The Love Canal

1
The Love Canal

• Ally Davis

2
How Love Canal Started

• Love Canal is located in Niagara Falls, New York.
  
• It was an aborted canal project.
• 1942-1953 is when Hooker Company began to using
  the canal as a chemical waste dump

3
What happened during Love Canal?

• The Hooker Company buried the chemicals and later
  sold the property to the city.
• Homes and schools were later built on top of this
  site.
• Environmental problems arose due to construction
  and heavy rains.

4
What were the effects of the leakage?

• Human Illnesses/miscarriages/birth
  defects/death
• common resources and environmental factors
• Common Resource air, water, soil
• Abiotic Temperature, water, soil
• Biotic plants and animals

5
Could this happen again?

• Yes, because at one point it was a common
  practice to bury chemicals in drums.
• Love Canal was not the only site.

6
Anthropogenic Influence

• Hooker Chemical Company turned Loves canal from
  a swimming area for kids to a chemical disposal
  site.
• Hooker Company buried chemicals for about ten
  years.
• 100 homes and elementary school were built on top
  of disposal site.

7
Reactive Approaches

• Superfund law- It aims to collect taxes from
  gas and chemical corporations to be used to
  directly cleanup sites similar to Love Canal.
• Federal Resources Conservation and Recovery Act
  (RCRA)- gave EPA authority to regulate the
  generation and dumping of dangerous and hazardous
  materials.
• Certain specifications now have to be met when
  creating landfill for hazardous waste.

8
Proactive Approach

• There should be no more not knowing or
  not keeping track of where companies dump their
  chemicals.
• Continue enforcement and expectation for
  companies who dump waste.
• It has to be so expensive and have such harsh
  penalties for breaking rules that people have to
  do things the right way.

9
Summary Slide

• Love Canal was used as a chemical disposal site
  for ten years.
• It was then sold and developed.
• Construction and heavy rains led to chemical
  leaks.
• Harsh impacts on people and environment.
• New rules and regulations result.

10
Sources

• http//www.geneseo.edu/history/love_canal_history
• http//www2.epa.gov/aboutepa/love-canal-tragedy
• http//www.damninteresting.com/the-tragedy-of-the-
  love-canal/
• http//www.asse.org/professionalsafety/docs/20Hat
  field20Article.pdf
• http//www.health.ny.gov/environmental/
  love_canal/lctimbomb.htm