Chemical link to Erin Brockovich

ARGUABLY the most toxic substance found at the former Irish Steel site in Cork is chromium 6, a deadly chemical which became the focus of a multi-million dollar lawsuit in America and later the subject of an Oscar-winning film.

Chromium 6 is regarded as the second-most dangerous carcinogen known to mankind and among its possible health effects when inhaled are lung cancer, nasal cancer and liver and larynx inflammation.

Legal clerk Erin Brockovich assembled 650 plaintiffs for a case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company in California in 1993. Actress Julia Roberts won an Academy Award for her portrayal of the eponymous heroine in the film Erin Brockovich.