The Tort Tax...
Celebrity rules. Harvard's School of Public Health announced it would bestow its highest honor, the Julius Richmond Award, upon Erin Brockovich. Ms. Brockovich, you'll recall, was the "distinguished heroine" of a film by the same name. As a paralegal in Los Angeles, Brockovich, according to Hollywood, saved the day by suing a corporation, claiming it had polluted local water in Hinkley, California, which was thus responsible for cancer cases in the area.
Colleague Michael Fumento, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, begs to differ. Fumento notes that according to the California Cancer Registry, Hinkley has cancer rates no higher than found in any other counties in that area. Indeed, according to an EPA toxicology report, "No data were located in the available literature that suggested that chromium-6 is carcinogenic by the oral route of exposure." Further, according to the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, "Exposure to chromium-6 in tap water via all plausible routes of exposure [poses no] acute or chronic health hazard to humans."
Mr. Fumento concludes, "That mere film-goers would be confused about Brockovich is understandable, but you might think the Harvard School of Public Health would do a bit more research before giving awards than merely watching a movie."
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Thought I'd better put that in for those who might think I was serious.