Chicago Alderman Ed Burke said today he has invited activist Erin Brockovich to Chicago to take part in public hearings about reported chemicals in Lake Michigan.
Earlier this week, city officials announced plans to test Chicago water for hexavalent chromium, the cancer-causing metal at the base of Brockovich's famous case against Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) of California in 1993. Recent studies show the chemical is more dangerous -- and more prevalent -- than previously thought.
Burke media liaison Donal Quinlan says Brockovich, the subject of "Erin Brockovich" starring Julia Roberts, has said she's available.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a memo this week "strongly" encouraging public water systems to step up chromium monitoring.
There is now concern that the steel plants on the South Side may be the source of the chromium in the drinking supply.
