Real Story. Real Stupid.
In 1890 Niagra Falls, New York, Love Canal was designed to be a model community. It turned out to be anything but a model community and what ensued was one of the biggest chemical waste scandals that would take over 50 years to resolve.
Like I said, our story begins in 1890 with William T. Love. Mr. Love was an entrepreneur who wanted to build a perfect urban city. He wanted to use hydroelectricity to lure factories and manufacturers to the area by building a canal. He was so dedicated to this vision that he gave the project his name which is how Love Canal came to be. A factory was built and by 1894 work on the canal began. A few streets and houses soon went up and the future was looking bright. Steel companies and other manufacturers were eagerly lining up at the chance to open plants along the canal. Things were prospering and about a mile of the canal had been dug when Congress passed a law that banned water removal from the Niagra River in order to preserve Niagra Falls. Since Love Canal would draw its water from the Niagra River, the project was shut down. The shutdown of the canal, advancement in electricity, and investment issues led to a financial end for William T. Love. His properties and company foreclosed and were sold at auction to the city in 1910.
The canal sat abandoned and eventually filled with water that local children used for swimming in the summer and for skating in the winter. In 1920 the canal became an official dump site for the city. It was filled with municipal waste and refuse from the city. The city continued to blossom with major industries producing paper, rubber, plastic, petrochemicals, carbon insulations, and abrasives.
Hooker Chemical Company is one such business that flourished during this time and needed a place to dispose of their large quantities of chemical waste. They were granted permission in 1942 to dispose of this waste in Love Canal and so the canal was drained and lined with thick clay. Hooker Chemical Company then filled the canal with 55-gallon barrels containing chemicals and toxic waste. They filled the canal with 21,800 short tons of chemicals such as caustics, alkalines, fatty acids, and chlorinated hydrocarbons that are byproducts from the production of dyes, perfumes, and solvents for rubber and synthetic resin. In 1947 Hooker Chemical Company purchased the canal and the banks on either side and later converted it back to a dump but this time it became a sprawling 70-acre landfill.
In the 1950s the city of Niagra Falls underwent another population boom and the population swelled. There was now a need for more neighborhoods and schools. In 1952 it was apparent that the site would eventually be developed due to the growing population and so the landfill was put out of commission and capped with a thick clay seal to prevent any leaks.
In 1953 the land was "sold" for $1 to the local school district. Other local properties had been condemned by the school board and an agreement was made that Hooker Chemical Company would deed the property to the district for $1 and in exchange, they had a lengthy liability clause. Doing this allowed Hooker Chemical Company to pass the responsibility of the buried waste onto that of someone else, thus protecting themselves from legal liability.
Soon after the sale of the property in 1954, the school board began development on the 99th Street School which breached containment structures and previously sealed chemicals were allowed to escape. The architect advised the school against continuing this project when some of the 55-gallon barrels were discovered. Instead of abandoning the project, they decided to move the building site about 80 feet north to avoid the waste. The kindergarten playground also had to be moved since the original location was on top of the chemical dump.
The school was completed in 1955 and opened its doors to 400 students. Shortly after opening, a 25-foot area crumbled and exposed some of the toxic barrels that were buried. The drums would fill with rainwater and create large puddles that the school children enjoyed playing in.
The school board had sold the remaining land and it was developed into low income and single family residences next to the landfill site. Again, the clay liner was broken and chemicals were allowed to escape from the landfill and the canal. The clay surrounding the waste began to crack and break in other areas as well.
After a very wet winter in 1962, combined with the previous construction of an expressway that restricted water flow to the Niagra River, the canal became an overflowing pool. Residents reported having puddles of oil and other colored liquids in their yards and basements. People began to complain about a mysterious black fluid that drained out of the canal as well as odors and substances that were showing up in their yards and in local playgrounds. This went on for years until another harsh winter in 1977 that raised the water table to the point that it got into the groundwater and caused dioxin levels to rise until water erupted in resident's yards. This finally prompted an official investigation.
In the spring of 1977, the official investigation found numerous contaminants in the air, soil, and groundwater. There was a massive evacuation of the area and the area was later purchased by the federal government through the Superfund Act to help the displaced families. Many of the properties were later demolished and a massive clean up effort ensued that would take from 1978 to 2004 to complete.
This toxic mess has left many people with long-standing health issues and symptoms of high white blood cell count, leukemia, low birth weight babies, birth defects, seizures, learning disabilities, hyperactivity, eye irritation, skin, rashes, abdominal pain, incontinence, stunted growth, increased rate of miscarriages, nervous disorders, and cancer, of course.
My two cents: Speechless.
Rating: I give the story of Love Canal 3 out of 5 possible slow claps. So many times this could have been avoided or discovered and people passed the buck or turned a blind eye. Love Canal is a cautionary tale that can and should be remembered.
If I was this kid's mom, I would have written "Never Trust a Hooker" but that's me. Get it? Hooker Chemical Company? Just read the post.
