aftermath
The entire neighborhood was evacuated by 1980. The government began to take responsibility for the health and safety of the citizens. Dealing with other sites and preventing them in the future were the next hurdles.
|
"In one of [the] largest environmental complaints ever lodged by the Federal government against a major corporation, the Environmental Protection Agency announced today that the Department of Justice -- acting on behalf of EPA -- has filed four suits against Hooker Chemical Co., and its parent corporation, Occidental Petroleum Corporation, requesting the company clean up four chemical waste dumpsites in Niagara Falls, New York, which are posing substantial danger to residents of the area."
-EPA press release, December 20, 1979
Hooker provided a vigorous defense of accusations by taking out full-page advertisements.
Click to enlarge.
"Today's suit should serve notice to those who generate or handle hazardous wastes that these kinds of dangers no longer will be tolerated by the American public. The day of discarding hazardous materials indiscriminately and haphazardly is over. The relief being requested by the government from these chemical companies represents one of the most significant and costly environmental remedies ever sought in a judicial action. It is well warranted in our estimation. None of the dumps [are] still used but they have left a frightening legacy." |
|
"The suits . . . charged that the . . . disposal sites are an imminent and substantial endangerment to health and the environment and violate the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Refuse Act, and the common law of nuisance."
-EPA press release, December 20, 1979
love canal's legacy
Love Canal was encapsulated with clay and drainage systems, leaving the chemicals in the ground because they could not be safely removed. Residents had the option of moving back in but had no recourse if further problems occurred.
|
"The Hooker Chemical Company's dumping of toxic wastes at Love Canal and the resulting health and environmental damages are a stark symbol of the problems created by the improper disposal of hazardous wastes by our society. The implementation of the regulatory program by EPA and the States under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act should prevent new Love Canals. But Americans will not be free of the effects of our toxic waste heritage without the passage of Superfund legislation to give EPA the authority and funds to clean up hazardous waste sites before they damage public health." |