Erin’s project details the water contamination of Hinkley, California with Chromium-6 and how this contamination has continued to affect residents in many aspects of their lives. Erin begins her paper with an introduction to her question and information regarding the methods she used to gather data and information. She then continues her project with the introduction of the 1996 lawsuit that brought Hinkley, California to the forefront of news. Residents of Hinkley, California had had alarming health problems ranking from cancer to birth defects, all tied to PG&E’s gas compressor station. The remainder of Erin’s paper explains what Chromium-6 is and how this was related to PG&E, how the problem began, and how it has continued. She analyzed health effects, property values, access to education, and population changes.
I thought that Erin’s project was very visually interesting to look at. She added a lot of elements in her project that engaged her reader. She had side bars, interactive maps, and I especially liked that touch of adding in the audio recording of news. I thought this really helped the reader take away the human aspect of this project. I also appreciated how informative Erin’s project was. I felt like I got a good understanding of the problem as it first existed as well as how it continues to be a problem for residents in Hinkley today. I thought Erin’s maps worn informative and they made the information being presented easy to understand.
The main critique I had for Erin’s paper was organization. I felt as though there was some jumping around between topics and years. For example, the legal case is brought up several times throughout, but I think it could have been all one section. I also thought that information about Hinkley, such as median home value, property value, and population could have been organized more directly with each other, while information about Chromium-6, the plump, and PG&E could have been organized more directly with each other.
Overall, I really enjoyed this project.
Well done!