Love Canal
ABSTRACT
Love Canal was one of the most devastating environmental disasters experienced by this country and the state of New York. This environmental disaster did not occur accidentally. It occurred because individuals were more concerned about money and politics than with human life. Love Canal is a modern era David and Goliath. It is an example of how average small town citizens can stand up for their rights and their lives against the government and large corporations, and become triumphant in the end. Love Canal owned by William T. Love, was a failed waterway meant to be used as a way to harness electrical power for industries along the 7-mile stretch of river leading to Lake Ontario. The land was eventually sold at public auction in 1920 and it became a municipal and chemical disposal site until 1953. The primary company that dumped wastes in the canal was Hooker Chemical Corporation, a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum. In an eleven-year span, Hooker and the U.S. government dumped a total of 22,000 tons of chemicals into the canal.
The canal was sold to the Niagara School Board in 1953 for one dollar. Hooker included in the deed transfer a "warning" of the chemical wastes buried on the property and a disclaimer absolving Hooker of any future liability.
An elementary school was then constructed over the dirt filled hazardous waste site despite the sternly worded disclaimer from Hooker. The school was completed in 1955 and opened its doors to approximately 400 students. New homes were then constructed on the fringes of the contaminated land.
New families began to move into the neighborhood adjacent to the newly constructed school. Once the children began to attend school, they soon became ill. Women who became pregnant in Love Canal were having miscarriages or gave birth to children with severe birth defects. Many of the illness existed in the area because of
Love Canal was one of the most devastating environmental disasters experienced by this country and the state of New York. This environmental disaster did not occur accidentally. It occurred because individuals were more concerned about money and politics than with human life. Love Canal is a modern era David and Goliath. It is an example of how average small town citizens can stand up for their rights and their lives against the government and large corporations, and become triumphant in the end. Love Canal owned by William T. Love, was a failed waterway meant to be used as a way to harness electrical power for industries along the 7-mile stretch of river leading to Lake Ontario. The land was eventually sold at public auction in 1920 and it became a municipal and chemical disposal site until 1953. The primary company that dumped wastes in the canal was Hooker Chemical Corporation, a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum. In an eleven-year span, Hooker and the U.S. government dumped a total of 22,000 tons of chemicals into the canal.
The canal was sold to the Niagara School Board in 1953 for one dollar. Hooker included in the deed transfer a "warning" of the chemical wastes buried on the property and a disclaimer absolving Hooker of any future liability.
An elementary school was then constructed over the dirt filled hazardous waste site despite the sternly worded disclaimer from Hooker. The school was completed in 1955 and opened its doors to approximately 400 students. New homes were then constructed on the fringes of the contaminated land.
New families began to move into the neighborhood adjacent to the newly constructed school. Once the children began to attend school, they soon became ill. Women who became pregnant in Love Canal were having miscarriages or gave birth to children with severe birth defects. Many of the illness existed in the area because of
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