What environmental issues happened at Love Canal NY?

chemical wastes
Love Canal, neighbourhood in Niagara Falls, N.Y., U.S., that was the site of the worst environmental disaster involving chemical wastes in U.S. history.

How was the environment affected by the Love Canal?

The Love Canal landfill contained approximately 21,800 tons of chemical wastes. Substantial migration and contamination of soil, groundwater and basement air of nearby homes was apparent in the late 1970s.

How was the Love Canal fixed?

Industrial chemicals dumped into the partly completed canal by the Hooker Chemical Company from 1947 to 1952 have been removed or contained in one area that was lined with impermeable materials and capped by clay. A drainage system collects water runoff and treats it.

What caused the environmental concerns at Love Canal in 1978?

During construction, the canal’s clay cap and walls were breached, damaging some of the metal barrels. Eventually, the chemical waste seeped into people’s basements, and the metal barrels worked their way to the surface.

When was the Love Canal contamination?

February, 1978: Chemical contamination found in sump water samples taken in homes abutting the canal. March, 1978: Chemical contamination found in air samples taken in homes abutting the canal.

How did the Love Canal environmental disaster impact the health of residents in the community?

Miscarriages were found to have increased 300%, for example, and most occurred in women who lived in the historically wet areas. From 1974 to 1978, 56% of the children in the Love Canal neighborhood were born with a birth defect, including three ears, a double row of teeth, and mental retardation.

What is the pollutant in the Love Canal?

The Love Canal area was originally the site of an abandoned canal that became a dumping ground for nearly 22,000 tons of chemical waste (including polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxin, and pesticides) produced by the Hooker Chemicals and Plastics Corporation in the 1940s and ’50s.

What caused the Love Canal contamination?

As it turns out, consecutive wet winters in the late 1970s raised the water table and caused the chemicals to leach (via underground swales and a sewer system that drained into nearby creeks) into the basements and yards of neighborhood residents, as well as into the playground of the elementary school built directly …

Is Love Canal still toxic?

They say they found toxins “previously found in Love Canal-related sites.” Indoors, toxins can get trapped and build up. Tests there found toxin levels 10 to 100 times higher. So far, state officials have declined to test inside residents’ homes.

Has Love Canal been remediated?

In 1999, the EPA and NYSDEC completed their remedial construction work. In 2004, the EPA deleted the Site from the NPL. As a result of all the Agencies cleanup actions, the Site no longer presents a threat to human health and the environment. In September 2004, the EPA removed the Site from the Superfund program’s NPL.