The lingering, long-term damage caused to an area by chemical contamination at the hands of a major corporation.
Made famous by the movie "Erin Brockovich", the town of Hinkley, California suffered large scale contamination of its drinking water with hexavalent chromium, a lethal chemical known to cause cancer and damage the respiratory system, kidneys, liver, skin and eyes. In 1996 the residents of Hinkley were awarded the largest settlement payout in history from PG&E, but many left the area afterwards, fearing continued deception at the hands of the company. It's now largely a ghost town - that's the Hinkley Effect.
by Danny Anonymous September 28, 2020