Resolutions:

The injustice that occurred to the residents of Hinkley, California was resolved through the settlement issued at the conclusion of the class action law suit. The settlement involved both monetary compensation and the promise of PG&E to clean up the damage they had caused the environment.

Monetary Compensation:

The case against PG&E involved 36 claims and each wanted some amount of money to be compensated to them by PG&E for their suffering. The arbitration trial took nearly two years to settle. During this time the plaintiffs' lawyers had to provide evidence that the plaintiffs’ medical problems were directly caused by the chromium VI that was leaked into the environment through PG&E’s actions.  All of the lawyer’s hard works resulted in PG&E compensating all of the named plaintiffs in the amount of $333 million in total. This was the largest settlement for a class action law suit in US History (Smith 2006). The amount of money might seem extensive; however, when considering the amount of people that suffered and their huge medical expenses it is hard to imagine the money being able to cover everything. In addition, it is impossible to put a price on the suffering and pain that all those experienced and no amount of money will ever help them forget what had happened. The worst part for the victims was that they never received an apology or an admittance of wrong doing from PG&E.

Recently in 2008, Pacific Gas & Electric agreed to pay $20 million to an additional 100 plaintiffs for the alleged contamination of Hinkley, California’s, drinking water with chromium VI (Erin Brockovich 2008). PG&E originally paid $295 million in February 2006 to 1,100 of the 1,600 original plaintiffs. PG&E explained that the incident should have never happened and that they were sorry for the poor health and premature deaths experienced by the residents of Hinkley.  The pay out was expanded from residents of Hinkley to Topock and Kettlemen City in California. The effects did not just stay in one area, it spread out to other areas which demonstrates the impact that this disaster had.  According to one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, Steve Wainer, with Thomas Anton & Associates, the suite came down to 104 plaintiffs with two separate settlements (Erin Brockovich 2008). He said 88 of them won $20 million and another 16 won $4.3 million.  Unfortunately, two died during litigation. The rest were knocked out of litigation due to the statute of limitations. 

Environment Clean Up:

Another aspect of the settlement was that PG&E was forced to amend the damage they cause to the environment. The Lahontan Water Board placed orders on PG&E to stop plume expansion and to clear out the chromium plume (Erin Brockovich 1999). In addition they were required by the State of California to increase their cleanup efforts near the Mojave Desert natural gas facility to prevent a plume of tainted groundwater from seeping into the Colorado River. The California Department of Toxic Substances Control wanted the company to reduce the high levels of chromium VI in a 70-foot well about 60 feet from the river in order to reduce the risk of contamination.  In 2005, there was no apparent level of the chemical in the river, but there is an great need to avoid this from happening.  In March of 2004, there were traces of chromium VI ranging all the way up to 100 parts per billion and were found in wells 125 feet from the river.  The state ordered PG&E to pump 20,000 gallons per day of contaminated groundwater to a wastewater treatment plant.  They were also required to test the water quality monthly. 

Information regarding the clean up can be found at:

http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/lahontan/water_issues/projects/pge/docs/pgehinkley_cao_cvrltr0908.pdf.

The current site activity can be found at;

http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/lahontan/water_issues/projects/pge/docs/factsheet8_08.pdf

Consequences:

The consequences regarding this case can be identified in several areas.  There were consequences to the environment, animals, humans the company itself.  All of the impacts could have been avoided if PG & E would have dealt with the issue at hand when it was first discovered. 

Consequences to Humans and Animals:

The chemical that was placed in the wells and ponds posed a threat to animals and humans in Hinkley. The toxin was present in the water that people drank, swam, and bathed in.  Humans drinking the water tainted with chromium VI experienced carcinogenic effects (Erin Brockovich 1999).  Individuals that lived in the area suffered through hysterectomies, ovarian cancer, bladder problems, and throat problems. They also experienced nose irritations and nose bleeds form inhaling the toxin (Erin Brockovich 1999). It was associated with skin rashes, upset stomachs, ulcers, weakened immune systems, kidney and liver damage. The resident’s suffering was intensified due the continual exposure to the contaminated water. However, the people of Hinkley originally believed that the water to be safe because PG&E had assured them that it was. 

In addition to the effects that the people of Hinkley experienced at the time of the trial there is new evidence that there will be continued long term effects of the exposure. “Researchers announced today that there is strong evidence a chemical referred to as hexavalent chromium, or chromium 6, causes cancer in laboratory animals when it is consumed in drinking water” (Michaels 2008). This new evidence not only proves the negative effects of chromium VI but also indicates that there could be future health issues. Since the damage to DNA that causes cancer can take time to build up before adverse effects are felt there are potential medical conditions that will arise in Hinkley. Also the study can be used as evidence in other cases involving the health effects caused by chromium poisoning. This can cause many big businesses to lose significant amounts of money due to the damage they have inflicted.

Consequences to PG&E:

PG&E lost billions of dollars in the lawsuit. They had to pay huge amounts of money to the residents of Hinkley for the settlement. The case in Hinkley also set off several similar lawsuits against PG&E for negligence and damages caused by the use of chromium VI. The company eventually went bankrupt and now cannot continue paying the money they owe to the people they hurt (Erin Brockovich 1999).

New Technology Developed due to the Hinkley Trial:

Due to the efforts of the town of Hinkley in seeking justice, researchers at the University of Rhode Island has developed a new group of nontoxic, corrosion-resistant polymers that can serve as a replacement for chromates (Ehrenman 2005). These new polymers will work just as effectively as chromium VI with out the extreme side effects caused by exposure. If the town of Hinkley had not brought this issue to light there would not be production of these new polymers that can prevent the poisoning in Hinkley from happening in other towns 

Case Study 1