# data[].attributes.body
Overall, it can be said that all crimes that happened towards innocent people and the environment caused irreparable damage. If it were to be ranked, it would be possible to categorize the Walkerton tragedy as the worst, (number 1) because not only 2.300 people were harmed, but seven people lost their lives due to the authorities’ negligence. Even though the government indemnified the victims, it all could be avoided if there was more fiscalization to find out about the fraude and more responsibility from the PUC. Although there are many similarities between the case of water contamination in Hinkley and Parkersburg in terms of residents and animals being contaminated and treating diseases without knowing the reason, one could argue that the contamination in Parkersburg was somewhat worse (number 2) because the case took sixteen years to be concluded and Billot’s firm and the victims of the tragedy were not as much financially compensated as the Hinkley’s residents and Ed's firm was (number 3). Besides, the Parkersburg case did not receive as much visibility as Hinkley had, even having a movie inspired on it.

# data[].attributes.body
Hinkley: Erin and Ed Masry, the lawyer representing Hinkley, waged the class-action suit on behalf of 648 residents alleging that the contaminated water led to the fauna's death and people's illnesses. Ed associated with two big lawyers to support his firm financially. Brockovich found documents that incriminated PG&E, so they offered a settlement offer between $50 to $400 million which the residents accepted.
Walkertown: A total of 10.189 claims were made with 9.275 qualifying to compensation. There were 121 recommendations that were proposed to avoid a recurrence of this issue. Ontario had to pay more than $72 million in compensation of the tragedy.
Parkersburg: Billot took farmer Tennant's case that reported his cows dying in a strange way. In 1999, Billot filled a federal suit against Dupont. While studying, Billot found a letter from Dupont to the E.P.A regarding the chemical toxin PFOA. He asked Dupont the documentation regarding this chemical, but they refused to give it, so Billot got a court order to access the documents which was granted. Billot wrote a public letter to the E.P.A demanding immediate action to regulate the water contamination in Parkersburg. The E.P.A charged Dupont with $16.5 million. Then, Billot filled a class-action lawsuit against Dupont on behalf of everyone whose water was contaminated with PFOA. Billot tested 70.000 people from Virginia to see how many would be affected by the C8. Evidence showed that people died of cancer and it was connected to the C8 levels in people’s bodies.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Effects of the Contamination on the Community

# data[].attributes.subject
The Effects of the Contamination on the Community

# data[].attributes.body
Hinkley (CA): The effects of Cr-VI exposure to humans and fauna led to many disasters. Fish, frogs, cows, and many other animals died, affecting directly the food chain. People in the community started to contract diseases such as many types of cancer, lungs failure, ulcera, and skin and eye irritation, as well as women suffering miscarriage or having babies with birth defects.
Walkertown (ON): The Walkertown E. Coli infection affected humans. People contracted E. Coli and reported flu-like symptoms, ulcera, and bloody diarrhea. 7 people died and 2.300 people were ill, almost half of the city since the population was less than 5.000.
Parkersburg, (WV): As a result of the ingestion of the water with toxins, many fauna died in the farms, mostly cows. Besides, PFAS is a bio resistant chemical, so it harmed the environment as it is not biodegradable. Also, it is highly cancerogenic to humans, resulting mostly in kidney and testicular cancer. The exposure that pregnant women have to this toxin also results in miscarriages and birth defects, like it is the case of Bucky Bailey.

# data[].attributes.headline
The On-going Action of the Involved Parties 

# data[].attributes.subject
The On-going Action of the Involved Parties 

# data[].attributes.body
Hinkley: As the company knew that Ed's firm were willing to go on trial with them after rejecting an initial proposal of $250.000 for the Jensens, they offered a judicial arbitration that would be between $50- $400 million. At the end, they agreed to pay $333 million.
Walkertown: Premier Harris seemed to acknowledge that he was responsible for the tragedy. The Koebel brothers were advised to accept plea bargain.
Parkersburg: After Billot filled the federal suit, Dupont had three veterinarians to analyse Tennant's cattle, and they concluded that the cattle died due to malnutrition. Every time Billot's firm asked for specific documents, they refused to give them.  In 2004, Dupont decided to settle the class-action suit It agreed to install filtration plants in the six affected water districts if they wanted them and pay a cash award of $70 million. They would study if there was a connection between PFOA and diseases. If so, they would agree to pay medical support for those impacted. They said that if the community was affected, then their own workers would be much more affected by the toxin. In 2013, Dupont agreed to stop using PFOA.

# data[].attributes.body
Hankley: The company Pacific Gas & Electric established themselves in the town since the 1950s, operating as a natural gas pumping station. Until 1996, the company used a toxic chemical, chromium-6, to prevent dust that eventually seeped into Hinkley's water supply. Since nothing was done about it, people and animals would use the water without nothing the harms it caused.
Walkertown: A heavy rainfall that took place on May, 2000, resulted in the increase of E. Coli and its dispersion on water supplies of Walkertown. After people started to report symptoms, studies were made and the government advised PUC Stan Koebel of the risk of E.Coli over a three-year period. Yet, he did not increase the levels of Chlorine in the water to protect the people from the contamination.
Parkersburg: In 1951 Dupont bought PFOA to manufacture Teflon. Although it was not seen as a hazardous substance, it had specific ways to dispose it in which the company had written to guide the staff, but they did not follow the right procedure. For many years, the company Dupont dumped the toxins into the Ohio river of Virginia, killing the fauna and contaminating people that were living in the community. Since the 1960s the company was aware that the toxins affected animals, and in the 1990s they knew that C8 was cancerogenic.

# data[].attributes.headline
Profile of the Towns: Walkertown (ON), CA

# data[].attributes.subject
Profile of the Towns: Walkertown (ON), CA

# data[].attributes.body
Walkertown is a town in the province of Ontario. According to the Canadian Census Stats from 2016, it had a population of 4.517. Walkertown developed from the 1850s to be an important mill site and service. It became the seat of the county of the government. Therefore, it developed to be an urban town that provides many commercial and industrial services, such as processing plants, battery packing, and light manufacturing. It is not considered a farming region, but it is famous for fishing and canoeing.

# data[].attributes.headline
Profile of the Towns: Parkersburg (WV), US

# data[].attributes.subject
Profile of the Towns: Parkersburg (WV), US

# data[].attributes.body
Parkersburg is a city in the Wood county of West Virginia. It is a urbanized city, as it developed mostly during the American Civil war, known for transporting oil, plastic, and gas. It is a metropolitan area in which 160.000 people live in. There are 13.119 households, as of data of 2020. Only 8.000 people work with farming, so it is not really considered a farming city.

# data[].attributes.body
Hinkley is a small community located at southern California. It is a rural area, and it has a very small population of 683 residents (2019 data). There are only 241 households in the region. The majority of the people left the town after the case of PG&E. Hinkley is considered a non-urbanized region, but it is also not farming-like, since the majority of the town abandoned it. Most people that live in Hinkley work for branches of industries, though there are not many.