There were no reported direct casualties stemming from the disaster. However, there were numerous miscarriages and birth defects directly caused by the hazardous waste. Countless children were injured from burns procured from playing near chemical exposure (Beck, 1979). The Environmental Health Perspectives conducted a study to determine the mortality rates of previous Love Canal residents compared to New York mortality rates as a whole between 1979 and 1996. Their study showed no elevated mortality rates from specific cancers were reported for the Love Canal area (Gensburg et al., 2009).
The EPA provided $4 million for corrective work to the Love Canal Disaster site. President Carter spent $10 million purchasing homes during the relocation process. Every house surrounding the old canal was damaged due to toxic waste exposure (University at Buffalo Libraries, n.d.). The Department of Environmental Conservation constructed a tile drain collection system to prevent further rainfall from washing chemicals into the surrounding ground. This system collects the migrating chemicals that are then filtered into a water treatment plant. In the plant water is filtered through activated charcoal and the clean water is released into the sewer (Gibbs, 1983).
When the dumping began in the 1920s, even with …show more content…
The land was completely inappropriate for building a school and a community. The area was a chemical waste dump and even though it was properly contained any digging could have disrupted the clay cap. Common sense would tell the school if the architect found chemical waste construction should have stopped until a thorough investigation was completed. Common sense would also tell the parents to demand an investigation before moving in since they were aware of the use of the dump and after burns, birth defects, and high miscarriages rates were
The EPA provided $4 million for corrective work to the Love Canal Disaster site. President Carter spent $10 million purchasing homes during the relocation process. Every house surrounding the old canal was damaged due to toxic waste exposure (University at Buffalo Libraries, n.d.). The Department of Environmental Conservation constructed a tile drain collection system to prevent further rainfall from washing chemicals into the surrounding ground. This system collects the migrating chemicals that are then filtered into a water treatment plant. In the plant water is filtered through activated charcoal and the clean water is released into the sewer (Gibbs, 1983).
When the dumping began in the 1920s, even with …show more content…
The land was completely inappropriate for building a school and a community. The area was a chemical waste dump and even though it was properly contained any digging could have disrupted the clay cap. Common sense would tell the school if the architect found chemical waste construction should have stopped until a thorough investigation was completed. Common sense would also tell the parents to demand an investigation before moving in since they were aware of the use of the dump and after burns, birth defects, and high miscarriages rates were