New case for Erin Brockovich

Erin Brockovich, the environmental activist who inspired the film of the same name, filed claims yesterday against a Beverly Hills school over claims that toxins on campus gave students and staff cancer.

Brockovich and lawyer Ed Masry said the illness of staff and students was linked to an oil well that was operated for years on the school's campus.

School superintendent Gwen Gross said that "dozens and dozens of tests" conducted by Southern California's air quality agency had determined that the oil well posed no risk.

Local reports said the well earned the Beverly Hills school district US$300,000 ($539,700) a year.