Environmental Law
The Love Canal which is located in Niagara Falls, was created in the 1890's by a businessman by the name of William T. Love who wanted to facilitate hydroelectric power by connecting the upper and lower parts of the falls. Love's plan fell apart when he lacked financing and cheaper methods of obtaining power became available. The Love Canal was abandoned and shortly afterward the city of Niagara Falls turned the canal into a summer swimming hole (Beauchamp p. 106). The Hooker Electrochemical Company, which is today the Occidental Chemical Corporation, built its first plant in Niagara Falls in 1905 and in 1942 received permission by the state of New York to use the canal for chemical dumping (Beauchamp p. 106). The company, which manufactures plastics, pesticides, chlorine, caustic soda and fertilizers, considered the site ideal because it was located in an underdeveloped, unpopulated area and because the canal had highly impermeable clay walls that retained the chemicals with virtually no penetration. Research suggested that the canal's walls allowed only a third of an inch of water over a 25-year period (Beauchamp p. 106). The problem with the Love Canal began in 1953 when the Niagara Falls School Board wanted to b
There are two major issues involved in the Love Canal case. First, should companies be judged by today's standards for practices that were common or even state of the art 50 years ago? (Beauchamp p. 114). Many companies, including Hooker, adhered to the law during the time. Are these companies expected to be solely responsible when laws, knowledge and attitudes change or is the government partially to blame for failing to protect social welfare by allowing companies to self-regulate? Perhaps they are both responsible. Although Hooker gained permission by the state of New York to dump chemicals in the area and used the best method of disposal available at the time the company knew of the possible risks involved. In light of this, Hooker, who had a right to make a profit on chemical products, also had a duty to avoid harming the public and to help in protecting the public.
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Approximate Word count = 1615
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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