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    Love Canal

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    Gino Galano
    Gino C. Galano BS CH. E. 4 Envi. Engg. 10:30-11:30 MWF May 25, 2015 The Love Canal tragedy began when Hooker Chemical Company used an unfinished canal project as a dumpsite for over 20,000 tons of toxic chemical waste between 1942 and 1953. After homes and a school were built on top of the buried waste in the late 1950s, residents began suffering health issues and hazardous materials started leaching into their basements. Lois Briggs organized the community to fight for relocation amid the health crisis. The EPA declared it one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history due to extensive birth defects, diseases, and

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    Love Canal

    Uploaded by

    Gino Galano
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    Gino C. Galano BS CH. E. 4 Envi. Engg. 10:30-11:30 MWF May 25, 2015 The Love Canal tragedy began when Hooker Chemical Company used an unfinished canal project as a dumpsite for over 20,000 tons of toxic chemical waste between 1942 and 1953. After homes and a school were built on top of the buried waste in the late 1950s, residents began suffering health issues and hazardous materials started leaching into their basements. Lois Briggs organized the community to fight for relocation amid the health crisis. The EPA declared it one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history due to extensive birth defects, diseases, and

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    Gino C. Galano BS CH. E. 4 Envi. Engg. 10:30-11:30 MWF May 25, 2015 The Love Canal tragedy began when Hooker Chemical Company used an unfinished canal project as a dumpsite for over 20,000 tons of toxic chemical waste between 1942 and 1953. After homes and a school were built on top of the buried waste in the late 1950s, residents began suffering health issues and hazardous materials started leaching into their basements. Lois Briggs organized the community to fight for relocation amid the health crisis. The EPA declared it one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history due to extensive birth defects, diseases, and

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    53 views1 page

    Love Canal

    Uploaded by

    Gino Galano
    Gino C. Galano BS CH. E. 4 Envi. Engg. 10:30-11:30 MWF May 25, 2015 The Love Canal tragedy began when Hooker Chemical Company used an unfinished canal project as a dumpsite for over 20,000 tons of toxic chemical waste between 1942 and 1953. After homes and a school were built on top of the buried waste in the late 1950s, residents began suffering health issues and hazardous materials started leaching into their basements. Lois Briggs organized the community to fight for relocation amid the health crisis. The EPA declared it one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history due to extensive birth defects, diseases, and

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    Galano, Gino C.

    BS CH. E. 4

    Envi. Engg. 10:30-11:30 MWF


    May 25, 2015

    The Love Canal Tragedy


    The Love Canal is a project made by William T. Love in the effort of connecting the
    Niagara River to Lake Ontario. With this, he envisioned producing hydro electricity from the
    rivers currents but this project was never finished due to three factors: First, the Panic of 1893
    which was an economic depression in the United States wherein the financing of projects were
    uncertain. Second, the limitations of Direct Current (DC) regarding the transmission of power
    and electricity. Third, the introduction of Alternating Current (AC) by Nikola Tesla which led to
    the development of long-distance power transmission, eliminating the need to build an industry
    near the electricity source. Moreover, these factors stopped investors from continuously funding
    the project.
    By 1942, Hooker Chemical Company was able to acquire the canal. Their main purpose
    for the canal was as a dumpsite for the chemicals they produce from various processes and by
    1953 they were able to fill the canal with over 20000 tons of chemical waste including pesticides
    and caustic solvents. During this time there were no regulations stopping Hooker Chemical
    Company from dumping their chemical waste so they covered the canal with clay and soil from
    the area. With the growing population of Niagara Falls, the New York Board of Education was
    looking for cheap land properties and they were able to buy the Love Canal from Hooker
    Chemical Company for only a dollar, but with the deed was a precaution of the contents of the
    canal. By the late 50s, a city was built adjacent to the area of the covered dump consisting of
    over a hundred homes and a school. After some time, residents were complaining about a foul
    odor in their basements and also about black fluid materials oozing out of their yards.

    This tragedy is truly a devastating one consisting of many casualties brought upon the
    residents of the Love Canal community. In this event, improper disposal and management is very
    evident and the consequences have directly affected the people. One of the residents was Lois
    Briggs, she was living near the Love Canal with her children. She knew that there was something
    wrong in their community so she took the responsibility of starting an organization concerning
    the Love Canal issue. We have to understand that the community living around the Love Canal is
    of the middle class families so they cannot just get up and leave at the first signs of danger, they
    had to assure that they have a place to go to. With this in mind, Lois Briggs together with the
    other residents fought for their safety and were later relocated.
    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considered this as the one of the most
    appalling tragedy in the history of America, resulting to birth defects, skin problems,
    chromosomal issues, and even an increased number of white blood cells which is a precursor to
    Leukemia. The effects of the tragedy had a huge impact not only on the part of the residents but
    also to the government since they had to buy all of the properties from the former residents and
    even relocate them to a safer place.
    As we can see, the lack of proper management and disposal of these hazardous
    substances can affect almost every aspect of a community or a society. The importance of proper
    waste segregation and control is therefore amplified with this tragedy from the past.

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