Erin Brockovich speaks for Riverkeeper

Erin Brockovich, international environmental activist, speaks at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem. Photo by Karissa Minn, Salisbury Post.

By Karissa Minn

kminn@salisburypost.com

WINSTON-SALEM — Activist Erin Brockovich denounced Alcoa’s environmental record Tuesday and spoke in support of a public trust to control the Yadkin River’s dams.

During a press conference at Wake Forest University, Brockovich said Alcoa Power Generating Inc. needs to address the environmental damage done to Badin Lake and other waterways.

”We need to hold them accountable,“ she said.

Brockovich was made famous by a 2000 movie about her fight against a utility company that had contaminated the groundwater of a small town. Julia Roberts won an academy award for her role as Brockovich.

Brockovich said Alcoa disposed of hazardous waste that has affected local waterways, and the company hasn’t done enough to fix the damage.

”It’s like a child who has a messy room and doesn’t want to clean it up,“ Brockovich said. ”They’ve made a mess, and they need to come in and get in the process of cleaning up.“

In 1917, Alcoa began aluminum smelting and manufacturing operations at a plant near Badin Lake. Eighty years later, Alcoa released information about isolated chemical contamination in the lake. The company shut down the Badin Works plant in 2002.

Alcoa spokesman Kevin Lowery said in an interview Tuesday that Alcoa has spent more than $10 million on successful remediation efforts.

”The state of North Carolina agreed with studies that show there’s absolutely no threat to human health or the environment, and that our cleanup efforts are actually having a very positive effect,“ Lowery said.

He also said Alcoa is working on a long-term plan for continued monitoring of water quality.

Brockovich urged Alcoa to address still-existing contamination for the sake of local residents. She introduced Helen Hammonds, who lost her husband, William, to a rare form of cancer.

Blood tests showed high levels of toxic PCBs specific to Alcoa’s Badin Works plant, Hammonds said, which accumulated in his system when he ate contaminated fish.

Alcoa has said similar levels of PCBs have been found in Badin Lake and well upstream of the Badin Works plant. Lowery said he hadn’t heard of any complaints such as Hammonds’.

At the press conference, Brockovich praised legislation that would create a public trust to manage the Yadkin Hydroelectric project.

”Those funds will be put back into the community to help clean up the water, to put people to work and to create g

reen jobs,“ she said.

A bill establishing a Yadkin River Trust was approved in the state House but defeated in a Senate committee in July 2009. Dean Naujoks, Yadkin Riverkeeper, said a new bill now sits in the General Assembly’s conference committee.

Since 2002, Alcoa has been trying to renew its 50-year license to operate the project.

After the press conference Tuesday afternoon, two Salisbury residents were able to meet and take photos with Brockovich.

Katie Smith, a rising junior at Jesse Carson High School, is writing a two-page paper on Brockovich as part of her Advanced Placement environmental science class.

”I was so excited to meet somebody who was so helpful to the environment,“ Smith said. ”She made a strong impact.“

She came to Winston-Salem with her mother, Mary Beth Smith, who also met Brockovich.

On Tuesday evening, Brockovich spoke about empowerment to a nearly full auditorium at Wake Forest

People often confuse the activist with Julia Roberts. she said. Brockovich said while she may not look like Roberts, the events of the film were real and so is the title character.

”The character on the big screen and the person standing before you now is, and always has been, the very essence of who I am,“ she said.

That person is passionate about justice, morality and fair play, she said. That person is driven to right wrongs.

”I believe that’s the essence of who you are, as well,“ Brockovich said.

She went on to tell the crowd not to be discouraged by failure or the words of others — Brockovich herself was voted least likely to succeed in her class.

By persisting when it would have been easier to give up, Brockovich helped build and win the now-famous case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) of Califo

rnia in 1993. She has since started a consulting firm and works on a variety of environmental projects, including a class action lawsuit involving Alcoa’s Australian operations.

Brockovich said residents of a town in Australia called Yarloop are reporting health effects that they believe are caused by emissions from Alcoa’s Wagerup refinery.

Contact Karissa Minn at (704) 797-4222.

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