| Erin Brockovich will be the keynote speaker at the Opening General Session, discussing her research and groundbreaking work in the area of industrial environmental negligence, its devastating effects on the public’s health, and her continued pursuit for justice for those who have been harmed.
The story of her investigation, legal triumph and personal challenges were dramatized in the movie "Erin Brockovich.” While working as a file clerk at the law firm of Masry and Vititoe and organizing papers in a pro bono real estate case, Brockovich discovered medical records that eventually uncovered a direct and devastating link between the health of hundreds of citizens of Hinkley, California and Toxic chromium 6 from a PG&E power plant leaking into the groundwater. After a year of research and of interviewing Hinkley residents, she was convinced of cause-and-effect, and Masry & Vititoe sued on behalf of 650 plaintiffs. In 1996, a settlement was arranged for $333 million, the largest in US history.
Erin Brockovich now serves as Director of Environmental Research at Masry and Vititoe, where she is currently spearheading groundwater contamination cases against PG&E, Dole and Delmonte Foods, and others. Erin’s work in environmental health will leave you energized.
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