https://padlet.com/leo_joseph/y4mz7sqng3ct173 CLN4U1-1A en-us 2022-06-24 03:30:29 UTC 2022-06-25 03:25:00 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f3ed.png leo_joseph https://padlet.com/leo_joseph/y4mz7sqng3ct173/wish/2229445288 Located in Southeast California, Hexavalent chromium/chromium 6 was used by the company, PG&E to combat corrosion in cooling towers water between 1952 and 1966. The ponds used to receive the wastewater from the cooling towers weren't lined, allowing it to seep into the ground and poison the groundwater below. The water caused multiple illnesses and casualties. ]]> 2022-06-24 03:35:23 UTC https://padlet.com/leo_joseph/y4mz7sqng3ct173/wish/2229445288 leo_joseph https://padlet.com/leo_joseph/y4mz7sqng3ct173/wish/2229445852  Located in West Virginia, the DuPont's Parkersburg, West Virginia plant spilled millions of pounds of Perfluorooctanoic acid(C8) into the Ohio rivers water and the air, leading to many people suffering from cancers and other deadly diseases. This chemical was created by the company "3M" in 1947. It is used to ease water tension. Everyday items like eyeglass and tennis racket coatings, fast-food wrappers, and even communication cables, all include C8. 

]]> 2022-06-24 03:36:15 UTC https://padlet.com/leo_joseph/y4mz7sqng3ct173/wish/2229445852 leo_joseph https://padlet.com/leo_joseph/y4mz7sqng3ct173/wish/2229446171 Located in Ontario, Walkerton, that was a smaller population at the time saw almost half their population (2,300) get sick and 7 deaths due to an E-Coli outbreak. 
Heavy rainfall, about 134 mm from May 8 to May 12, 2000, caused stormwater runoff containing E. coli and other bacterias to enter a well that provided drinking water. The bacteria was sourced to manure that had been used at a nearby farm. Even though the well was chlorinated, the amount of chlorine utilized was insufficient, which caused bacteria and organic waste to overwhelm the system. This caused people to vomit, get cramps and suffer from intense pain. The residual chlorine level should have been manually checked, but for years, the staff had been making false statements in their daily operating sheets. Samples were obtained on May 15th but were being falsely labeled. The Ontario government was recommended by the Walkerton report to spend at least $280 million on water safety and that it implemented a safe drinking water act. The safe drinking water act was later passed.

]]> 2022-06-24 03:36:49 UTC https://padlet.com/leo_joseph/y4mz7sqng3ct173/wish/2229446171 leo_joseph https://padlet.com/leo_joseph/y4mz7sqng3ct173/wish/2230144990   A portion of a gas pipeline system between Texas and California was constructed in 1952 by the PG&E near Hinkley, California. Since that time, the company used chromium-6, a chemical substance that causes cancer and other illnesses, as a corrosion inhibitor in its cooling system. Chromium six has been known to attack families over generations. Passing down the illnesses throughout the years, like a generational curse. This was all reported by PG&E authorities to the state of California in 1987. The levels were ten times higher than the limits set by the 1977 regulation of California.

]]> 2022-06-25 02:37:37 UTC https://padlet.com/leo_joseph/y4mz7sqng3ct173/wish/2230144990 leo_joseph https://padlet.com/leo_joseph/y4mz7sqng3ct173/wish/2230154783 At that time, PG&E began purchasing contaminated properties. However, the public was lied to and told it was safe and even good for you. Plaintiffs gathered by Erin Brockovich, exposed that the company knew about the contamination but still did nothing, even getting lawyers to make it seem like it wasn't true. In the end, PG&E was able to avoid going to court and settle the dispute through arbitration. In 1996, PG&E made agreements to stop the use of chromium 6 in its cooling system, agreed to pay the plaintiffs about 333 million dollars, and attempt to fix the environment they ruined.]]> 2022-06-25 03:09:48 UTC https://padlet.com/leo_joseph/y4mz7sqng3ct173/wish/2230154783 leo_joseph https://padlet.com/leo_joseph/y4mz7sqng3ct173/wish/2230155958 2022-06-25 03:13:41 UTC https://padlet.com/leo_joseph/y4mz7sqng3ct173/wish/2230155958 leo_joseph https://padlet.com/leo_joseph/y4mz7sqng3ct173/wish/2230156331 The chemical firm Du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) started buying C8 in 1951 so that they could start producing Teflon, a substance used in nonstick pans and other nonstick products. The  environmental toxicity of C8 was discovered by researchers, when the substance was used on rats and rabbits in 1954 and then other animals later on. It was found that the chemical could increase liver size. Eventually they started testing its products on people, recruiting volunteers to inhale cigarettes laced with C8 while researchers watched and recorded all reactions. 90% of the volunteers in the C8 group who received the highest dose showed signs of illness for an average of nine hours. These included chills, coughs and aches. The report also ignored the information that the facility released about 19,000 pounds of C8 into the atmosphere.

]]> 2022-06-25 03:15:01 UTC https://padlet.com/leo_joseph/y4mz7sqng3ct173/wish/2230156331 leo_joseph https://padlet.com/leo_joseph/y4mz7sqng3ct173/wish/2230156978  Instead, they filled bottles secretly with water at local gas stations and convenience stores in 1984 so that DuPont could evaluate the amounts of C8. After realizing that the town's water supply had been contaminated, DuPont removed 14 million pounds of garbage contaminated with C8 from open pits near the town's wells and dumped it in the Dry Run Landfill. At the end a $670 million global settlement was agreed upon between the legal team and DuPont on February 13, 2017. The agreement covered all C8 lawsuits involving plaintiffs, who had covered physical damage as a result of C8 being released into the air and into the Ohio River from the companies factory.]]> 2022-06-25 03:17:28 UTC https://padlet.com/leo_joseph/y4mz7sqng3ct173/wish/2230156978 leo_joseph https://padlet.com/leo_joseph/y4mz7sqng3ct173/wish/2230157888 In my opinion, The E. coli outbreak in Walkerton, Ontario's the worst case. I find it as the worst case of the three, because it was something that could of been avoided so easily and it's also quite close to home. 
I also think this issue was the best to be resoved as it led to huge reforms in Ontario. It led to the Canada's Safe Drinking Water Act. ]]> 2022-06-25 03:20:17 UTC https://padlet.com/leo_joseph/y4mz7sqng3ct173/wish/2230157888