's a slight oversimplification to simply characterize it as that, "

says. " Because of subsurface water movements, sometimes you see slight

expansion in one area where you see contraction in the other area. But we are

absolutely committed to the cleanup of the plume and the control of the area. "

It's still not cleaned up. You are still dodging the ball. You are still not

telling the truth, and you're still poisoning people.

- Brockovich

says the utility is also willing to talk with residents about purchasing

their property if they feel they need to move out of Hinkley.

At a recent meeting, hundreds of Hinkley residents packed the auditorium of the

town's only school to get an update on the contamination from local water

officials.

Many people, like Himmelrick, were angry.

" My boy has got a messed up ear from a birth defect. It's not even there. He has

no ear on one side. My stomach is messed up. I've been stupid for eight years of

my oldest daughter's life for letting her drink that water, " Himmelrick says.

PG & E representatives were there, too, explaining the latest cleanup efforts,

signing up residents for free water well testing and recruiting anyone

interested in serving on a community advisory board.

Brockovich showed up, too. With a crowd surrounding her, she unleashed on PG & E.

" It's still not cleaned up. You are still dodging the ball. You are still not

telling the truth, and you're still poisoning people. What do you want me to

say? They're pathetic, " Brockovich says.

She says it might take legal action to get the utility to do right by these

people.

And she's not the only one thinking that way. There were several lawyers roaming

the meeting, too. They ran out of business cards within the first few minutes.

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