The Love Canal
Love Canal was named after its creator William T. Love and its construction began in the 1890s (http://onlineethics.org/environment/lcanal/timeline.html). The project was never finished and an extremely large, seemingly useless hole was left in the ground in the Niagara Falls area. Almost 40 years later, when the area of Niagara Falls began to industrialize, a use for this gaping hole was found. Different businesses and industrial corporations started to manufacture goods and products and with the manufacture of these came the unwanted additive of industrial wastes. During the 1940s these companies looked at the unused canal as an easily accessible place to dump their wastes. During the 1940s and 50s, the Hooker Chemical Company, filled the canal, later named the "Love Canal", with about 21,000 tons of organic solvents, acids, and pesticides as well as their by-products, many of them causing cancer or birth defects (http://onlineethics.org/environment/lcanal/timeline.html). Once the canal was full, Hooker widened the canal in order to accommodate even more waste. It then covered it with clay, which was supposed to keep moisture away from the chemicals and act as a barrier seal.It was The City of Niagara Falls that sta
Dumping occurred in the Northern Section, from 1942 to 1946, then in the Southern Section from 1946 to 1954, with some dumping in the Central Section at the end of the period (http://onlineethics.org/environment/lcanal/timeline.html). The toxic chemicals were dumped, usually, in metal drums, which were often old and rusted, or in fiber drums. The drums sometimes broke apart as they were being dumped and sometimes chemical wastes were even dumped directly into the canal. The majority of the chemicals were pesticide waste and chemical weapons research (e.g. Manhattan project). When the 3000 foot long, 60 foot wide, and 40 foot deep canal was filled, Hooker took great caution in sealing it (EarthBase). The seal was so hard that it broke the city developers drill bits and impeded backhoes when they first attempted to take the clay for fill. The Hooker engineers knew what they were dealing with and worked to safely contain the chemicals with the most advanced methods of the time period. They were, after all, dealing with enough dioxin alone, to kill a large portion of the population. Hooker apparently warned against any development of the land. In the face of frightening area, and the "sound clay cap", there was little for Hooker to do accept clear their name in the event of any mishaps. To follow the engineering codes of ethics, they could have taken the city to court over the area. They likely could have done more, but at possible loss to their enterprise. The state and the city were the bulldogs that forced the sale of the land and broke the seal. They had been warned. The city's construction engineers should have known what they were doing when they dug away at Hooker's clay seal. Perhaps they were never told of the dump; but to have lived in the city and never have known a dump existed is hard to swallow. The government, after much pressure from citizens, as well as numerous EPA cover-ups, acted and paid to have the area cleaned up and periodically tested. All of the construction activity (such as in the building of homes and the school) broke the clay barrier that had held the chemicals inside. Many years of rain and weathering had unleashed the chemicals, which seeped through cracks in the clay through decomposed steel drums. By 1980, the US Government had identified 248 chemicals in the dumpsite and today more than 400 have been found (http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/gsq1/getchems.script?in_site=NYD980506810). Although it is always very difficult to prove that a hazardous waste dump is the only cause for health problems, Love Canal seemed to be ripe with mysterious illnesses, high rates of miscarriages, birth defects and chromosome damage as well as certain diseases of the liver and kidneys, organs where chemicals are concentrated by the body to detoxify. No sooner had Hooker conveyed the property than the dangers surfaced. The location of the school had to be moved within the Central Section because contractors discovered two pits filled with chemicals that Hooker dumped in that section. In spite of these warnings, the city began construction of sanitary and storm sewers in 1957(http://onlineethics.org/environment/lcanal/timeline.html). In 1958, children playing in the area came into contact with the exposed chemicals and developed skin irritation (http://onlineethics.org/environment/lcanal/timeline.html). Hooker again warned the board to stop digging. The school board did not listen to the warnings. The government was prompted to start a program called "Superfund" to aid in the clean up of such disasters. The program was composed of a measly budget and pushed the clean up bill on to the taxpayers. The fund was highly ineffective and barely covered up contaminates. Rita M. Lavelle, head of "Superfund", was fired by Reagan in 1983 and served four years in prison for lying about the use of funds at love canal. Three other high ranked EPA officials were forced to resign in connection with the incident. Local officials wis
Some common words found in the essay are:
Love Canal, City Niagara, Who's Blame, Niagara Falls, Central Section, Saigo Hooker, Lois Gibbs, Falls Hooker's, School Board, Rita Lavelle, love canal, school board, niagara falls, city niagara falls, central section, city niagara, adeline gordon, levine adeline, hooker chemical, levine adeline gordon, birth defects, waste dump,
Approximate Word count = 2706
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)
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