some other cases relatived to environment pollution

case one:

Woburn is ten miles north of Boston and was originally settled by the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1640.Today Woburn has approximately 36,000 residents and an economic base founded on its long history of chemical manufacturing and leather tanning.

In contemporary history, Woburn was the scene of a high profile water contamination crisis. During the mid to late 1970's, the local community became concerned over the high incidence of childhood leukemia and other illnesses, particularly in the Pine Street area of east Woburn. After high levels of chemical contamination were found in City of Woburn’s Wells G & H in 1979, some members of the local community suspected that the unusually high incidence of leukemia, cancer and a wide variety of other health problems were linked to the possible exposure to volatile organic chemicals in the groundwater pumped from Wells G & H.

In May, 1982, a number of citizens whose children had either developed or died from leukemia filed a civil lawsuit against two corporations, W. R. Grace and Company and Beatrice Foods. Grace's subsidiary Cryovac and Beatrice were suspected of contaminating the groundwater by improperly disposing of trichloroethylene (TCE), perchloroethylene (Perc) and other industrial solvents at their facilities in Woburn near Wells G & H. In April, 1985, the same citizen's group brought a civil lawsuit against a third company, Unifirst Corporation. In a controversial decision with Judge Walter Jay Skinner presiding over what many considered a bungled trial (the judge ruled the jurors should answer questions which the jurors and many others considered confusing) Beatrice was acquitted and Grace only paid 6.6 million, most of which went to the lawyers and lawyer fees.

case two:

The DuPage County Board chastised a company with a local presence Tuesday, condemning a decision by BP North America to increase harmful chemicals discharged into Lake Michigan.As part of a $3 billion expansion of its Whiting, Ind., refinery, BP won permission to release more ammonia and suspended solids into the lake. But this could require additional water treatment in a county where 750,000 residents obtain drinking water from the lake, said board member Jeff Redick.

Environment pollution problem has become the world’s problem. Companies have social responsibility to adopt environmentally behavior.

source

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woburn,_Massachusetts
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-greenhouse_12feb12,1,4526757.story