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Poison water cleanup efforts bring Erin Brockovich to Oakland

By Sean Maher
Oakland Tribune
Posted: 10/19/2009
Updated: 10/20/2009

OAKLAND — The scientific back end to a long-awaited public health standard limiting poison levels in California drinking water neared its final step Monday at a hearing that drew clean water activists such as Erin Brockovich to the Elihu Harris State Building.

The poison in question is hexavalent chromium, also called hex chrome or chromium six, given notoriety in the film bearing Brockovich's name. Hex chrome is a carcinogen long known to cause cancer through inhalation but only recently recognized by the federal government as dangerous to drink. Before there was controversy over whether stomach acids converted the chemical into a related, nonpoisonous nutrient, researcher Gina Solomon said.

Before the state can set standards about how much hex chrome is allowed in drinking water, researchers need to determine what level is dangerous: a figure researchers at

Why the big rush toward gas drilling?

timesunion.com
By DEBORAH GOLDBERG
First published: Tuesday, October 20, 2009

New York recently released a long-awaited review of how the drilling of thousands of gas wells into the Marcellus Shale might affect our state and our future. The 800-page draft environmental impact statement discusses threats to everything from the water you drink and the air you breathe to the roads you travel and the vacations you take.

It is essential that New Yorkers have adequate time to understand it all.

The Department of Environmental Conservation should extend the period for public comment on the draft for another 30 to 60 days so residents can properly comprehend information that could directly impact their health and the natural resources they leave to their children.

The prospect of industrial gas development in places and at a scale that we have never seen before is perhaps the most pressing environmental issue in

By Thom Weidlich

bloomberg.com

Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Exxon Mobil Corp. was ordered to pay $104.7 million in damages after a jury found the company liable for poisoning New York City water wells with a gasoline additive meant to improve air quality.

A federal jury in New York ruled in the city’s favor yesterday. New York accused Exxon Mobil, the biggest U.S. oil company, of contaminating five wells in and near the Jamaica area of the borough of Queens with methyl tertiary butyl ether, or MTBE.

“We’re delighted with the verdict,” said Victor Sher, a lawyer for the city at San Francisco-based Sher Leff LLP. “This is an important outcome for public water suppliers dealing with MTBE throughout the country.”

The Exxon Mobil case is part of larger litigation over the additive. More than 70 lawsuits filed by water providers and state and local governments were consolidated before U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin in Manhattan