Monday, August 13, 2007

Erin Brockovich rides again

Remember the movie Erin Brockovich ... ?

I had imagined that that kind of blatant industrial pollution no longer occured in countries like America and Australia, although there are days that are 'pretty polluntantly special' here in Belgium, located as it is at the crossroads of Europe.

But I had imagined that governments and big business could be trusted in countries like Australia ...

It seems I might have supposed wrong and that Erin Brockovich has found something bad enough. The full article is here in The Independent.

Ms Brockovich told Australian Associated Press: "We think we live in a big world, but it's really smaller than you think. Somebody from the area that was sick, from what they believed to be Alcoa, emailed me. I was intrigued with her illnesses ... and recommended one of our toxicologists see her. After he did some testing and researching, he said, 'this is something you should look into'."

Shine Lawyers may also sue the West Australia state government for allowing the refinery to expand and double its production despite a history of health complaints in the area. Residents claim they are being poisoned by the fumes from Wagerup's stacks and the red dust in its stockpiles of waste.

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