HINKLEY GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION by Akshay Varma https://padlet.com/varmaakshay1995/5smu1r9942e4 From 1952 to 1966, PG&E dumped "roughly 370 million gallons" of chromium 6-tainted wastewater" into unlined wastewater spreading ponds around the town of Hinkley, California en-us 2017-09-06 14:26:24 UTC 2025-10-08 15:11:58 UTC hello@padlet.com Project by: varmaakshay1995 https://padlet.com/varmaakshay1995/5smu1r9942e4/wish/185136732 Akshay Varma
Lamiya Chitlwalla
Pranav Muzumdar
Rishi Vora
Udit Satsangi]]> 2017-09-06 14:26:24 UTC https://padlet.com/varmaakshay1995/5smu1r9942e4/wish/185136732 varmaakshay1995 https://padlet.com/varmaakshay1995/5smu1r9942e4/wish/185136734 2017-09-06 14:26:24 UTC https://padlet.com/varmaakshay1995/5smu1r9942e4/wish/185136734 Clean Up varmaakshay1995 https://padlet.com/varmaakshay1995/5smu1r9942e4/wish/185136735
By 2013 PG&E had spent about $750 million on remediation. Remediation is taking a long time. It's a very complex project. We are highly regulated. There are a lot of interested parties. The other thing is it is very important that we get it right.


 PG&E have claimed they have cleaned up 54 acres but that it would take another 40 years before they were done.They built a concrete wall barrier that is about a half mile long to contain the plume, pump ethanol into the ground to convert chromium-6 into chromium-3, and have planted acres of alfalfa. O'Brien also interviewed Erin Brockovich who was surprised that PG&E had not completed the clean-up as promised more than a decade ago.The chromium from PG&E’s historical releases at the Hinkley Compressor Station has migrated from the upper aquifer to the lower aquifer causing hexavalent chromium concentrations in the lower aquifer to exceed drinking water standards.
 
]]> 2017-09-06 14:26:24 UTC https://padlet.com/varmaakshay1995/5smu1r9942e4/wish/185136735 Carroll's CSR Pyramid varmaakshay1995 https://padlet.com/varmaakshay1995/5smu1r9942e4/wish/185136736  
Economic Responsibilities
We feel this was the only responsibility that Pacific Gas and Electric Company was fulfilling.
 
Legal Responsibilities
PG&E was not fulfilling legal responsibilities as it exceeded permitted levels of hexavalent chromium in the water that it discharged as waste, and misled the Hinkley that the chromium was good for their health.
 
Ethical Responsibilities
They were not fulfilling the ethical responsibilities towards the communities living around their plant by adversely affecting their health giving them cancer, tumors and reproductive illnesses just to name a few. They should have cleaned the wastewater as well as been upfront with the communities of the health hazards of hexavalent chromium contamination.
 
Philanthropic Responsibilities
They were far from fulfilling their Philanthropic Responsibilities of giving back to the community. They had low Corporate Social Responsiveness towards their community. They damaged their communities as opposed to making them stakeholders in the benefits of the organization.
]]> 2017-09-06 14:26:24 UTC https://padlet.com/varmaakshay1995/5smu1r9942e4/wish/185136736 Triple Bottom Line Analysis varmaakshay1995 https://padlet.com/varmaakshay1995/5smu1r9942e4/wish/185136738  
Social impact 
PG&E had a detrimental impact on the community of Hinkley , as they exposed them to health hazards such as cancer, skin irritation and stomach and lung disorders.
 
Environmental Impact
PG&E degraded the ecology and environment by polluting the natural water resources of Hinkley with Hexavalent chromium.
 
Finanancial Impact
Although on the face of it , it seems like PG&E was serving its financial interests, but actually it was a loser on this front as it had to make settlement claims of $628 million to the inhabitants of Hinkley.
Corporations need to remember that not taking care of Environmental and Social Impact will have detrimental impact on the long term financial health of the organisation
]]> 2017-09-06 14:26:24 UTC https://padlet.com/varmaakshay1995/5smu1r9942e4/wish/185136738 Hexavalent chromium is a highly reactive chemical that damages cells. The known health effects ranged from skin irritation to lung and stomach cancers. varmaakshay1995 https://padlet.com/varmaakshay1995/5smu1r9942e4/wish/185136739
In the 1990s, hundreds of Hinkley residents claimed illnesses and other damages stemming from the contaminated water. Around 1,100 people were affected and filed a suit to claim their rights.]]> 2017-09-06 14:26:24 UTC https://padlet.com/varmaakshay1995/5smu1r9942e4/wish/185136739 The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is an investor-owned electric utility that provides natural gas and electricity to most of Northern California. varmaakshay1995 https://padlet.com/varmaakshay1995/5smu1r9942e4/wish/185136740 PG&E used chromium 6 which is one of the cheapest and most efficient commercially available rust suppressors—in their compressor station for natural gas transmission pipelines leading to contamination of nearby natural water resources. This was responsible for the development of various health hazards and diseases such as cancer. ]]> 2017-09-06 14:26:24 UTC https://padlet.com/varmaakshay1995/5smu1r9942e4/wish/185136740