What did we learn from the Love Canal?
Hundreds of homes–and a public school– had been built on the site and after a massive rainstorm caused an explosion, toxic chemicals were leaching into their backyards and basements. In the wake of Love Canal, the EPA’s Superfund program was established to clean up toxic waste sites.
What was the result of Love Canal?
The result was the 1980 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act—better known as Superfund. A less well-known but equally important outcome of Love Canal was the emergence of a militant, grassroots “environmental justice” movement.
Is the Love Canal still toxic?
They say they found toxins “previously found in Love Canal-related sites.” Indoors, toxins can get trapped and build up. Tests there found toxin levels 10 to 100 times higher. So far, state officials have declined to test inside residents’ homes.
Which company was responsible for Love Canal?
Occidental Chemical Corp.
Where was the Love Canal disaster?
Niagara Falls, New York, United States
What chemicals are in Love Canal?
Toxicological Investigation
| Chemical | Water & Leachate | Air |
|---|---|---|
| Trichlorophenol | 0.1-11.3 µg/l | ID |
| Trichlorotoluene | 34 mg/l | 0.05-43.7 µg/m3 |
| Toluene | 250 mg/l | 0.1-6.2 mg/m3 |
| Dioxin (TCDD) | 1.4-5.1 ppt |
How did Love Canal occur?
In the 1920s Niagara Falls began dumping urban waste into Love Canal, and in the 1940s the U.S. Army dumped waste from World War II there, including waste from the frantic effort to build a nuclear bomb. Hooker Chemical purchased the land in 1942 and lined it with clay.
Why was Love Canal built?
The canal was built by William T. Love in 1834 as a failed attempt to connect the Upper and Lower Niagara Rivers. The state health department declared an emergency at the Love Canal in 1978, but the history of the dump site stretches back to the last century.
How long did the Love Canal last?
Love Canal’s notorious history began when Hooker Chemical Co. used the abandoned canal from 1942 to 1953 to dump 21,800 tons of industrial hazardous waste.
How did the Love Canal affect the economy?
The state Commerce Department highlighted the chemical industry’s economic contributions. One Niagara Falls company, Hooker Chemical, acquired the abandoned Love canal site and dumped nearly 22,000 tons of chemical wastes there from 1942 to 1953. The city and the Army also dumped refuse there.
Why was Love Canal so bad?
The Love Canal was simply unfit as a container for hazardous substances, poor even by the standards of the day, and now, in 1977, local authorities were belatedly finding that out. Several years of heavy snowfall and rain had filled the sparingly covered channel like a bathtub.
Are people living in Love Canal?
Today, there are still a few occupied homes on 101st Street and many on 93rd Street, but there are also plaintiffs in the new Love Canal litigation who lived on 93rd Street and say they got sick, some of them recently. So the answer to the question is, maybe two blocks, maybe six, maybe more.
How many people died due to the Love Canal?
Of the 725 deaths observed during the study period, 701 had cause-specific information; the remaining 24 deaths were reported by relatives and the cause was unknown.
Why was the Love Canal getting so much attention and publicity?
Love Canal became the subject of media attention after it was revealed in a two-year investigative series in the Niagara Falls Gazette that the site had formerly been used to bury 21,000 tons of hazardous waste by Hooker Chemical Company (now Occidental Petroleum Corporation).
How did Love Canal lead to the Superfund Act?
Eventually, Love Canal became a national issue. Television news covered the protests and showed the black, toxic sludge that oozed into residents’ basements. Due to the actions of Gibbs and the Love Canal Homeowners Association, President Jimmy Carter signed the Superfund bill into law on December 11, 1980.
Who cleaned the Love Canal?
Lois Gibbs took to the stage that day 35 years ago, in the seemingly idyllic community of Love Canal, N.Y., and began to find her voice. Transforming herself from homemaker to hell-raiser, she helped convince then-President Jimmy Carter to come to town in 1980 and remove 900 families from a 21,000-ton toxic dump.
What are the long term effects of the Love Canal?
The Love Canal landfill contained approximately 21,800 tons of chemical wastes. Substantial migration and contamination of soil, groundwater and basement air of nearby homes was apparent in the late 1970s.