Environmental Activist Erin Brockovich Takes Up A Local Cause Over Water Safety
WILLOW GROVE, Pa. (CBS) -- A celebrity environmental activist is taking on a local cause. Erin Brockovich spoke to a capacity crowd of more than a thousand people in Montgomery County with concerns about the safety of their drinking water.
The meeting, held in the auditorium of Upper Moreland High School Tuesday, was organized by New York-based law firm Weitz and Luxenberg.
"Together, you can make the difference and you can fight and push for answers and for clean water and we're going to help you do it," Brockovich told the crowd via Skype.
Horsham, Warrington and Warminster are dealing with alarming levels of chemicals called PFOA and PFOS in the water supply.
The chemicals, linked to form of cancer, are used in firefighting foam from nearby military air bases.
"My father died of cancer when he was 38," said Cheryl Faber of Warrington. "I grew up in Warrington and I have three kids [...] I just want to have a better idea of what's going on and if there's anything we can do about it."
Officials in each township took a number of the most contaminated municipal wells offline until a solution is put in place.
"I think everybody has the same concerns, they don't want to be drinking contaminated water," said Thomas Durkin of Warminster. "You've got to bathe in it, you've got to drink it. Cook with it."
The firm is gathering information for a potential lawsuit against the Navy and other defendants, but some hope Brockovich's name alone will push officials to action.
"That's what I'm hoping and that's why I 'm here," Brad Blackway of Warminster. "Hopefully they hear the name Erin Brockovich and they get a little nervous.
Monday night, Horsham Township's council voted on a remediation plan that the township will ask the Navy to pay for. Several local officials are also pushing the Navy to pay for blood testing for residents.
