Erin Brockovich — the famed environmental activist portrayed by Julia Roberts in a hit movie — is headed to upstate New York to probe a string of rare cancer deaths and illnesses residents fear were caused by a contaminated water supply.
The Albany Times Union says over decades, a toxic chemical called perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) may have seeped into the underground wells of Hoosick Falls, when workers at a plastics plant cleaned smokestacks and other equipment and dumped the byproducts in a storm drain.
PFOA, used in non-stick coatings and heat-resistant wiring, has been linked to kidney and testicular cancer, as well as thyroid diseases, The Times reports.
New York State has named the area a Superfund site and recently revealed a plan to stop any water pollution, but some residents of Hoosick Falls — a community of 3,500 in Rensselaer County — believe cleanup plans are not moving fast enough.
The Times says a nationally known tort firm, Weitz & Luxenberg, has hired environmental activist Erin Brockovich to investigate.
She was the subject of the popular 2000 biopic, "Erin Brockovich," which chronicled her probe of a utility company's alleged contamination of drinking water with the chemical hexavalent chromium, known as a human carcinogen.
A lawsuit followed and a settlement of $333 million was reached.