The Vindication of Non-expert Knowledge in the Defence of Public Health: Erin Brockovich

Abstract

Based on true facts, Erin Brockovich tells the story of the extraordinary role of a woman, with no legaltraining and with a complicated family background, in the preparation and outcome of a successfullawsuit against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company for polluting water for human consumption withhexavalent chromium in Hinkley (California, USA). The film offers a view of the strategies used by largeindustrial corporations for the concealment of environmental risks, while it claims the value of nonexpertknowledge and the empowerment of the population as a whole in the defence of the right tohealth.

Keywords

• conocimiento lego
• activismo social
• salud pública
• contaminación ambiental.