Overview

A Civil Action is Johnathon Harr work that was made into a 1998 film of the same title starring John Travolta and Robert Duvall. Both are based on real-life events that took place in Wobern, Massuchusetts in the 1980s when a large food production plant was emitting dangerous toxins that were causing increased rates of cancer in local children. Local townswoman, Anne Anderson, sought out the successful and at times overconfident lawyer Jan Schlictman (Travolta) who agreed to take on the case not fully comprehending the magnitude of it.

Toxicological Perspective

The story is lifted from the true-life crisis in Woburn when townspeople accused the giant food conglomerate W.R. Grace and Company of water-contaminating processes that were resulting in increased [leukemia] rates for local children.

W.R. Grace and Company have been involved in numerous controversial environmental lawsuits. In addition to the Woburn incident, they have been accused of Asbestos contamination in Libby, Montana and contamination from a poor Superfund site in Acton, Massachusetts. In Acton Grace they dumped industrial waste into unlined lagoons which resulted in increased levels of [vinylidine chloride] and other industrial compounds in local water wells.

External Links

• Seattle post-Intelligencer report on Libby, Montana.
  
  
• Grace's Response to A Civil Action. 

References

A Civil Action on Wikipedia.