Posted on 12/14/2010 9:26:20 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Hinkley, California, the town made famous in the Oscar-winning Julia Roberts movie Erin Brockovich, does not show any evidence of an increased rate of cancers.
Pacific Gas and Electric, which released a toxic plume of hexavalent chromium 6 from a Hinkley-based natural gas pipeline station, paid a record $333 million to settle a class-action suit in 1996. But the California Cancer Registry has now completed three studies that show cancer rates remained normal in from 1988 to 2008.
From a very strange story by the Los Angeles Times' Louis Sahagun, who starts out with the Registry's findings but then lists more anecdotes about residents (including an eight-year old dog) who claim PG&E-related ailments:
From 1996 to 2008, 196 cancers were identified among residents of the census tract that includes Hinkley a slightly lower number than the 224 cancers that would have been expected given its demographic characteristics, said epidemiologist John Morgan, who conducted the California Cancer Registry survey.
The survey did not attempt to explain why any individual in Hinkley contracted cancer, nor did it diminish the importance of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. cleaning up a plume of groundwater with elevated levels of chromium 6, Morgan said.
"In this preliminary assessment we only looked at cancer outcomes, not specific types of cancer," Morgan said. "However, we did look at a dozen cancer types in earlier surveys of the same census tract for the years between 1988 and 1998. Overall, the results of those surveys were almost identical to the new findings, and none of the cancers represented a statistical excess."
The LAT calls the rate of cancers in Hinkley "fewer...than expected." That depends on who was doing the expectin'. Back in 2000, when the movie came out, Walter Olson wrote in Reason that the Hinkley cancer cluster did not seem to be materializing and gave a thumbs down to the performances of the actual (rather than the Hollywood) Brockovich and her boss, Thousand Oaks personal injury lawyer Edward Masry.
Coincidentally, Brockovich is now back in Hinkley, pursuing claims about a return of the chromium plume.
>> Wearing clothes that are 3 sizes too small must affect the circulation to your brain (or something).
pumping one’s chest full of silicone compounds the problem
Ping.
That was a good movie.
Indeed. It was a rather fair and accurate account of the group and its actions.
What is this thing that the writer keeps saying, "hexavalent chromium 6"? If it isn't just redundancy, it looks like somebody is confused about the naming of nuclear isotopes.
Of course, maybe it's that way in the movie. Not that I'm gonna trouble myself to find out.
Could have been worse, they could have been releasing plumes of Dihydrogen Monoxide.
“Say the name Erin Brockovich and you think, strong, tough, stubborn and sexy. Erin is all that and definitely more.”
Who puts that kind of statement on their own website? (not to mention ‘having’ an official personal website).
Does this mean that PG&E can get their money back?
A while back, all of Hollywood turned out to a gala ceremony trying to convince us Julia Roberts was so beautiful. It makes one wonder why they felt they needed to do that.
Oh, what a surprise. Hollyweird having NO IDEA what it is talking about AGAIN!
and it shows how leftist some of the German govt officials pursuing them were
the German and Italian left went way beyond where the college left did here 40 years ago....
interesting movie...it's on On-Demand cable now
"This product is known to the State of California to cause something or other."
In (somewhat) related news, I note that Cheaper Than Dirt is going to stop selling ammo to CA residents next year.
I think it showed how the game used Ulrike and then discarded her when they no longer needed her.
I think Martine Gedeck is one of the best actresses around, I checked the movie out, because I thought she was great in The Lives of Others.
Another good German movie (funny how now all of my favorite movies seem to be German ones), that I just saw is “The Edukators.” It has the guy from Goodbye Lenin!/Inglourious Basterds and the actress who played Sophie Scholl.
Gee, say it ain’t so. Another liberal lie in a movie script.
It sounds like the name of the planet where Kirk marooned Kahn.
KAHN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m very familiar with Cancer Registries, and let me warn everyone here that just because the case isn’t registered doesn’t mean it didn’t occur. The registries, particularly back that far, MISS a lot of cases due to lack of staffing and non-compliant physicians and medical facilities. They do better now but 22 years ago it was hit or miss. Don’t rely on those figures without understanding how flawed the system was.
Everybody knew that Hinkley was going to be another Love Canal.
"At first I thought it was just ringworms, but then I met Erin..."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.