Love Canal

The excitement of the residents of the Love Canal has not lasted too long. More terrible news ensued. People living far away from the pollution center were beginning to worry about their own safety. In November 1978, more than 200 compounds were found in the landfill site of which about 200 tons contained hazardous dioxin Dioxin [2, 3, 7, and 8 tetrachlorodibenzoparadioxin (TCDD)], a highly toxic carcinogen. The identification of dioxins made the inhabitant extremely panic (Philips et al., 2007). In 1979, tensions between residents and the government continued. This year, the New York state government announced the temporary rehousing 30 families with pregnant women and children. However, more terrible finds and internal information shocked…

INTRODUCTION The Love Canal episode is one of the major and most publicized environmental disaster recorded in America history. In recent time, it has been described as an epidemic. It became a focus of intensive and extensive studies on health effect, environmental studies and epidemiologic research (Friis and Seller, 2014, p.20; Jasanoff, 1998 p.83). This paper attempts to bring to light how a community is forced to bear the consequences of decision made by greedy and negligent corporate…

Hooker Chemical Company to dump twenty-one tons of chemical waste into the sixteen-acre Love Canal area, named for idealistic and enterpriser William T. Love. The United States government should be financially responsible for the chemical wasteland at Love Canal, because the government initially sanctioned…

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…

To those unfamiliar to the history of the Love Canal, its name may bring warm thoughts of romantic activities or a carnival ride. However, the truth is that Love Canal is one of our country’s most notorious hazardous waste disasters, which grabbed the attention of a nation.(Beck, 1979; University at Buffalo: The State University of New York, 1998) The advocacy of its community residents, work of the newly formed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the health outcomes of the exposed…

Love Canal This research paper summarized one of the most famous environmental disasters that happened at the Love Canal, a popular tourist attraction in the late 1970s. In this mini case study paper, the background of Love Canal, the main issue caused this tragedy, the actions taken by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) along with the outcomes, and the resulting effects on the health of the population exposed at Love Canal and the tragedy will be mainly discussed. In 1978,…

Love Canal was meant to be a dream city in which everyone would want to reside in. Ironically, this community turned out to be a complete disaster. William T. Love was the creator of Love Canal, which was built along side of the Niagara River. Love’s original plan was to create an enormous utopian metropolis. He wanted the entire city to be powered by hydroelectric dams on a new 11-kilometer canal that would be placed between the upper and lower parts of the Nigerian River. Love was able to…

Love Canal Sophie Albright The Love Canal tragedy, in 1942, caused conflict and stirred up arguments, socially, economically, and environmentally. Unwanted chemicals from various experiments and projects from different companies and groups were dumped at a waste site in Niagara Falls, New York, thinking the landfill would cause no harm. The chemicals were then, out of sight, out of mind. When the area was turned into a neighborhood, it then became evident those discarded…

One of the most significant environmental problems that put many people at risk was the Love Canal in Niagara Falls, New York. After years of living surrounded by toxic chemicals, complaints started rising. A strange odor and a distinct chemical seeping out from the ground and into basements and backyards stirred concern. Residents living in the area were experiencing health problems such as birth defects and genetic disorders. The high number of miscarriages was also a concern. The toxic…

In the 1970's, the working-class community in the Love Canal area of Niagara Falls, New York, was evacuated due to deadly chemicals seeping into the environment and harming people and pets. Before that, the Hooker Chemical Company dumped industrial chemicals in the unfinished canal, and capped it only clay. The Niagara Falls City School District was in need of land, so in 1953, Hooker sold the land to them for $1. Homes were built on top of the chemicals and more than 80 industrial chemicals…