— Overview
The notes stay with that case, and with what the chemical in the water was doing to people.
— Contents and key concepts
A legal office, and a water case
The notes take up Erin Brockovich, the 2000 film directed by Steven Soderbergh, with Julia Roberts in the title role. Erin, they write, is raising three children, and has a long gap in paid work. She finds a post as an assistant in a legal office, then takes part in a water-pollution case against the firm PG&E.
The case, in their reading, turns on what is in the water, and on what it has done to the people who have been drinking it.
Hexavalent chromium, and what it can do
The chemical at the center is hexavalent chromium. The notes list harms they associate with it: the lungs, the liver, and the kidneys can be damaged; there is a risk of cancer; it can enter the body through the skin; and once it is in the body, it can remain a long time.
They stay close to those facts as they follow the work of the case. The harm is not abstract. It is in the water people use.
A person, and a suit that was won
The film, they write, is based on a real person, and on a case in which that person won a suit against a corporation. That is how they place the story they have been watching.
They wanted to keep the case, and the chemical, in view. A fuller writing of the same Korean notes is on CampusDown.
Sources
- Student notes on Erin Brockovich, read through a legal-office assistant, PG&E, and hexavalent chromium in the water.
Last updated 15 November 2026
Frequently asked questions
How do the notes first place Erin in Soderbergh’s film?
As a woman raising three children, with a long gap in paid work. She finds a post as an assistant in a legal office, then takes part in a water-pollution suit against the firm PG&E.
What chemical is at the center of the case, as they read it?
Hexavalent chromium. They note harm to the lungs, liver, and kidneys, a risk of cancer, that it can enter the body through the skin, and that it can stay in the body for a long time.
Is the story invented?
The notes treat the film as based on a real person, and on a case in which she won a suit against a corporation.
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