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Given the number of
students who have come and gone through the halls of Beverly Hills
High in the past, it is certainly sad that a certain percentage
of alumni would end up with this terrible illness but why would
it be extraordinary? Brockovich's team sees more than just an unfortunate
coincidence in the data they have examined: The rates of cancer-stricken
alumni are at over 200 times the national average, suggesting something
terribly wrong.
“I've never heard of a rate like that in any lawsuit
I've handled." Mr. Masry says "You get two or three times
the national average that's huge."
What could be the possible source of these cancer-causing toxins
at Beverly Hills High? After all, claims of cancer clusters and
secret chemical dumping are usually associated with small towns
situated in the periphery of big cities, where big corporate plants
have both the room and the secrecy necessary to engage in any covert
activities to the detriment of the neighboring population. Such
corporations may also be counting on the fact that the lesser-educated,
lower economical class usually inhabiting these towns would constitute
less of a risk of a lawsuit in the future. Who would dare target
Beverly Hills High, where all those big-shot lawyers and moguls
send their privileged kids?
Well believe it or not, Beverly Hills High does
not harbor only a football stadium and impressive food court on
its land. There is also an oil rig on the grounds of the school,
which has been there since the 1920s. The oil rig was built after
significant amounts of oil and gas reserves were discovered under
the city of Beverly Hills at the turn of the last century. The Getty
Oil and Standard Oil company acquired drilling leases to exploit
those natural resources, which brought the city, school district,
and citizens more than $25 million in 1973 alone. Mr. Masry says
that as a result of the drilling, oil by products such as benzene,
toluene and h-hexene have polluted the air and affected the students
for years.
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Beverly Hills High
school |
Brockovich's firm,
Masry & Vititoe, has gone to court, filing numerous claims
against Beverly Hills and its school district last month.
This has resulted in some panic among the parents of the students
currently at the school. Some, such as director Amy Heckerling,
who set her own movie 'Clueless' at Beverly Hills High, have
gone so far as pulling their children out of school. |
Others have tried to downplay the gravity of Brockovich's
claim, including the very authors of the 1999 report that is at
the basis of the lawsuits. Mark Katchen, managing principal at the
Phylmar Group, the consulting firm that prepared the report, says
that there is "little if any bearing" between his data
and the health concerns at Beverly Hills High. Beverly Hills High
Unified School District Superintendent Gwen Gross has also spoken,
saying that they have conducted their own research into the air
quality at the school and that any levels of toxins in the air are
"well below" the health limits established by the state
of California. The official online Website for Beverly Hills High
School now has a permanent link that gives updates regarding the
air quality at the school.
(Http://bhhs.beverlyhills.k12.ca.us/home.html)
Despite the school's firm position that there is
no credible evidence linking the oil rig to cancer, Venoco, the
company that now runs the oil rig, has been forced to shut down
a few days ago because of the toxic pollutants. After recent tests
conducted by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, high
levels of the toxic chemical benzene was found on the oil rig's
equipment, and the agency has consequently denied a permit to Venoco
to continue operating.
Ms. Brockovich understands the skepticism she faces
in her claim against such a majestic institution. "It's Beverly
Hills High. I don't want to believe it either. It's the white elephant
in the living room" She says. But she adds: "Something
deceitful happened here and I think the parents and the faculty
have a right to know."
The oil rig in less glamourous days. Thousands played
in its shadow. |
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