Water And Water Pollution In The Movie Erin Brockovich

While they acknowledge that they are dumping a chemical into the tap water, they lie to the residents of Hinkley by telling them that it is a different type of chromium, chromium III, that isn’t dangerous. Lying is the simplest and biggest ethical mistake there can be as it is always intentional and causes harm to the other side who believes what is being said. Not only does PG&E lie about the type of chromium being dumped, they also try to cover it up through various methods. First, they have paid the medical expenses of people in the town as a way to show that they are doing their part to help, when really this is a small expense compared with what the ethical dumping of chromium or an alternate form of chemical would consist of. Secondly, they are bribing the people with large amounts of money to buy their homes and the land they are on, which holds the dangerous chromium. Once again this is a cheaper way to hide their issue compared to the cost of having to fix their practice or losing their company. They even try to give out large amounts of money to stop the case when they know that one is being started against them. The people of Hinkley have trouble seeing past this, because of the good that PG&E does for the community overall with jobs and their economy, etc. This is an issue with Utilitarianism ethics. It is hard to see past what is good overall for the most majority of people and realize the negative effects this overall good is having for some people.

By having knowledge of the chromium in the water supply, PG&E should have been required to let the people know that were affected by it. By not telling the citizens, they were withholding information that affected these people’s lives. Because a risk was created, consequences came, and nothing was done to prevent such injuries that did occur, PG&E should have been considered negligent.

When you think of problems in the world today, water pollution isn’t one that would normally come up. In fact it is one of the worst problems in the world today. Water pollution, by definition, is the contamination of streams, lakes, underground water, bays, or oceans by any substances harmful to living things. All living things contain water and most need water to survive, so water pollution is a big problem. If severe, the pollution can kill off birds, fish, and any animals that use the water source. In some cases even killing an entire species.

In the documentary the director go to a town in Pennsylvania called Dimock. Where some of the residents are claiming since fracking started in the town there drinking water has been contaminated. When Phelim McAleer goes to Dimock to talk to the residents, most of the residents claim there's nothing wrong with their water.

During Erin’s discovery of the facts of the case we begin to see the breakdown of the ethical values of PG&E. The dramatization focuses on the deception that PG&E has cast over the inhabitants of Hinkley, California. For years, the company has been polluting the environment with a known deadly toxin, Chromium six. The toxin seeped into natural underground water reservoirs then into the unsuspecting town

DuPont was aware of the harmful effects this chemical had on animals and people but ignored the issue in accordance of high profit. Not only were people affected in the local community, but people in surrounding areas were also affected. Thousands of people and large amounts of property were inflicted with poor air quality and poor drinking water. DuPont had later discovered that there were dust fumes emerging from the factories that were unhealthy for people to inhale, and later found it in the drinking water. DuPont also found an astonishing key of evidence, they had found PFOA in the water, and it was twice the amount of what was allowed, and could cause some serious issues. They had known about the levels and did not notify any workers or anyone in the community due to the fear of loss of profit. Men and women were coming home with a fever, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. These workers endured injurious experiences, and were never notified about the condition in which they were working. DuPont was named as not trustworthy, and at times known to practice illegal activity. After going through the experiences of which they just endured, they might go through the process of mental thinking or what they just went through was not right and should not have happened to me. That process is known as

The article from the Huffington Post entitled Welcome to Beautiful Parkersburg, West Virginia: Home to the most brazen, deadly corporate gambits in U.S. history describes the atrocities performed in part by the DuPont chemical plant in West Virginia. The plant was dispersing its hazardous chemicals into the streams and landfills. The hazardous chemical known as C8 was causing extreme health effects to the local residents of the town of Parkersburg. People were getting severely ill and people’s cattle were dying faster than they could be replaced. Yes, these acts were heinous, but the worst of it all was the fact that the company had so much control of the area that they were able to keep doing what they were doing and only face minor penalties if any…sickening. So basically the lesson here is, if you have money and the resources, you can control just about anything. DuPont had both, and that is why they were able to do what they did. C8, or Perfluorooctanoic acid was the chemical that was causing the massive health issues across the state. People were wanting to sue DuPont for the takeoff of C8 being into the water that they were partaking in.

The prevalence of environmental issues in the public awareness reached a point where government was forced to take action in 1979. When Henry Love abandoned construction of a canal in New York in 1920, the site was bought by Hooker Chemical and used as a toxic chemical waste dumping site for the next 33 years (Schons 2011). Then in 1953 Hooker Chemical sold the Love Canal to the school board, and construction of a school began. In the mid to late 1970s, when children’s shoes began melting to the ground and children got sick the residents organized and protested. Media coverage increased and showed toxic black sludge oozing into people’s basements (Schons 2011). The lack of awareness of environmental and health consequences of chemical dumping

Moving forward into the movie and the case, looking at the big picture, there are several leads and connections that point towards “Beatrice Foods” and “W.R. Grace” to blame. Throughout the entirety of the case, it seemed that it was becoming obvious that they were the companies that caused the toxin contamination in the town’s water supply.

The suit accuses the parties of "breaching the contractual obligation" to supply about 30,000 households with potable water.It also says that residents are still being billed for receiving the contaminated water.The state administration has denied allegations of negligence.The crisis erupted after Flint

Attorney Jan filed suit against the two corporations for contaminating the drinking water. Jan used geological evidence, experts, and eyewitnesses to prove that the plants owned by Beatrice and Grace had contaminated the water. Some of the elements in this case was negligence, breach of duty, duty of care, and actual harm. Beatrice and Grace Foods owned companies that are contaminating the water supply, both companies are at fault for disposing of waste in the water supply, they have a duty to properly dispose of waste, this is the cause for some many deaths of children in the Woburn area. All the facts of negligence are displayed in this case, so there is no reason not to prosecute these companies to the fullest extent of the law. Big corporations think that they won’t be held liable for mistreatment of action, but Grace and Beatrice need to face the consequences for their actions. Some of the witnesses came forward and stated chemicals were being disposed of improperly by the plant, so these companies should be held liable and do the right thing to compensate all the families affected bu this unruly negligence. No amount of money can replace the loss and suffering these families have to endure, all they wanted is an apology, someone to take responsibility and clean up the water supply in Woburn. Whether it was intentional or not, both companies are liable for negligent to cause intentional harm. Some of the employees knew that they had been contaminating the water supply of Woburn, Massachusetts. Their poor actions had resulted in a chemical of TCP, a cancer causing agent. The water was not safe to drink. Many children drank the water and developed cancer and died from drinking the contaminated water. They should be held accountable for their actions. There is no doubt that they are guilty of negligence. When Jan pleads and contacts the EPA

However, despite his remarkable leadership, Welch failed to fulfill GE’s duty of social responsibility. In his tenure, he failed to protect societal assets or avoid harm to the environment. GE contributed to environmental degradation in areas where the company manufactured its products. Under Welch’s reign, the company polluted the Hudson River with one of the most toxic and persistent substance known as the Polychlorinated biphenyl’s (PCBs). This substance is very harmful to the environment and known to cause cancer in humans. GE is accused of dumping approximately 1.3 million pounds of PCBs into the Hudson River in the period 1947-1977. This led to an entire 197-mile stretch of Hudson River turning into a superfund site in the nation. GE

Erin Brockovich, a 2000 Jersy Film Production, staring Julia Roberts is based on a true story that involved Pacific Gas and Electric Company using hexavalent chromium or chromium six as a rust inhibitor to prevent corrosion of pistons used in engines. According to the movie, for fourteen years, the Pacific Gas and Electric Company had been dumping water containing chromium six into ponds and covering them over. The ponds were not lined and the chromium based water leaked into the local water supply exposing residents of Hinkley, California to chromium six. Repeated exposure to hexavalent chromium causes chronic headaches, cancer, nose bleeds, bone and organ deterioration, respiratory failure, liver failure, heart failure, bone or organ

This is the first issue that proves to be unethical. The company lies to the residents in the area about contamination by hexavalent chromium. This is unethical because the company had the specific intention of lying to the residents in order to keep their company running. The company knew that it would suffer if the truth came out about the contamination. Since they lied about the hexavalent chromium, most of the residents suffered from illness due to contaminated water. The company then was involved in another unethical act as they offered to provide initial medical exams, so that they could easily hide the truth that the illnesses came from the contamination. As a result from the many health issues residents received, a great deal of money was spent on doctors visits and care. As the company tried to hide the contamination issues, they ultimately caused the sickness of the surrounding individuals. Pacific Gas &Electric Company is responsible for lying and deceiving, as well as knowingly letting residents suffer from illness. They intentionally risked the well being of the community that surrounds the corporation, so that their business could still

In Erin Brockovich Brockovich fights for justice for a town whose water was poisoned by a California Power Company. The company PG&E is using dangerous amounts of chromium in Hinkley California and the residents are beginning to suffer from extreme illnesses such as cancer, seizures, and other life threatening conditions. Brockovich becomes a leader by being a champion for these people when no one else was fighting for them. Despite the fact that she is just a legal assistant, she manages to convince the people of Hinkley to let her fight for their rights. This is what makes Brockovich so transformational as a leader. The people of Hinkley were simply accepting their fate until she showed up. She put in the work and started the revolution that lead to their huge win in court. Brockovich was only able